{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 13 avril 2010 – IPS- April 13, 2010–Eugene Terre’Blanche, killed on his farm on Easter weekend, is catalysing racial tension in South Africa in death much as he did in his life.
RWANDA
Rwanda: Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi to Head New Ministry
13 April 2010/The New Times/allafrica.com
Kigali — General Marcel Gatsinzi has been appointed to the new post of Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs.
Gen Gatsinzi was until last week the Minister of Defence before being replaced by General James Kabarebe, former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
According to official sources, Major General Caesar Kayizari, the new Army Chief of Staff, has been promoted to Lieutenant General. Kayizari takes over the post of Lt Gen Charles Kayonga who was elevated to CDS.
The recent appointments in the army also saw the former Air force Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen Charles Muhire appointed Reserve Force Commander. Col. Joseph Damari is the acting Air Force Chief of staff.
All the new ministers and new appointments in the military will be sworn in today afternoon in Parliament.
UGANDA
Tullow Oil:Uganda Block 2 Wells Confirm Kasamene Field Viability
online.wsj.com/APRIL 13, 2010
LONDON (Dow Jones)–U.K.-listed Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN) Tuesday said two wells in the Butiaba region of Uganda Block 2 had successfully delineated the extent of oil in the Kasamene field and discovered oil in the Wahrindi North fault block.
“This takes us a significant step toward first oil in Uganda, which is expected from the Kasamene field in 2011,” Angus McCoss, Tullow’s exploration director, said in a statement.
Tullow said data from the Kasamene-3 well encountered oil and proved the viability of this location as a future water injection point to support up-dip oil production. A separate well, Kasamene-3A, also encountered oil, Tullow said.
Tullow also is working toward acquiring and developing Block 1 and Block 3A in Uganda.
“We continue to work closely with the government of Uganda on plans for accelerating our exploration and appraisal activities in the region and look forward to commencing a multi-well program with a second rig in Block 1 next month,” McCoss said.
Uganda Court Stops Shell Unit From Selling Assets, Shareholdings
online.wsj.com/APRIL 13, 2010
KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)–An Ugandan high court has issued an injunction prohibiting Shell Uganda Ltd., a unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), from transferring its shareholding and assets in the country until it settles a dispute with a local property company, court officials said Tuesday.
According to court documents, Shell is required to deposit a requisite security of not less than 35 billion Uganda shillings ($17 million) with the court before it can divest its operations in the country.
The dispute is over commercial properties in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, in which Mercator Enterprises Ltd., a local property company, is claiming unpaid rent in arrears, as well as interest, from Shell Uganda amounting to UGX35 Billion.
Last month, Royal Dutch Shell announced plans to sell its downstream operations in 21 African nations.
Shell Uganda declined to comment.
TANZANIA:
CONGO RDC :
KENYA :
Julie Ward murder investigation to focus on DNA leads
news.bbc.co.uk/Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Detectives have been to Kenya as part of a new inquiry into the unsolved murder of a British woman almost 22 years ago, Scotland Yard has said.
The remains of Julie Ward, from Bury St Edmunds, were found in 1988 but no-one has ever been convicted of her killing.
The team of six detectives and a forensics officer have visited the country to help Kenyan police follow up leads including possible DNA evidence.
Ms Ward’s father, John Ward, said the development was “very encouraging”.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the small team of officers travelled to Kenya in March to assist the Kenyan police with new leads in the case. The team spent 11 days in the African country.
Technical advances
“Metropolitan Police Service officers continue to work closely with, and receive positive co-operation from, the Kenyan authorities in this investigation,” said the spokesman.
Scotland Yard would not be drawn on the details of the fresh investigation but the BBC understands there are hopes that detectives from both countries may be able to make progress with possible DNA evidence recovered from the scene of Ms Ward’s remains. Other leads are also being actively investigated.
The technology behind DNA profiling was in its infancy at the time of Ms Ward’s murder and, since then, the techniques have greatly advanced.
Officers last visited Kenya in November 2009 as part of efforts to restart investigations into the 1988 death.
Wildlife trip
The 28-year-old had been travelling in Kenya photographing wildlife when she went missing.
Her father flew to Kenya to join the search and found parts of her burnt and mutilated remains in the Masai Mara reserve.
Since then, the retired hotelier has been to Kenya more than 100 times in an attempt to force the authorities to take the case seriously.
The police initially said Ms Ward had been killed by wild animals – but the Kenyan courts later overruled detectives, saying she had been murdered.
There have been two murder trials which have seen all defendants acquitted.
At a British inquest into her death, it was claimed there had been a cover-up in Kenya to protect her killers.
A separate report into the affair by Jon Stoddart, now chief constable of Durham, severely criticised the Kenyan police, Foreign Office and Scotland Yard.
Abuse charge against priest roils Kenya
By TOM ODULA/The Associated Press/April 13, 2010
NAIROBI, Kenya – After three young men and a boy told police last June an Italian priest had been sexually molesting them for years at a shelter for poor children, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in Kenya announced the church would investigate thoroughly.
Ten months later, nothing has been investigated by the church, its lawyer said, and the Vatican has not been notified.
The accused priest, the Rev. Renato Kizito Sesana, continues to run the facility along with other shelters on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Kenyan police said they found no evidence and believe Sesana is innocent. Sesana himself has denied the allegations, saying some of his accusers may have been bribed or coerced as part of a plan to seize church assets worth up to $5.3 million.
It is unclear whether the abuse took place or not, but the church’s response – or lack of it – has inspired furious debate in Kenya. The case is being closely watched amid questions into the Roman Catholic Church’s ability to deal with sexual predators among its clergy around the world following reports that church authorities ignored or covered up allegations against priests in Europe and America.
Kenya’s attorney general has promised further investigations but it is unclear what, if any, action has been taken.
Sesana won the admiration of many donors through his work for the poor, and after the allegations surfaced several supporters went public to say his help had changed their lives.
Kenya launches electronic register to curb poll fraud
Pana/13/04/2010
News – Africa news .
Nairobi, Kenya – Prime Minister Raila Odinga became the first Kenyan to register electronically as a voter following the introduction of a landmark electronic register, aimed at curbing fraud in future elections, which led to widespread chaos in 2008.
Odinga, who led the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) during the 2007 Presidential elections, hailed the introduction of the electronic voter register as a historic step towards changing Kenya’s previously flawed elections, leading to chaos.
Kenya’s Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) launched the registrat ion of voters electronically, aiming to reach some 1.8 million voters.
IIEC Chairman Issac Hassan said the launch of the electronic voters register wou ld help the Commission to detect flaws in the previous voter registers and correct them.
He regretted that Kenya was one of the few democratic countries in the world wit hout an effective voter register, following the disbandment of the disgraced Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) after the 2007 disputed Presid ential elections.
Odinga criticised the ECK Commissioners for opposing change, saying most of them were partisan and took orders from politicians contesting the elections.
The electronic voter register was launched in 18 constituencies in Kenya.
Odinga recalled his experience voting at his populous Kibera slums on 27 Decembe r 2007, only to find his name and most of his supporters missing from the voters register.
He said the launch of the electronic voter register was a fundamental step towar ds ending the culture of voter fraud in Kenya’s history.
‘Kenyans came out with a rich harvest of chaos in 2007. The name of Raila Odin ga, the ODM presidential candidate, was missing from the voters register. The deletion of names from the voter register has become a prac tice since 1992,’ Odinga said.
Kenya carried out its first multiparty elections in 1992, which was also marked by similar electoral irregularities.
Nairobi
Kenya: Manufacturers Push for 50 Percent Cut in Power Tariffs
Cosmas Butunyi/The East African/allafrica.com/13 April 2010
Nairobi — As the clock ticks towards the coming into force of the East African Community Common Market, Kenyan manufacturers are seeking government concessions on energy in a bid to remain competitive under the new arrangement.
The manufacturers are also enhancing their energy management procedures to boost efficiency in production processes and save on energy costs. The flurry of activity, barely three months to the enforcement of the EAC Common Market is based on the argument that since Kenya has the highest power tariffs in the region, they will be disadvantaged against their colleagues whose costs of production are much lower.They are now proposing that the government introduces a two year tax window during which they will enjoy power at half the current cost. This, chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) Vimal Shah said, would give them a reprieve and act as a stimulus package as the Common Market comes into force.Mr Shah said that Kenyan manufacturers pay up to $0.2 per unit of electricity while their counterparts in Uganda and Tanzania pay only $0.09 per unit.
These high power costs have eroded their competitiveness hence the need for strategies to address them.Already, talks are ongoing between the Ministry of Energy and the Treasury with a view to introducing subsidies for manufacturers. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Patrick Nyoike said: “Uganda has a generation mix similar to ours but there is a direct subsidy by the government. We are engaging Treasury for the same.”According to Mr Nyoike, the high power costs in the recent past have resulted from the prolonged drought that caused a drop in the country’s hydropower output.
With reduced output, the country resorted to expensive emergency power sources.
To avoid a repeat of similar circumstances in future, the government is pursuing combined exploitation of hydropower and geothermal energy sources.
It is expected that by the end of next year, there will be enough energy to cover the demand.The current costs of energy have led to firms lining up strategies to improve efficiency in consumption.
So far these firms have made savings of up to $36 million in energy bills, according to the Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEEC), a joint initiative of KAM, the government and the United Nations Development Programme. As part of its approaches to encourage energy efficiency, the CEEC has introduced the Energy Management Awards to recognise firms for their contribution to energy conservation.The CEEC estimates that the 200 firms that participated in the recently held sixth edition of the awards saved $26,315,789 worth of energy last year and avoided carbon emissions of up to 530,000 tonnes. Speaking at the award ceremony, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme Achim Steiner said that contrary to the myth that energy efficiency is only relevant to the developed and industrialised economies, developing economies can also make substantial savings by implementing it.Usually, it is assumed that the small economies first need to make electricity and energy available before they can think of efficiency.
However, Mr Steiner said, energy efficiency is more than just saving fuel, and includes energy security as well as cleaner air and human health.”It is a piece in the wider jigsaw puzzle that has termed the Green Economy,” he added. Unep has suggested new strategies by the government in the construction industry that would see rooftops being used not only as mini solar stations, but also rainwater harvesting points.The government is also keen on tapping into non-traditional sources such as biogas energy.
Already, a study has been commissioned to determine the feasibility of setting up biogas energy plants at flower farms to produce compressed natural gas.Mr Nyoike said that the study’s results are expected by the end of the year.
ANGOLA :
African Ombudsmen meet in Angola
Pana/13/04/2010
News – Africa news .
Luanda, Angola – The Third General Assembly of the African Ombudsmen and Mediators Association (AOMA) was due to start in Luanda, Angola, Monday and run through Thursday.
Participants from 37 countries are expected to attend the meeting, with the theme: “Ombudsman and good governance”.
During the meeting, the participants will also discuss issues related to economic, social and cultural rights in Africa, while some key officials of the association would also be elected.
Members of international organisations, such as International Ombudsmen Institute, Ombudsmen and Mediators Association of French Speaking Language (OMAF, Commonwealth Secretariat, Organi sation of French-speaking Countries, African Union and NEPAD, among others, were expected to participate in the meeting.
The last edition of the General Assembly was held in Tripoli, Libya, 12 April 2008.
Luanda
BIC provides funding of over US$100 million in Angola’s Huíla province
[ 2010-04-13 ] / (macauhub)
Lubango, Angola, 13 Dec – Angolan bank, Banco Internacional de Crédito (BIC) over the last four years has provided funding of over US$100 million for agri-livestock, retail, cHuíla province according to a report from Angolan news agency Angop.
The chairman of the board of BIC, Fernando Teles, said that the bank had also funded projects in the hotel and tourism and telecommunications sectors.
Teles noted that BIC planned, in Huíla province, to expand its services to the interior of the province given its potential in the areas of agri-livestock, retail, hotels and tourism, which have attracted several investors.
“We know that Huíla is, after Luanda, the province with greatest potential in terms of investments, so we want to apply all our services, in order to get a return on the bank’s financial capital,” he noted.
In huíla BIC has nine branches, four of which in the city of Lubango, one in Jamba, one each in Caluquembe, Humpata, Matala and Quilengues, and more branches are due to be opened in the province’s remaining municipalities.
He said that the projection for investment in loans would rise from US$2 to US$3 million, mainly to customers who request loans for the hotel and toruism, retail and telecommunications sectors.
BIC has 130 branches in Angola and over 450,000 customers.
SOUTH AFRICA:
South Africa: Racist’s Death Highlights Rural Tension
Chris Makhaye and Terna Gyuse/ IPS/allafrica.com/13 April 2010
Durban and Cape Town — Eugene Terre’Blanche, killed on his farm on Easter weekend, is catalysing racial tension in South Africa in death much as he did in his life.
Thousands of supporters and sympathisers attended the funeral of the head of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement) in the rural town of Ventersdorp, in South Africa’s North West Province on Apr. 9. The leader of the white supremacist organisation was killed on his farm on Mar. 29, allegedly by two of his black employees, now in custody.
The killing has put the spotlight on the tensions and violence that persist in rural South Africa between landowners – predominantly white – and black farm workers and farm dwellers.
The killing comes just as a prominent member of the ruling African National Congress party’s Youth League, Julius Malema, was cited for hate speech for singing an ANC struggle song that calls on listeners to “kill the farmer”. Agricultural unions representing landowners say as many as 3,000 white farmers have been murdered on farms across the country since 1994.
Farm worker organisations challenge the figure, and say black people remain subject to harassment, dispossession and assault by landowners. Terre’Blanche himself served time in prison for assaulting an employee who survived the attack, but sustained serious brain damage.
Several hundred kilometres away from Ventersdorp, in the 60 kilometres between the towns of Newcastle and Volkrust, on the northern border of KwaZulu-Natal, the landscape is tranquil enough: grazing cattle and sheep, occasionally interrupted by fields of maize, soya beans and wheat.
But race relations between the mainly white farmers and black farm-workers, and tenants in this area have been tense for decades.
Mangaliso Kubheka, leader of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), says his organisation has recorded thousands of cases of farm workers and farm dwellers being assaulted, denied water, grazing land, burial rights, cropping areas and through-ways to move from one place to another by farmers.
Apartheid legacy
Busisiwe Mbatha, an 84-year-old widow, says her family lived on what is today the Wykom farm, near Newcastle, for many years. In the 1960s, she says, their land was divided into several livestock farms and many of their neighbours forced out of the area.
“Only a handful of families were left behind and our men provided labour to the farms. When my husband died, my children also worked on the farm. The previous farmers were okay because they allowed us to keep livestock and we had plots where we planted our fruits and vegetables. But when the latest of these farmers sold their land in 2003, a new and harsher farmer took over.”
Mbatha says that he tried to evict the family, but they resisted. “Three years ago he just came into our kraal and took all my 17 cows. He went for the cows of four other families living on the same farm. He didn’t utter a word and I tried going to the police without any help,” she says tearfully.
She says this farmer has since leased the farm and left without compensating them for their livestock. Residents on the farms say the majority of landowners mistreat farm tenants and farm labourers alike.
“Many people in the farms still live in fear, grinding poverty and landlessness. Some are forced to drink dirty water that they share with cows because farmers deny them access to clean water. Our people are assaulted and are prone to diseases because of living in these inhumane conditions,” Kubheka told IPS.
Robin Barnsley, the president of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (KWANALU), admitted that some farmers in the province are abusing the rights of farm workers and tenants but he said farm relations in the province have come a long way.
“One would not want to generalise, but there are places where there are tensions and frustrations and there are areas where relationships are good and sound. There are farmers who are mistreating people living in the farms. But these farmers are a tiny minority. I would say it boils down to personalities and other issues related to those personalities,” he said.
Barnsley said most of the tension results from the slow pace of land reform. “I think the officials dealing with land reform are not doing their jobs properly and this leads to frustrations from communities who have lodged claims are waiting years for their claims to be finalised.”
He adds that some farmers have taken the initiative to help farm labourers by providing them with land for free. “There a number of these initiatives. One that comes to mind is between Ladysmith and Bergville and another one in Melmoth. Apart from this, (there is the) KWANALU development desk which helps mentoring small farmers and communities engaging in commercial farming.”
Land rights activists concede that there some farmers have accepted and even participated in land reform and the dismantling of apartheid’s legacy in rural areas. Philani Kubheka (no relation to the LPM’s Kubheka) is head of a project near Ladysmith, where a farmer has donated a few hectares to farm tenants, where they have planted potatoes, cabbages and other vegetables.
“Families living in this farm keep some of the food and sell the rest. We are grateful to this farmer and wish other farmers could take a leaf from him,” says Philani.
Speaking from a modest office in the provincial capital, Pietermaritzburg, Musa Zakwe, the deputy director of the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), says his organisation has compiled a list of hot-spots where most abuses take place, including the district in which Newcastle and Volkrust fall. AFRA has been chronicling abuses on farms and and trying find solutions since 1979.
“Although the South African Constitution and laws protect people in the farms against abuses, the reality on the ground is that their rights are abused on a daily basis. What is even worse is that police don’t take their concerns seriously because they tend to listen to farmers (rather) than to farm labourers or tenants,” he told IPS.
Zakwe adds that government agencies have been too lenient on abusive farmers and that land reform policies have been far too slow to have any effect in improving the lives of people living in the farms.
He says in the main farmers are clinging on to land they barely use in the hope that government will pay more for it eventually, but unrest is on the increase amongst landless people as the wait for land drags on.
“We have tried to meet with (farmers) to resolve these issues and find amicable solutions so that we could live together and share the land, but many of them ignore us,” says the LPM’s Kubheka. “They tell us that we must go to the government and solve the problem there,” he said.
“It is not that we like or condone what happened to Terreblanche,” Kubheka says. “Many people think his killing was planned but I beg to differ. Why do you think a 16-year-old boy (developed) such hatred that propelled him to commit such a crime? If my child grows up seeing me being assaulted and belittled daily, he grows up with that hatred and one day he may want to avenge my sufferings, without any instigation or incitement from me.”
Anglo Platinum, Naspers, Peregrine: South Africa Equity Preview
April 13, 2010/By Janice Kew and Mike Cohen/Bloomberg
April 13 (Bloomberg) — The following stocks may rise or fall in South Africa. Symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the last close.
The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell 147.41, or 0.5 percent, to 29,210.09
in Johannesburg.
Anglo Platinum Ltd. (AMS SJ): The world’s largest platinum producer says it is on track to keep its costs “flat” this year, Chief Executive Officer Neville Nicolau said in a speech near Rustenburg in South Africa today. AngloPlat dropped 5.50 rand, or 0.7 percent, to 798 rand.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BIL SJ): Copper extended a fall from the highest level in 20 months as bank lending cools in China, the world’s largest consumer, stoking concern about reduced investment demand for the metal. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, slid 1.53 rand, or 0.6 percent, to 253.68 rand.
Gold One International Ltd. (GDO SJ): A strike by workers entered its fourth week and resolution to the impasse “may take some time,” the mining company said in a statement today. Gold One declined 5 cents, or 2.5 percent, to 1.90 rand.
Naspers Ltd. (NPN SJ): Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s biggest Internet company by market value, agreed to pay $300 million for a stake in Digital Sky Technologies Ltd., the Russian investor in Facebook Inc. to boost its access to Russia. Naspers, which has a 35 percent stake in Tencent, fell 3.60 rand, or 1.1 percent, to 311.50 rand.
Peregrine Holdings Ltd. (PGR SJ): The money manager and stockbroker said it bought half of Green Oak Capital, a fixed- income hedge-fund manager, for an undisclosed sum. The shares fell 9 cents, or 0.7 percent, to 12.90 rand.
Sasol Ltd. (SOL SJ): Oil declined for a fifth day amid forecasts of an 11th consecutive weekly gain in U.S. crude supplies, signaling fuel demand in the world’s biggest energy consumer may be slow to recover. Sasol, the world’s biggest maker of motor fuel from coal, dropped 3.50 rand, or 1.1 percent, to 307 rand.
Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:
Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) fell 1.8 percent to $22.43. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) dropped 1.3 percent to $40.65. BHP Billiton Plc (BBL US) declined 0.6 percent to $69.95. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) retreated 4.8 percent to $5.16. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) lost 1.7 percent to $13.04. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) fell 2.3 percent to $9.96. Impala Platinum Holdings (IMPUY US) rose 0.3 percent to $30.59. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) declined 0.9 percent to $4.36. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) dropped 0.6 percent to $42.30.
–Editors: Vernon Wessels, Ana Monteiro.
S(H)IBBOLETH: South Africa and the challenge of memory
By Obododimma Oha/234next.com/April 13, 2010
When some foreigners, including Africans whose countries had faithfully assisted in combating and dismantling Apartheid, were attacked and murdered in South Africa almost two years ago, many people started wondering how South Africans could forget so easily. South Africans who launched the xenophobic attacks were worried about foreigners having the jobs that they as citizens should have.
They also accused foreigners of being involved in criminal activities.
Whatever may be the atrocity stories the xenophobes offered for their inhospitable actions, the glaring fact was that their prejudice against the stranger prevented them from remembering how this same “stranger” had helped in freeing South Africa. They had forgotten so easily that this same stranger felt the same pain that the black South African citizen felt and celebrated when a country of equal opportunity eventually emerged.
If South Africa is for the South African alone, where is the rainbow in the ‘Rainbow Nation’? I do not think that South Africans prefer forgetting to remembering.
No, they don’t. There are rather two dimensions of their case with memory: selective remembering and remembering as “re-membering.” In the practice of selective remembering, the South African tries to choose what to remember and what to forget. It is assumed that that which is considered worth remembering or which is convenient to remember would guarantee a future that is free from an uncomfortable past. In other words, the re-invention of South Africa is a practice that involves creating gaps and silences, especially when the deleted texts are believed to constitute elements of incoherence in the mega narrative text that is South Africa.
Re-membering in the process of remembering in South Africa redefines the national memory project as part of the act of revising the membership of the South African society. In this regard, a shibboleth might be invoked to exclude or include some groups. As with selective remembering, “re-membering” cannot shortlist the stranger, especially the types of strangers featured in the movie, “District 9.” But, apart from the stranger that obviously cannot be included, some internal “enemy” might be remembered for exclusion.
It is perhaps in an attempt to check the dangerous practice of remembering as “re-membering” that a South African court declared illegal the singing of ‘Kill the Boer’, a song that ideologically articulates the resistance and liberation struggle by the African National Congress (ANC). The rhetoric of “kill” in history has always mobilised virulent hatred and violent action. And so it becomes a dangerous sub-text that again could undermine the emergence of a coherent text of nationhood. Not that nation has always been coherent, but as far as the conscious action of still pushing the national project beyond Apartheid is concerned, discouraging discursive practices that hurt the membership of the Rainbow Nation seems to be a reasonable pursuit. The ban therefore is a rational effort aimed at discouraging the continuation of racial hatred and promoting reconciliation.
A counter-critique to this position might be that the ban on the singing of the song, ‘Kill the Boer’, is a strategy of silencing the different voices that contend against an eloquence of a stable South Africa. The song, in this view, will persist and even acquire greater meaning, now that it is considered an unauthorised text of South African cultural and historical experience. Does the song remain a directive speech act, or has it transformed into a story on the relevance of the directive act at some moments in South Africa’s history? The law, in this perspective, has misinterpreted the song in the changing contexts of time, but would never succeed in “killing” the song.
In South Africa and Namibia today, there is a serious censorship on discourses that invoke memory about the Apartheid past. In Namibia, which was also under a strong Apartheid system as well as strong Boer control, there is a strong political pressure to compel citizens to forget the past. Memory is considered an obstacle to national integration to the extent that teachers who, in their desire to exercise some academic freedom, try to discuss the nation’s Apartheid past or to discuss inter-group relations in the country, risk losing their jobs. This does not mean that one does not find racism manifesting at the workplace or in the relationship between students.
Yet, the new system of political correctness in countries like Namibia and South Africa vigorously pursues and promotes what Homi Bhabha in his The Location of Culture refers to as the “syntax of forgetting” or “remembering to forget.” It seems better to “remember to forget” than to “forget to remember.” Those who forget to remember are considered good and forgiving citizens; they are the authentic Rainbow citizens of the ideal republic being imagined. But those who remember, or remember to “re-member”, are considered dangerous.
Indeed, the coalescence of forgetting and forgiving seems illogical. It is one thing to encourage people to forget and another to force them to do so. When they are forced to forget, that may even reinforce their remembering. They would have greater reason to remember.
‘Kill the Boer’ as a song would continue to represent role of folklore in South African politics. With the court decision concerning “Kill the Boer”, the song has achieved even greater significance in South Africa’s efforts at imagining a new nationhood. South Africa, however, has an option of looking beyond the way the song could poison inter-group relationships to discover other ways of encouraging citizens to laugh at such mistakes as continuing to live in the hatred of the other. My advice to lovers of the song: Don’t kill the Boer. Beat your weapons into ploughshares.
South Africa did well, but danger is not over
Tuesday, 13 April 2010 /www.leadershiponline.co.za
The past tumultuous fortnight has seen South Africa move to the brink and back in developments featuring two of its more controversial characters at opposite ends of the political spectrum: ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and the late Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader, Eugene Terre’Blanche. The country seems to have survived quite well the first crisis moment –Terre’Blanche’s funeral – but a long and likely protracted drama around the trial of his alleged young murderers still lies ahead.
While there are clear indications that misinformation tactics surrounding the nature of the relationship between Terre’Blanche and his alleged murderers have been used to deflate the anger on the right, certain role-players on the right have used the incident as a recruitment platform for what was a fast-dwindling ultra-right movement. In the process, dangerous scare tactics are being used.
For the two young men being accused of the murder of Terre’Blanche, the misinformation campaign that has seen them changing their stories in a number of crucial aspects, may have blown fatally apart the integrity of any defence they may have been putting forward. In the process, we never may know the full truth above all doubt – a dangerous factor in a highly polarised society.
On the ultra-right wing, activist Dr Dan Roodt almost immediately gave an example of what can be expected from that side in the months to come. In a document written by him and widely distributed via e-mail, under the title “Eugene Terre’Blanche and the symbolism of war”, he likens the murder of the right-wing leader to the one of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 which triggered World War 1. In a clear attempt to scare whites – and particularly certain sections of the Afrikaner community – into action, he predicts that genocide of the “Boere and whites” is at hand.
Among others, he takes reports in British newspapers about an airstrip being built in Zimbabwean diamond fields to circumvent sanctions against that country and puts his own spin on it, claiming it will be used to fly in Chinese weapons to “arm on a large scale Zimbabwean and South African blacks to rob white farmers of their property. Even people in urban areas might be attacked”.
While racial tensions have been whipped up by the murder and the events that followed, probably the worst and most dangerous moment – Terre’Blanche’s funeral – has come and gone without incident. For once, there was quick action from the government, and the Terre’Blanche family and AWB leadership assisted in maintaining calm. But it so easily could have gone wrong. One spark could have set it all off, and it would be wrong to accept that the danger is completely behind us.
Not that the rag-tag army of would-be freedom fighters in Terre’Blanche’s AWB posed any real threat as a political, military or terrorist force of any kind. In fact, they were already a spent force almost before their inception several decades ago. What made it all so dangerous, though, was the level to which Malema had whipped up emotions with his racist attacks on whites – both in his song-singing and his speeches.
Perhaps it was fortuitous that Malema overstepped the line on his visit to Zimbabwe and the way he treated a journalist, creating the opening for disciplinary action from the ANC leadership. This, and the fact that his leadership came under attack in his home province of Limpopo, has helped to defuse the situation for now.
The events of the past two weeks further elevated extremist players in the South African political landscape to levels far loftier than they deserve. As much as Terre’Blanche and the AWB’s views and actions are not representative of the overwhelming majority of white South Africans, equally so Malema does not speak on behalf of the overwhelming majority of black South Africans. And the good that has come out of this is that the situation finally compelled the ANC leadership to act against Malema and silence him. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of his rock-star style political career.
On the other end of spectrum, it may well be that now, finally, the last remnants of organised white racist extremism in South Africa will be buried along with its leader. While many will say it certainly did not seem so judging by the turnout of mourners at Terre’Blanche’s funeral and the kind of racist and threatening statements many of them made to the media, they constitute a very small minority. At the very most, they represent 0.2% of all white South Africans, but closer to 0.1% – which is 0.01% of the total population. Now missing the charismatic leadership and oratory skills of Terre’Blanche, they are not likely to go anywhere or play any significant role in the future. The events of these past two weeks have put these players from both extremes in their proper perspective.
There is also opportunity to be found in these tragic developments, namely the opportunity for moderate, sensible and peace-loving South Africans of all races to unite and seize back the middle ground and to denounce racism and extremism in any from. Failure to do so will leave space for the resurgence of radicalism and polarisation. Should this be allowed to happen, it eventually could prove near impossible for any government, let alone the current one, to extricate South Africa from such a doomful scenario.
The country has done remarkably well in the situation to date, but the danger is not over. In its reaction to the Terre’Blanche murder, the South African Institute of Race Relations via a statement by its deputy chief executive officer Frans Cronje said: “The failure of sensible South Africans to take back the racial middle ground in the country will be serious. Polarisation will beget further conflict and a hardening of attitudes on all sides. This is perhaps the greatest leadership test that the current government has faced and one they cannot afford to fail.”
Africa: South Africa, Kazakhstan Offer Examples for Nuclear Disarmament
Stephen E. Kaufman/America.gov (Washington, DC) /allafrica.com/13 April 2010
The Obama administration praised South Africa and Kazakhstan as examples of nations that have given up their nuclear weapon capabilities and achieved greater security and stability as a result.
President Obama met separately with South African President Jacob Zuma and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the eve of the April 12-13 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
In remarks with Zuma April 11, Obama said South Africa “has special standing in being a moral leader” on the nuclear issue.
“South Africa is singular in having had a nuclear weapon program; had moved forward on it, and then decided this was not the right path; dismantled it; and has been a strong, effective leader in the international community around nonproliferation issues,” the president said.
South Africa can help “guide other countries down a similar direction of nonproliferation,” Obama said.
In an April 11 press briefing with members of the National Security Council (NSC), Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, described South Africa’s 1989 decision to dismantle its nuclear weapons program as “one of the most important and dramatic nonproliferation developments that we’ve seen take place.”
By choosing to meet its international nonproliferation obligations, the country “has found greater security and prosperity within the international community,” Rhodes said.
Obama’s meeting with Kazakh President Nazarbayev highlighted similar decisions by the Kazakh leader and
his country to close its nuclear test site, remove all nuclear weapons and material from the country, and cooperate with the United States in destroying any remaining nuclear material.
Kazakhstan took the decision to close the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in 1991, soon after it gained independence from the former Soviet Union.
NSC official Laura Holgate said U.S.-Kazakh cooperation has continued with joint efforts to decommission a nuclear reactor and to manage the safe destruction of its remaining nuclear fuel. Holgate is the NSC’s senior director for weapons of mass destruction terrorism and threat reduction.
“We’re also cooperating at a different, smaller research reactor near the former capital of Almaty that uses highly enriched uranium,” she said. “We’re working to convert that to use low-enriched uranium that is not weapons-useable, and to destroy the highly enriched uranium that remains.”
The NSC’s Mike McFaul, who is senior director for Russia and the Caucasus, said the president praised Nazarbayev as “one of the model leaders in the world” on nonproliferation and nuclear safety. Kazakhstan is “an excellent example” of how a country can forgo nuclear weapons and achieve greater security and economic prosperity, McFaul said.
By “giving up nuclear weapons, they received security assurances from all the countries in the region, and that has helped to make Kazakhstan one of the most stable countries in the region,” he said.
And because it gave up nuclear weapons, Kazakhstan went from a country that might have been isolated to one that is open to the international economy and is attracting foreign investment, McFaul said.
Nazarbayev, Zuma and more than 40 other heads of state are participating in the two-day Nuclear Security Summit, which aims at securing all of the world’s nuclear material to prevent it from being seized or stolen by terrorist groups or other non-state actors.
“If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically, and from a security perspective would be devastating,” President Obama said in his meeting with Zuma. “And we know that organizations like al Qaida are in the process of trying to secure a nuclear weapon — a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using.”
Many participating countries have already embraced the goal of agreeing upon a specific work plan and a time frame to secure nuclear material, he said.
“They’re coming to this summit, not just talking about general statements of support but rather very specific approaches to how we can solve this profound international problem,” Obama said.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
AFRICA / AU :
Nigeria holds key to Bharti’s $10.7 billion African gamble
By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch /April 13, 2010
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The majority of Nigerians don’t own a mobile phone. Yet it is in that country that the fate of Indian mobile giant Bharti Airtel’s $10.7 billion African adventure will play out.
Bharti, an Indian conglomerate with interests ranging from telecommunications to insurance, last month bought the African operations of Zain, a Middle East-based cell phone company that is the second-largest player in Africa. The deal gives Bharti, an operator with no meaningful assets and little operational experience outside of India, 42 million new subscribers in 15 countries and catapults it to the fifth position worldwide right from the start. It also gives them entrée into markets with nearly half a billion potential customers.
The purchase is the Indian company’s ticket to one of the telecoms world’s last unconquered territories, as only a third of Africans own a mobile phone and large swathes of the continent remain without network coverage. The timing is right, too. Just as Bharti is struggling with increased competition and weakening margins at home, access to Africa is a chance to ride another wave of exploding subscriber growth.
At least that’s the optimistic view. The Zain deal is also a gamble fraught with regulatory, political, financial and operational risk. Each of the 15 markets Bharti is entering will present its own particular challenges. Having to handle them all at once will make managing the acquisition even more difficult.
These markets are not, however, all equal. Industry observers said Bharti’s success or failure in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, would likely be the make or break of its African adventure.
“Nigeria is clearly the most valuable asset they’re acquiring because of the size of the population and the low penetration rate. It’s the only market where Bharti can start to imagine the kind of growth they’re used to in their home market,” said Nick Jotischky, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms.
“So it is crucial they succeed there.”
Nigeria: a test for Bharti’s business model
In Nigeria, however, Bharti won’t enjoy the leading position it’s used to back home.
In fact, with a market share of 20%, according to Informa, it will be the country’s third-largest player, behind South Africa’s MTN Group /quotes/comstock/!mtn (ZA:MTN 11,225, +50.00, +0.45%) and West African specialist Globacom. It will also need to fend off a bevy of smaller players, for Nigeria has a total of 11 operators currently battling it out for the 55% of the population — roughly 68 million people — who still don’t own a mobile phone.
Not only is Nigeria a crowded market, but it is also already causing regulatory headaches for Bharti because of a dispute over the minority ownership of the Zain assets it’s acquired there.
Once regulatory issues have been ironed out, however, Bharti has several key cards to play in Nigeria, analysts said.
Its most powerful, they explained, is a business model — honed over years of operations in India — that allows it to make a profit from customers spending as little as $5 a month, and based on two main principles: outsourcing of all activities except sales and marketing and network sharing.
“Bharti’s business model in India is high volume low cost,” explained Gartner’s Mumbai-based Kamlesh Bhatia. “They have outsourced most operations, including IT and network management and they share infrastructure, like towers, with other operators. They will seek similar economies of scale with vendors in Africa”
Infrastructure sharing, widespread in India, could quickly take off in Africa, too, where the cost of expanding cellular coverage through an often rough and sparsely-populated landscape has left many rural areas isolated.
Overall Bharti’s business model will likely need only minor tweaks in Africa, said Bhavya Khanna, a Singapore-based analyst with ABI Research, noting that it shares many features with India, including a similar income profile, a largely rural population with concentrations around some urban megacities and an overwhelming preference for prepaid mobile access.
And where the tweaks are needed, it’s likely they will be identified quickly. Bharti is used to operating in a complex environment thanks to its experience dealing with India’s 22 different telecom circles, or regions, with very different characteristics.
“Bharti comes with 10 years of experience of delivering a single service across fragmented cultural and geographic boundaries; an experience that many other single nation operators may not possess,” Khanna said.
At the end of the third quarter, Bharti, headed by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, had a total of 122 million subscribers in India, spending, on average, $4.90 a month. Bharti also operates in Sri Lanka and has recently acquired operations in Bangladesh.
Lower prices, new services
Perhaps the biggest advantage of Bharti’s low-cost model is that it allows it to wage a price war on its competitors, should it decide to.
“I would suspect that Bharti will think there’s room to lower prices. Prices are generally higher in Africa than they are in India. I would expect them to be aggressive there,” said Informa’s Jotischky.
Network reliability, branding and customer service, the three key attributes of Bharti in India, are likely to constitute the other branches of its strategy to gain market share.
One of the services it will likely highlight in Nigeria is a mobile banking product that allows subscribers to transfer money by text message.
Zain’s service, which is called Zap and has built up a following in Kenya, will likely be advertised more heavily and introduced in new markets once Bharti takes over, said Howard Wilcox, a senior analyst at Juniper Research.
And with a number of new subsea cables connecting the continent soon, Bharti may also decide to expand from running a mobile operation into data and broadband services, since it has experience in that business back home, said Said Irfan, analyst at IDC.
Consolidation likely across Africa
Although Nigeria is likely to capture the bulk of Bharti’s energies at first, the operator will quickly need to make decisions about its strategy in its other markets, especially considering seven out of 15 reported losses in the third quarter.
In some, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Niger, Congo, Chad and Gabon, it is the market leader. In Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Burkina Faso it’s no. 2, in Sierra Leone it ranks third and in Ghana fourth, according to data provided by Informa.
Bharti’s position in each market, the profitability of its operations and the number of rivals, will determine its strategy. But it is likely that in the consolidation game just starting across the continent, it will try to acquire, but also divest assets.
“I wouldn’t expect those 15 markets to look nearly the same come two to three years’ time,” said Jotischky, who predicted that the Sierra Leone business could be sold, as well as Gabon, if regulatory issues there persist.
Finding an acquirer for some of its assets shouldn’t be too hard, as many telecom operators, particularly from India and China, are eager for a piece of the action in Africa. In February, a consortium involving China Unicom /quotes/comstock/13*!chu/quotes/nls/chu (CHU 11.66, -0.39, -3.24%) bid $2.5 billion for the former state telecoms monopoly in Nigeria.
Overall, analysts said Bharti probably has two years to sort out the African business, with some operations, such as Kenya and Uganda, where it’s been loss-making for years, requiring urgent attention.
“I think the focus will be on improving competitive position and operational efficiency in the five markets, Nigeria, U
ganda, Kenya, Ghana and Madagascar, which together account for 60% of the population of the 15 countries in which it operates but only 39% of earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization,” said Piyush Choudhary, analyst at Indiabulls Securities.
But at least after years of trying to gain access to Africa, Bharti has more than a toe in, though Zain wasn’t its first choice.
The Indian group tried twice to tie up with MTN, the continent’s biggest player, but the merger failed over regulatory issues. It preferred MTN because it’s much larger, with operations in 21 countries, and is a leader in five of the meatier markets.
While it was criticized after closing the Zain deal for perhaps paying too much for the assets, industry experts said it was too early to tell.
“We don’t know yet. We will know in three years. It’s a number’s game. And knowing Bharti, they’ve certainly done the math,” said Jotischky.
Aude Lagorce is a senior correspondent for MarketWatch in London.
Gates Foundation Stops Grant to Canadian Research Center
By DUFF WILSON/ www.nytimes.com/Published: April 13, 2010
The Gates Foundation has withdrawn a $5.2 million grant to a Canadian research center for planned tobacco control work in Africa, after learning that the chairwoman of the center’s board was also a board member for a unit of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies.
Officials said antitobacco activists discovered last month that the executive, Barbara J. McDougall, who has headed the board of governors at the Canadian International Development Research Center since 2007, has also been serving since 2004 on the board of Imperial Tobacco Canada, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.
The tobacco company affiliation, listed on Ms. McDougall’s law firm biography, had not been included on news releases about her appointment to the research center, which reports to Canada’s parliament and provides financing for tobacco control and other work. Apparently, tobacco industry opponents had not made the connection until recently.
“We are deeply disappointed by this revelation and feel this conflict is unacceptable as we work to support meaningful tobacco control programs in Africa,” Kate Teela, a program officer with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote in an e-mail message to African alliance members last weekend.
Antitobacco activists said the action came after the African Tobacco Control Alliance threatened to withdraw from a planned meeting of tobacco experts throughout Africa in Senegal next week. The Canadian research center was to be a co-host of the meeting, paying its share of the costs from the Gates Foundation grant. Without that money, the meeting’s status was unclear Monday.
The Gates Foundation, which is based in Seattle, finances many international health and antitobacco programs. It withdrew its grant to the Canadian center on Friday, but the action was not made public until Monday through news releases by the foundation and other groups.
The Canadian research center said in a statement Monday that it “understands and respects” the grant’s withdrawal but was disappointed. The statement, from a spokeswoman, Angela Prokopiak, said the center would continue working on tobacco control in other ways and was still receiving Gates funds for other ventures. Ms. McDougall, a former member of parliament, did not return telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment Monday. She currently works for a Toronto law firm.
Rachel Kitonyo, chairwoman of the African Tobacco Control Alliance, praised the Gates Foundation.
“This is clear conflict of interest and we find it deplorable,” she said in a statement Monday. Ms. Kitonyo said the African alliance was concerned with interference from the tobacco industry as it “seeks to avoid, delay, dilute and defeat laws and policies designed to reduce tobacco use.”
Imperial is the largest tobacco company in Canada. Its owner, British American, had worldwide sales last year of $21.8 billion and profits of $6.3 billion. Its revenue and profit in a region combining Africa and the Middle East were about 15 percent of its total but grew faster than in any other region last year, a company report showed.
Gigi Kellett, a spokeswoman for Corporate Accountability International, a nonprofit corporate watchdog group based in Boston, said the dual roles violated a global tobacco treaty signed by Canada and about 160 other countries.
The treaty, endorsed by the World Health Organization, cites an “irreconcilable conflict” between tobacco and health interests. A treaty guideline says signatories “should not allow any person employed by the tobacco industry or any entity working to further its interests to be a member of any government body, committee or advisory group that sets or implements tobacco control or public health policy.”
In the United States, the treaty was signed by President Bush in 2004 but was not sent to the Senate for ratification. President Obama has said he would push for its ratification but has set no date to send it to the Senate.
If that occurs, the recently established Center for Tobacco Products, part of the Food and Drug Administration, may run afoul of the industry conflict section of the treaty. Three tobacco industry representatives sit as nonvoting members on a 12-member scientific advisory committee to the F.D.A.
Mogadishu fighting kills civilians
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 /english.aljazeera.net/Source: Agencies
More than 20 people have reportedly been killed in violence in Mogadishu as African Union and Somali forces clashed with anti-government fighters, police and medical services sources said.
At least 13 people were killed in fighting after mortars were fired at the airport, while another six people died in when two roadside bombs exploded.
The mortars were at the city’s airport and the presidential palace from the crowded Bakara market area, prompting African Union (AU) peacekeepers to respond with shellfire.
The anti-government fighters carried out the shelling while a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the country’s national army was taking place at the airport.
“We have so far carried out 13 dead civilians and over 30 who were injured. The death toll is higher and we are busy collecting casualties,” Ali Muse, an ambulance service official, said.
In another statement, Muse said: “Several children are among the dead.”
He described the shelling as the “worst in months.
The president, the prime minister, the parliament speaker, the country’s chief of staff, the police chief and other senior government officials were attending the ceremony during the attack.
Somali government officials confirmed the shelling but declined to give details.
The two remote-controlled roadside bombs targeted an AU convoy, but killed four civilians and two police officers, police and residents said.
“The first bomb nearly hit the AU’s last car,” Nur Salad, a Somali police officer, told Reuters news agency.
“Some policemen and residents ran to the scene, and then the next bomb exploded killing these people.”
Somalia’s fragile government controls just a few blocks in the capital while al-Shabab fighters, who have vowed to topple the UN-backed administration, and other armed groups control much of southern and central Somalia.
The government has said for several months that it plans to launch a major offensive against al-Shabab, which has professed loyalty to al-Qaeda.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled the fighting in Mogadishu.
Fears raised as four AU-UN peacekeepers go missing in Sudan’s Darfur region
www.un.org/13 April 2010
12 April 2010 – Four peacekeepers serving with the joint African Union-United Nations force in the western Sudanese region of Darfur have not been seen or heard from in more than 24 hours, sparking serious concerns over the welfare of the group.
The blue helmets were last seen about 4 p.m. local time yesterday as they departed their team site close to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. They had been headed on a seven-kilometre journey towards their private accommodation but never reached their destination.
The peacekeeping operation, known as UNAMID, issued a statement today saying it had mobilized its resources in the region, a remote and war-scarred area on the country’s western flank, to search for the missing staff.
The mission said it is also working closely with the Sudanese Government and local authorities in a bid to locate the peacekeepers.
“There have been no sightings of our staff and we are deeply concerned for their will-being,” said Ibrahim Gambari, the head of UNAMID and the Joint Special Representative of the AU and UN in Darfur, which has been beset by conflict since 2003. UNAMID has been in place in the region since the start of 2008.
The disappearance of the peacekeepers has occurred as millions of Sudanese go to the polls to vote in the first presidential and parliamentary elections in 24 years. Voting began yesterday and is expected to continue for several days this week.
Last week the European Union announced it was withdrawing its observers from Darfur because of security concerns, and there have been tensions between Government and opposition activists during the election campaign.
UN /ONU :
Terrorists are a greater nuclear threat to the world than rogue states, Obama tells summit
By Mail Foreign Service/www.dailymail.co.uk/ 13th April 2010
Terrorists present the greatest nuclear threat to the world, Barack Obama has said.
The U.S. President spoke ahead of an historic nuclear summit he is hosting over Washington in the next two days – the next step in his mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
States like Iran and North Korea – neither of whom were invited to the gathering of 47 world leaders – will be top of the agenda.
However it was not the Islamic Republic but terror organisations that present the biggest threat, Mr Obama said ahead of the conference.
‘If al Qaeda acquired nuclear weapons it would have no compunction at using them,’ he said.
”The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon,’ Mr Obama said.
‘This is something that could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come.
‘If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications… would be devastating,’ the president said.
He said other world leaders offered ‘very specific approaches to how we can solve this profound international problem’.
The Nuclear Security Summit of more than 40 world leaders in Washington this week is aimed at securing ‘loose nuclear material’, Mr Obama said. He held one-on-one meetings yesterday with several of those leaders.
Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that the gathering would be the largest assembly of world leaders hosted by an American president since the 1945 San Francisco conference that founded the United Nations.
Mr Obama singled out South Africa for giving up its nuclear programme, and said it ‘has been a strong, effective leader in the international community on nonproliferation issues. South Africa has special standing in being a moral leader on this issue’.
South African President Jacob Zuma was among the leaders Mr Obama met with at Blair House, across from the White House. Others included Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
‘I feel very good at this stage in the degree of commitment and a sense of urgency that I have seen from the world leaders so far on this issue,’ Mr Obama said.
‘We think we can make enormous progress on this, and this then becomes part and parcel of the broader focus that we’ve had over the last several weeks.’
Iran and North Korea, meanwhile, were not invited because they are viewed as violators of the nonproliferation agreement. Syria was left off the invitation list because the U.S. believes Damascus also has nuclear ambitions.
Israel also said last week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not attend the conference as planned. Insiders said he was worried Turkey and Egypt would use the summit to challenge him over his country’s nuclear arsenal, which the Jewish state never has acknowledged. In Netanyahu’s absence, Israel will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor.
Obama will seek to build momentum with China in his push for sanctions on Iran and will hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
In the one-on-one meeting with Hu, Obama hopes to cement China’s commitment to help ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program after Beijing agreed to join serious talks about possible new U.N. sanctions on Tehran.
The two leaders will also try to nurture a thaw in Sino-U.S. relations after tensions spiked in recent months over a range of issues. Financial markets will be seeking further signs of China giving ground over its currency valuation.
With Obama pushing to get new sanctions in place against Iran within weeks, China — after months of delay — reluctantly agreed to join in crafting a U.N. resolution. But Obama has yet to completely overcome Beijing’s skepticism.
The West wants to deter what it sees as a covert drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, while Tehran says it has only peaceful intentions, focused on generation of electricity.
Still, nuclear-defiant Iran will be the summit’s sub-text.
Last Thursday, Mr Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that reduces each side’s deployed nuclear arsenal to 1,550 weapons.
Earlier in the week, Mr Obama approved a new nuclear policy for the United States, vowing to reduce America’s nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests and not use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.
Mr Obama said securing loose nuclear arms is ‘a central part of the process, but probably the most urgent one and the one we are most concerned with in the short term’.
After his remarks, Mr Obama met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. The White House said Mr Obama praised Pakistan for its quick reaction to an attack by Islamic militants against a US consulate in northwestern Pakistan last week.
Mr Obama also reiterated that the US and Pakistan are facing a common enemy.
Pakistan has a troubled history with the United States, and anti-American sentiment runs high among ordinary Pakistanis.
US leaders go out of their way to assure Pakistan that the United States will not walk away from the improving relationship with Pakistan, and Congress has committed billions in new aid to the country.
Regarding the purpose of the summit, the White House said Mr Gilani assured Mr Obama that Pakistan takes nuclear security seriously and has appropriate safeguards in place.
Mr Obama wrapped up yesterday’s schedule by meeting with acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan before returning to the White House.
The Washington conference is the fourth leg of Obama’s campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons, which have been used only by the United States to force a Japanese surrender in World War II.
The high-flown goal, which the president admits will probably not be met in his lifetime, began a year ago in Prague when he laid out plans for significant nuclear reductions.
Give girls a chance
13042010/thecitizen.co.tz
Two have made it since the United Nations, in its midpoint implementation report of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), concluded that most African countries were going to miss set targets.
The goals, arrived at in 2000, aimed to improve living standards, especially in poor countries around the world. They also set out to advocate education, environment and, above all, gender equality. If achieved, the world should be free of extreme poverty, come 2015.
However, media reports express doubts on some of these goals – especially the whole issue about gender equality in education.
That child marriages is on the rise – and here we are referring to girls – leaves a lot to be desired as far as the future of this country is concerned.
Having parents – in this 21st century – still thinking that girls have no place in meaningful development agenda by forcing them into early marriages isn’t doing this country any good.
These acts, however, reflect the level of poverty amidst our society. In the West, this is not the case as both boys and girls get equal opportunities.
While more education is needed to enlighten parents, especially in rural Tanzania, similar efforts have to be done in ensuring that all forms of poverty are reduced to make families think about long-term plans for their children.
And there are many dividends in doing just that. As Tanzanians, we have some of the best examples in the region that, given a chance, women can do well not only in our country but also internationally. The likes of UN deputy secretary Dr Asha-Rose Migiro and UN Habitat director Prof Tibaijuka are but two examples of women who have proved that their parents did the right thing in educating them.
And we have a lot more examples, both at international levels and domestically, to prove that education gives a better chance for girls to succeed than early marriages.
The specter of world boycotts and sanctions hangs over Israel
April 13, 2010/By michael payne /opednews.com
Permalink
For OpEdNews: – Writer
While not widely publicized, a movement is underway as a growing number of nations are taking steps to counter Israel’s aggressive military actions and suppression of the Palestinian people. Might such boycotts actually work; is there any precedent for such a world boycott against any nation in modern history? Yes, it happened when nations of the world finally had seen enough of South Africa’s decades-long system of apartheid and suppression; a world boycott followed and, eventually, that nation was forced to change its out-dated policies.
For those unaware of that important historical event here, in a nutshell, is what took place. South Africa’s system of apartheid involved the segregation and suppression of its black population. The world had watched the cruel and often violent actions by this government with great trepidation, disgust and sympathy for the oppressed and, after South Africa resisted all efforts to end the apartheid, the world responded with boycotts and sanctions.
This boycott movement began in the 1970’s and ended in 1994; individuals, organizations, national governments, and the United Nations initiated sanctions and embargoes that involved military supplies, raw materials, cultural and sports restrictions against the government of South Africa. Both exports to and imports from that nation came into play.
What happened in South Africa back then and what is happening now with the Israel/Palestine situation differs somewhat. In the case of South Africa that government was suppressing black people within its own borders. With Israel the suppression involves its neighbors, the Palestinians. While blacks in South Africa were subjected to violent acts, often very brutal and deadly, the situation has been far more serious with extreme violence and many civilian deaths in Palestine, specifically in Gaza.
It is absolutely true that in each of these situations, the people under heavy duress used violence of their own against those they felt were harming them; Blacks, tired of the cruel tactics of the South African government, retaliated with their own violent acts. Israel has, indeed, been subject to rocket and suicide bomber attacks that have instilled fear in its population. While that kind of violence by any side cannot be justified and must be condemned, that is what happens when people are suppressed, penned in, blockaded and fear for their very existence.
The vast majority of world opinion indicates that the extreme military actions that Israel took against the people of Gaza amounted to war crimes and, in the opinion of some, crimes against humanity. Even in the aftermath of that terrible, destructive “war”, Israel seems intent on literally suffocating the Palestinian people with blockades and boycotts involving building materials, essential goods, and medical supplies. UN human aid organizations have been prevented from delivering medicines, educational materials, various foodstuffs and all sorts of basic needs to Gaza. But can you believe this? Based on international pressure Israel has announced that it will allow a shipment of clothes and shoes into Gaza for the first time in the almost three-year blockade.
What are the chances that President Obama and his advisers could restart peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine and that those negotiations would bring about a two-state solution to that conflict? Minimal at best. In my opinion Israel and its government will never, of its own accord, deviate from their current policies of suppressing the people of Palestine and the last thing that they want is a Palestinian state that can enjoy the same freedoms that other nations of the world do.
Article from Haaretz.com, March 11: “When it comes to the Middle East and other areas of the world, a certain word seems to have taken over the current affairs agenda: sanctions. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using every possible platform to call for painful sanctions against Iran, Israel’s ambassadors are busy contending with a movement that is calling for the imposition of a boycott and sanctions on Israel.”
So, apparently, what goes around, comes around. How ironic is that? The nation of Israel which is blockading Gaza and imposing all manner of sanctions and restrictions on this tormented population is itself “busy contending with a movement that is calling for the imposition of a boycott and sanctions on Israel.” Is that poetic justice or what?
Israel knows what the nations of the world know; it is very poor in natural resources and is highly dependent on imports of oil, coal, food, military equipment, uncut diamonds and various production inputs. Likewise, the health of Israel’s economy depends greatly on exports of electronic and biomedical equipment, computer software, cut diamonds, foods and transportation equipment. Any kind of widespread, sustained world boycott and sanctions would have a devastating effect on their national stability and well-being.
South Africa resisted any and all attempts to end its embedded policy of apartheid but it finally succumbed to the massive collective power of many world nations. While this movement took more than two decades to be successful it transformed South Africa from a rogue-style nation into one that eventually became a member of good standing in the world.
I can see two potential scenarios evolving in this festering situation. In the first, Israel continues its current policies and aggressive actions against Palestine and other nations in the region and totally refuses to listen to any attempts to reverse its positions and seek peaceful solutions. Then, at some point in the not too distant future, the nations of the world will have had enough and there will be widespread boycotts, sanctions and diplomatic isolation of Israel. Let’s call this the South African solution, the least destructive outcome.
In the second Israel goes off the deep end and carries out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, all hell breaks loose in the Middle East and the world reacts, first with shock and disbelief, and then with a massive condemnation of Israel’s actions. Diplomatic relations between Israel and the vast majority of nations will be severed and widespread boycotts and sanctions will follow.
South Africa defied the world and the world prevailed; it happened then, it can happen again
USA :
Zimbabwe sanctions weaken democracy
If the west wants to supporting democracy in Zimbabwe, it should heed Morgan Tsvangirai’s request to lift sanctions
Marc Lizoain /guardian.co.uk,/ Tuesday 13 April 2010
For almost a decade, the US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia have imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. On 21 April, the prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, will travel to Brussels to ask the EU to lift the sanctions it has imposed on his country. If the west is truly concerned with supporting democracy in Zimbabwe, it must heed Tsvangirai’s request.
The EU sanctions date back to February 2002, when during the first election campaign to pit Tsvangirai against President Robert Mugabe, it argued that “serious violations of human rights” prevented the vote from being free and fair. The sanctions banned dozens of top-ranking members of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF from entering the EU, froze their assets and forbade the export of arms to Zimbabwe. The US first targeted Zimbabwe in 2001, in the midst of the chaotic land reform that saw thousands of white-owned farms invaded and occupied. The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act directed that the US government should oppose the granting of any loan or financial assistance to Zimbabwe. In 2003, President George Bush expanded the sanctions by declaring a national emergency to deal with the Zimbabwean threat.
Since 2008, Zimbabwe has been moving in a more democratic direction. The long struggle by Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), together with international pressure, meant that in the aftermath of a violent election campaign, an isolated Zanu-PF was forced to enter into negotiations for a government of national unity.
The power-sharing government took office in February 2009. Tsvangirai became prime minister, and cabinet posts were split among the MDC, Zanu-PF and a breakaway faction of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara. Mugabe remained president. For the first time since independence in 1980, Mugabe and his party did not have a monopoly on state power. The unity government’s greatest achievement has been to return Zimbabwe’s economy to growth after economic collapse and disastrous hyperinflation. This success means that in spite of uneven progress implementing the terms of the agreement that brought the coalition about, polls show that a majority of Zimbabweans still support their new government.
Tsvangirai has earned the right to criticise the Mugabe government. In his political career he has been arrested, beaten, and seen his supporters killed. Yet ever since he became prime minister, he has called for an end to the west’s restrictive measures. Mutambara, another former opposition politician, has also been very vocal in his belief that the sanctions have no value whatsoever. The west’s restrictive measures are opposed in the wider region. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has consistently argued that the sanctions must be lifted to allow the unity government to “function to its full capacity”. The 15 states that make up the Southern African Development Community have also been unanimous in their opposition to continued sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The opposition and the old regime have joined together to move Zimbabwe forward. The government of national unity enjoys the support of Zimbabweans and the friendship of its neighbours. Why then does the west refuse to accept the legitimacy of the new government and treat it as an equal?
Is it because the 2008 elections were too bloody? Violence after Kenya’s disputed election in 2007 claimed more than 1,000 lives, but a power-sharing deal very similar to Zimbabwe’s restored peace and normality. This cannot be the reason.
Is it because the 2008 elections were rigged? Many western allies retain power through fraudulent elections. For example, the government of Egypt, Africa’s single largest recipient of US aid.
Or is it simply because Mugabe’s regime has violated human rights? This cannot be denied, but the west is happy to do business with many other exploitative regimes, such as Equatorial Guinea or Gabon. Why no sanctions on them?
The western fixation on Mugabe’s removal is impractical. Mugabe’s most important political asset is the credibility he gained as a dedicated fighter against colonialism in southern Africa. By unfairly singling Mugabe out, western governments play into his hands.
The essence of democracy is that political power comes from the people. If the goal of the EU and US is to build democracy in Zimbabwe, they must remove the sanctions that Zimbabweans do not want. The MDC-Zanu-PF government must be given a fair chance to chart a new way. If the west cannot accept that, by what right do they criticise Zimbabwe?
Oil dips for 5th day; demand to hit record high in 2010
David Sheppard/Reuters/Tue Apr 13, 2010
LONDON
(Reuters) – Oil fell for a fifth straight session to below $84 on Tuesday, almost erasing April’s gains, as a forecast increase in U.S. crude stocks highlighted rising supplies and weak demand in the world’s largest energy consumer.
China
But prices were supported by the latest forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that predicts world demand will rebound this year to hit its highest ever annual level.
U.S. crude oil for May delivery slid 49 cents to $83.85 a barrel by 1104 GMT, down 4 percent from an 18-month high of $87.09 hit last week.
Brent crude oil, the benchmark for the Atlantic basin and most of Europe, Africa and Asia, held the premium gained over U.S. crude on Monday for the first time this year, but dipped by 7 cents to $84.70 a barrel.
“The market is turning back into consolidation mode,” Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Graber said.
“There have been fundamental improvements, but the last two weeks have not really shown that much improvement to warrant the strong move higher. There is not a lot of fresh impulse to push prices further.”
U.S. crude inventories probably rose for the 11th straight week, a Reuters survey showed ahead of an industry report later on Tuesday, climbing by 1.6 million barrels in the seven days to April 9. Supplies of distillates, including heating oil and diesel are predicted to have climbed 1 million barrels, though gasoline stocks were expected to have fallen by 700,000 barrels.
2010 OIL DEMAND HIGHEST EVER
While crude oil stockpiles have been mounting in the United States, global oil demand is still expected to rebound sharply this year after falling since its previous peak in 2007.
The IEA said on Tuesday average global oil demand will hit a record high of 86.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, as rapid growth of 1.67 million bpd wipes out two years of falling consumption caused by higher prices and the economic crisis.
The Paris-based adviser to 28 industrialized nations raised its demand forecast by 100,000 bpd from its previous estimate, though high stock levels and rising output from OPEC members and other countries is expected to keep the market relatively well balanced in the coming months.
“There are signs of oil demand picking up in North America and the Pacific, Asia and the Middle East although consumption in Europe still looks weak,” David Fyfe, head of the IEA’s Oil Industry and Markets Division, told Reuters.
The agency’s monthly oil market report details the shifting balance in world oil consumption between the developed world and emerging nations.
While members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have seen their total oil consumption fall by 5.1 million bpd since 2006 to 45.4 million bpd, rapid growth in nations like China and India has seen non-OECD demand soar by 5.5 million bpd to 41.2 million bpd over the same period.
A Reuters survey ahead of China’s publication of its latest GDP data on Thursday showed the Asian powerhouse’s economy probably grew 11.5 percent in the first quarter. That would be the fastest year-on-year growth since the third quarter of 2007.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa and Wang Tao in Singapore; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Sue Thomas)
After South Africa’s Latest Racist Murder, ‘None of Us are Safe’
by Hillel Fendel/www.israelnationalnews.com/13042010
With at least two white farmers murdered each week in South Africa, and Al-Qaeda threatening to “blow up” the upcoming World Cup games, white supremacists there are on the defensive.
Nazi salutes and swastikas were the order of the day at the funeral of the latest white farmer murder victim, white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche. Founder and head of the AWB party that seeks an independent white South African republic, Terreblanche was buried in his hometown on Friday, six days after being hacked to death by two black farm workers.
Terreblanche’s AWB flag features a black swastika-like emblem in a white seal on a red background, not unlike the Nazi flag. Among the hundreds of mourners were many who gave the Nazi salute, were dressed in AWB uniform, and even threatened revenge.
“None of us are safe,” farmer Jan van der Merwe told local media. “White farmers are always been murdered in this country, but now they have killed our leader, there must be consequences.”
With only nine weeks until the start of the World Cup, mourners said they fear the worst. “[This government] cannot even protect those of us who live here,” one said, “so how can they guarantee the safety of hundreds of thousands of football fans? There will be bloodshed and then people of the world will know what we have to face every single day of our lives.”
Al Qaeda Threatens Mass Attack
The threat is not only from blacks, but also from Muslim terrorists. A statement from Al Qaeda published online on last week read: “How amazing could the match United States vs. Britain be when broadcasted live on air at a stadium packed with spectators. When the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands, the whole stadium is turned upside down and the number of dead bodies are in their dozens and hundreds, Allah willing.”
“It is not that we don’t like the blacks,” one AWB member told The Mail. “It is just that we want to be apart from them. We have our God and our ways, and they have their ancestors and the things that are important to them. God did not want us to be mixed like this. It is not a coincidence that Oom Gene [Terreblanche] died at Easter. He died so that we may be saved – so that God will give us our own homeland at last, so that the Afrikaners may be alone…”
One pastor among the crowd said that some ten years ago, “a war was declared on the white man in the country and nobody has done anything about it.” Another woman wailed that “it doesn’t matter who you are; if your skin is white, they [the blacks] will kill you.”
Terreblanche, a fervent opponent of black rule, and no friend to other minorities, was released from prison in 2004 after serving time for beating a black man nearly to death.
South Africa’s Jews
The Jewish community in the country peaked in the 1970s, with close to 120,000 people. Nearly a third emigrated in the following two decades, and 10,000 Israelis moved in. Currently, the population is around 75,000 – nearly a quarter in Cape Town, and most of the remainder in Johannesburg, which features many Kosher restaurants and Jewish religious centers.
A poll conducted in late 2006 found that 79 percent of the South African Jewish community said they were “very likely” to stay in South Africa – as compared with 42 percent of those surveyed eight years earlier. Today, the impression is that the older generation is set on remaining, while many younger Jews have their sights turned towards Israel. A long-standing campaign in the South African Jewish community urges its members to “go home or stay home,” i.e., to either move to Israel or remain in South Africa, and not leave for other countries. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
CANADA :
Harper to push program aimed at securing vulnerable nuclear sites
European countries balk at continued cost of Global Partnership Program while critics claim it risks triggering an India-Pakistan arms race
Campbell Clark/ From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail /Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2010
Ottawa — From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail
.Stephen Harper will push the world Tuesday to expand a Canadian-led program aimed at securing Russia’s vulnerable nuclear sites to other weak spots around the globe in a bid to prevent potentially devastating bomb-making materials from falling into the hands of terrorists.
But even as the Prime Minister promotes what some describe as one of Canada’s greatest diplomatic successes, his critics argue another policy – a deal to supply India with uranium – is undermining international security by stirring the fears of nuclear-armed rival Pakistan.
In Washington today, Mr. Harper will urge world leaders to take the Global Partnership Program, created at the 2002 G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., to secure and lock up vulnerable nuclear sites in the former Soviet Union, and expand it to newer soft spots that could be targeted by terrorists, such as Africa and Pakistan, Canadian officials say.
The future of the Global Partnership Program, which is slated to end in 2012, will be decided when Mr. Harper hosts G8 leaders at a June summit in Muskoka. While Canada and the United States want to see the program extended, European nations in the G8 are not as keen to continue footing the bills.
Although it is a multilateral program, Canada considers the program its baby: it was created in Canada, and Ottawa committed $1-billion to it over 10 years.
As it now exists, the program provides funds to dismantle nuclear submarines and destroy or lock up nuclear materials in Russia and Ukraine.
Both Canada and the United States would like to see it extended to other countries – many of which don’t have nuclear weapons – to beef up border controls, establish regulations and convert civilian nuclear power plants to low-enriched uranium, which is more difficult to process into weapons-grade uranium than the highly enriched form many of them now use.
“Pakistan is being mentioned as one potential target of this program. There are a whole series of African countries which have very poor track records in terms of smuggling, some of which are actually thinking about civilian nuclear power plants,” said Carleton University arms control expert Trevor Findlay, director of the Canadian Centre for Treaty Compliance.
Citing the risk of theft, the Obama administration is spearheading a call for countries to stop fuelling power plants with uranium of a grade sufficient to be used in a weapon – particularly in countries where nuclear material is not regulated as closely as it ought to be.
Monday Mr. Harper took a symbolic step to back that effort when he announced that Canada will start returning to the United States weapons-grade uranium imported for use at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s research reactor in Chalk River, Ont. Canada, he added, will eventually stop using such fuel altogether.
The Chalk River reactor is scheduled to close in 2016 in any event, but Mr. Harper’s announcement lends credibility to Canada’s call for countries to submit to international oversight of their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, and ultimately to phase out its use.
“We still use highly enriched uranium for some purposes, but obviously as we’re moving forward we’re trying to make sure that our future nuclear activities don’t involved highly enriched uranium,” Mr. Harper told reporters in Washington.
Critics have argued, however, that some of Mr. Harper’s policies could in fact loosen control over nuclear material, and promote proliferation. Plans to sell uranium to India could fuel an arms race with Pakistan, already a weak link in the world’s nuclear security regime, they say.
Following the lead of the United States, Canada changed its policy in 2008 to support India’s entry into the global trade in civilian nuclear materials, even though New Delhi had tested a nuclear weapon in 1974 and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Canada is finalizing a deal that would allow the sale of nuclear materials like uranium to India – allowing it to devote its tiny supply of domestic uranium to weapons.
“If Canada sells uranium to India, then India uses more of its domestic uranium for its military program,” said Ernie Regehr, senior policy advisor for Waterloo, Ont.-based Project Ploughshares.
The network of Pakistani scientists headed by A.Q. Khan is known to have trafficked nuclear-weapons technology, and the Taliban insurgency has fuelled fears that Pakistan could be the place where terrorists acquire a nuclear weapon.
Pakistan has blocked efforts to open negotiations on a treaty that would ban the production of new weapons-grade uranium for warheads – citing India’s newfound access to imported nuclear materials, aided by Canada and the United States, as a reason.
Sinopec invests $4.65bn in Canadian oil project
Tuesday, 13 April 2010/news.bbc.co.uk
China’s Sinopec oil company is to pay ConocoPhillips $4.65bn (£3bn) for a stake in a Canadian tar sands projects.
The acquisition of the 9% stake in Syncrude Canada is one of China’s largest investments in North America.
Chinese firms have been scouring the globe for investments in energy assets to feed the country’s booming economy.
Last year, Sinopec’s paid $7.2bn for Addax Petroleum, a company with oil assets in West Africa and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Syncrude, the largest project in Canada’s tar sands industry, pumps an estimated 350,000 barrels a day, about 13% of Canada’s overall oil output.
Tar sands projects, in which oil is extracted from bitumen deposits, require big investments in technology.
But the rising oil price has made such investments more economically viable. Tar sands make up the largest crude oil deposits outside the Middle East.
Analysts said that the price paid by Sinopec for the Conoco stake was about $2bn more than was expected. “It just shows that the Chinese are a different kind of buyer,” said Phil Skolnick, an analyst with Genuity Capital Markets.
US-based Conoco said in a statement that the sale still needed Canadian regulatory approval. The company had announced a programme of asset sales to raise about $10bn.
Locking down `loose’ nukes
Tue Apr 13 2010/www.thestar.com
South Africa’s Pelindaba nuclear reactor holds enough highly enriched uranium for a dozen atomic bombs and it is tightly guarded. But in 2007 gunmen staged a brazen midnight attack on it.
They breached a 10,000-volt fence, foiled security systems, made their way into the control centre, and grabbed a computer. When guards confronted them, the intruders fled. We don’t know what they were looking for. But the possibilities are all bad.
The threat of nuclear terrorism since 9/11 has prompted U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other leaders to meet in Washington this week to step up efforts to safeguard the 1,600 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and 500 tons of plutonium stored at 2,000 sites in 40 countries.
Harper gave the effort a welcome boost Monday by announcing that Canada intends to ship spent supplies of HEU from our Chalk River cache to the U.S., where it will be made unusable for weapons. Other countries also are getting rid of their stockpiles.
And with good reason. It takes just 50 kg. of HEU to build a crude nuclear bomb. And only a few grams of material are needed to build a conventional “dirty” bomb designed to spread radioactivity.
While Obama faces high hurdles trying to secure the world’s “loose” materials within four years, he is right to try. Nuclear terrorism is a real danger. After 9/11, the United Nations ordered countries to do better, but they are not doing enough.
The political, financial and technical hurdles are high. Russia’s vast inventory is a worry. So is Pakistan’s growing stockpile, an Al Qaeda target. And many research reactors, even hospitals, are insecure.
The summit will be a success if it generates a sense of urgency and momentum, steps up pressure for a global moratorium on producing more nuclear materials and consolidating existing supplies in secure locations, commits more funds to bolster security at nuclear sites, and builds consensus on minimum security measures.
Obama’s pledge to put “reduced reliance” on The Bomb, to refrain from test blasts, and to adopt other controls gives him credibility to push for tougher action on loose nukes. So does the U.S./Russian pact to cut their arsenals. But there’s a great deal more to do.
AUSTRALIA :
Mineral Deposits Limited: Grande Cote Update
April 13, 2010/www.marketwatch.com
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, Apr 12, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Mineral Deposits Limited /quotes/comstock/11t!mdm (CA:MDM 0.99, +0.04, +4.21%) (ASX: MDL) is pleased to announce that the independently compiled Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Grande Cote Mineral Sands Project in Senegal will be completed in May. The additional time to conclude the study is due to final project optimisation work. The anticipated total cost of the Project is now in the order of US$400 million (including contingencies), reflecting the increased scope and current pricing of all new equipment. The economics of this fully permitted Project (a Mining Concession with environmental approval has been granted) remain highly robust.
On account of the size of the Grande Cote Project and ongoing development potential at the company’s Sabodala gold mine, the Board of MDL has concluded that the interests of shareholders will best be met by spinning out the Grande Cote Project and financing it external to MDL through a separate IPO. The Board has mandated management to appoint advisers to advance this key initiative.
The Grande Cote Project scope now provides for the production of both zircon and ilmenite as the main products, with minor quantities of rutile and leucoxene. Previously, the focus was on the production of only zircon as the main output. Recent testwork has demonstrated that, with a revised circuit/flowsheet, a good quality ilmenite product can be produced in addition to an excellent quality zircon product (which should attract premium pricing). New generation spirals have also improved zircon recoveries by approximately 5% from previous results.
The US$400 million estimated capital cost of the Project is also based on current pricing of all new equipment (previously it was intended to re-use some of the equipment from the earlier Australian operations) and the experience gained from the recent construction of the Sabodala gold operation also in Senegal. It incorporates a 28MW heavy fuel oil power station (similar to that built at Sabodala), a rail spur and rolling stock for bulk material movement and owner costs.
Substantial capital savings are provided by the existence of significant infrastructure which is available for use by the Project. Such infrastructure includes:
— a nearby highway for transportation of the zircon to port via container;
— a railway line for transporting the ilmenite to port in bulk (although
it is anticipated a rail spur will be required at the site); and
— a deep water port at Dakar with rail access and various existing options
in relation to facilities for bulk material ship loading.
The orebody size and characteristics (no overburden, free flowing sands, minor vegetation, minimal slimes and no hard lenses) provide for a large scale, low cost dredging operation using conventional technologies similar to MDL’s previous operations. Anticipated annual production, based on 48 -50 million tonnes per annum of dredge/floating concentrator throughput, is approximately:
— 75,000 – 80,000 tonnes of zircon;
— 550,000 – 600,000 tonnes of ilmenite;
— 6,000 tonnes of rutile; and
— 9,000 tonnes of leucoxene.
Additional infill drilling is being undertaken in the Lompoul region of the Mining Concession which is being used as the basis for development of a revised dredge path for the initial 14 years of operation. Current expectations are for Heavy Mineral grades averaging 1.7%-1.8% over this period. The initial dredge path will cover an area representing approximately 40% of the Mining Concession. Accordingly, a mine life of at least 25 years is supported by the global resource.
From a market entry perspective, the projected timing of the Project coming on-stream in early 2013 is predicted to coincide with a shortfall in supply compared to demand for both zircon and ilmenite.
All forward looking information provided above, such as the financial economics of the Project, is subject to confirmation upon completion of the DFS.
About MDL
Mineral Deposits Limited is an ASX and TSX listed mining company with a current focus in Senegal, West Africa through a producing gold mine, the Sabodala Gold Operation, and a to be developed mineral sands project, the Grande Cote Mineral Sands Project.
The Sabodala Gold Operation, which poured its first gold in March 2009, is located 650 kilometres east of the capital Dakar within the West African Birimian geological belt in Senegal, and about 90 kilometres from major gold mines and discoveries in Mali. The area has only recently been opened for mining and exploration and is emerging as a significant new gold camp, with more than 10M ounces of resources already discovered.
The Grande Cote Mineral Sands Project is located on the coast of Senegal starting approximately 50 kilometres north of Dakar and extending northwards for more than 100 kilometres. The large scale of the ore body and the high quality of the zircon provides the potential to establish an operation of international significance.
Senegal is one of Africa’s most successful democracies, having gained independence in 1960. It enjoys a stable and investor friendly political and social environment. The government of the Republic of Senegal is MDL’s valued partner and holds a 10% free carried interest in both projects, which will accrue dividends once MDL has recovered its capital invested.
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by MDL’s Chief Geologist, Chris Young BSc, who is a member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr Young has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity undertaken. He is qualified as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves” and as defined in NI43-101. Mr Young has consented to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears in this release.
EUROPE :
Hijacked UAE ship heads towards Somalia
Loveday Morris and Anna Zacharias/www.thenational.ae/April 13. 2010
RAS AL KHAIMAH // A UAE-operated ship hijacked by pirates on Sunday appears to have recovered from engine problems and is heading towards the Somali coast.
The European Union Naval Force, which conducts anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, has sent the ITS Scirocco to tail the hijacked vessel, MV RAK Afrikana, which has 26 crew on board.
One pirate was apprehended after he fell into the water, said Cmdr John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU naval force. The Scirocco was observing the 7,561-tonne ship yesterday when the pirate climbed into a skiff, which then sank, leaving him in the water. Cmdr Harbour said it was not clear whether the pirate, who is in custody aboard the Scirocco, was attempting to scuttle the boat or if he simply lost his balance and sunk it accidentally.
“When the skiff sank, he fell into the water and was left behind,” Cmdr Harbour said.
When a maritime patrol helicopter flew over the ship on Monday night it spotted eight people on deck, three of whom were suspected of being pirates because they were carrying weapons.
At the time, the ship, which was seized approximately 280 nautical miles west of the Seychelles, was not moving because of engine problems, the EU naval force said.
“The engines are now working again,” Cmdr Harbour said. “At the moment we are just watching; it would be up to the commander on board to decide whether any action should be taken, and it would be inappropriate to talk about it now.”
It is the first time that a large RAK-operated vessel has been hijacked, said Mohammed al Mehrezi, the director general of RAK Customs and Port Department.
Capt Agay Kotwal, a director of Al Sindbad Shipping and Marine, said: “We are all trying to make the crew safe, that is our priority. There has been no contact. We know the pirates are moving the ship north towards Somalia.”
All vessels in the area have been warned to exercise extreme caution during the next two days.
“This area will remain high-risk for the next 24 to 48 hours as weather conditions continue to be conducive to small-boat operations,” Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, told Reuters.
An increase in naval patrols has forced Somali pirates into the open ocean, where they launch attacks from “mother ships”.
In March, naval forces and dhow crews reported a sharp rise in the number of pirate attacks. Eight dhows were hijacked in a six-day period ending last week. Experts speculate that pirates are preparing for the summer monsoons.
UAE dhow owners have responded by placing an embargo on trade to southern Somalia.
On March 29, a Seychelles coastguard vessel rescued 27 hostages and captured nine pirates. The Seychelle’s Topaz fired warning shots before hitting the hijacked vessel, Al Abi, below the water line. All on board jumped off the sinking ship and were rescued unharmed.
CHINA :
H-P Makes Personnel Moves In Enterprise Business Group
APRIL 13, 2010/ online.wsj.com
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) announced a list of personnel moves as the company slotted executives into new spots and pulled one from software company VMware Inc. (VMW), shaking up leadership at its enterprise-business group.
The world’s biggest maker of personal computers said it has tapped software chief Thomas E. Hogan as executive vice president of sales and marketing strategy for H-P’s enterprise operations, the company’s $54 billion business group.
Francesco Serafini will become executive vice president of emerging markets, taking on a newly created role that will have him heading up efforts across all emerging-market countries. He was most recently senior vice president and managing director for H-P Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Jan Zadak will replace Serafini in the EMEA role. He previously served as senior vice president of sales for H-P Enterprise Business in those locales.
Richard T. Geraffo Jr. comes to H-P from VMware to become senior vice president and managing director for the Americas. He most recently was vice president and general manager for the Americas at the software company. He is a 20-year-plus veteran of the information-technology industry.
H-P also said Doraisamy Balu, who is senior vice president and managing director of the company’s Asia Pacific and Japan regions, will retire effective June 30. Balu will be replaced by Piau Phang Foo, who is currently managing director for HP China and vice president of HP Enterprise Business China.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com
China, Zambia Sign a $600 Million Copper Waste Pact (Update1)
April 13, 2010/By Obert Simwanza/Bloomberg
April 13 (Bloomberg) — China Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. and Zambia Copper Mines Investment Holdings signed an agreement to extract copper from mine waste at the African nation’s Mufulira tailings dam project.
The Chinese company may invest as much as $600 million in the project, situated north of the capital, Lusaka, Luo Tao, chairman of the Chinese company, said yesterday. The investment depends on feasibility studies to be conducted at a cost of about $5 million, he said.
Zambia is Africa’s largest copper producer. The nation’s output of the metal rose from 576,400 metric tons in 2008 to 667,173 tons last year, according to Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale. Zambia is targeting copper production of 1 million tons within the next five years, the minister has said.
–Editors: Alastair Reed, John Deane.
Global Wind Market Going Strong at 150 GW
Market hits 155 GW, with more coming from around the world.
www.renewableenergyworld.com/13 avril 2010
Belgium, South Africa & Canada [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Global wind energy markets are expected to continue their rapid growth, with the world’s wind power capacity increasing by 160% over the coming five years, according to the annual industry forecast presented by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
The two markets leading global wind power expansion will continue to be the U.S. and China, whose markets have exceeded all expectations in recent years.
GWEC said that it expects that the global installed wind capacity will reach 409 GW by 2014, up from 158.5 GW at the end of 2010. This assumes an average growth rate of 21% per year, which is conservative compared to the 29% average growth that the wind industry experienced over the past decade. During 2014, the annual market will be more than 60 GW, up from 38.3 GW in 2009.
“Even in the face of a global recession and financial crisis, wind energy continues to be the technology of choice in many countries around the world. Wind power is clean, reliable and quick to install, so it is the most attractive solution for improving supply security, reducing CO2 emissions, and creating thousands of jobs in the process,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General. “All of these qualities are of key importance, even more so in times of economic uncertainty.”
GWEC will present its full annual Global Wind 2009 Report at the European Wind Energy Conference in Warsaw on April 21 2010, which will include a five year forecast for the development of the global wind energy market. In the past, these projections have regularly been outstripped by the actual performance of the industry and have had to be adjusted upwards. Despite the ramifications of the financial crisis, 2009 was no exception.
While in the US, the development for 2010 will be hampered by continued tightness in the financial markets and the overall economic downturn, the provisions of the US government’s Recovery Act, and in particular the grant programs, will continue to counteract the impacts of the crisis.
Coupled with legislative uncertainty at the federal level in Canada, the result is that the North American market is forecast to stay flat for the next couple of years, and then pick up again in 2012, to reach a cumulative total of 101.5 GW by 2014 (up from 38.5 GW in 2009). This would translate into an addition of 63 GW in the US and Canada over the next five years.
Canada could see a boost from offshore projects however. This week Windstream Wolfe Island Shoals Inc., a subsidiary of Windstream Energy LLC was awarded a Feed-in Tariff contract by the Ontario Power Authority to develop Canada’s first offshore wind site. The 300 MW site is located west of Wolfe Island, Ontario on approximately 48,000 acres of shallow water shoals in Lake Ontario.
“We are extremely excited about the opportunity afforded to us by the government of Ontario and the Ontario Power Authority. The 300MW offshore Wolfe Island site will create hundreds of jobs for the Province of Ontario and the local municipalities. Wolfe Island is one of the windiest areas of the province and has proven local support for wind development. Our project is close to the Lennox Thermal Station, and will offset the use of fossil fuels, by providing power generated by the abundant winds of Lake Ontario,” said Ian Baines, president of Windstream Energy.
In China, growth is set to continue at a breathtaking pace. Already in 2009, China accounted for one third of total annual wind capacity additions, with 13.8 GW worth of new wind farms installed. This took China’s total capacity up to 25.9 GW, thereby overtaking Germany as the country with the most wind power capacity by a narrow margin.
China will remain one of the main drivers of global growth in the coming years, with annual additions expected to be over 20 GW by 2014. This development is underpinned by a very aggressive government policy supporting the diversification of the electricity supply and the growth of the domestic industry. The Chinese government has an unofficial target of 150 GW of wind capacity by 2020, and with the current growth rates, it looks likely that this ambitious target will be met well ahead of time.
Until 2013, Europe will continue to host the largest wind capacity. However, GWEC expects that by the end of 2014, Europe’s installed capacity will stand at 136.5 GW, compared to Asia’s 148.8 GW. By 2014, the annual European market will reach 14.5 GW, and a total of 60 GW will be installed in Europe over this five year period.
The African wind market isn’t high on many analysts radar, but developer Rainmaker Energy Projects has started full Environmental Impact Assessments for two proposed wind farms situated in the Eastern Cape, South Africa totaling 610 MW. Rainmaker has been conducting on-site feasibility studies for the past year and plans to have all development processes completed by the fourth quarter of 2010.
The two projects are the 550-MW Dorper project covering 150 square kilometers in the vicinity of Molteno and the 60-MW AB’s project covering 20 square kilometers in the vicinity of Indwe.
“The Dorper and AB’s projects have shown the most magnificent wind regime. In terms of average wind speed, mean wind speed and energy profile, they are exceptional. During peak usage times over winter, the Dorper and AB’s projects both consistently have the profile which could almost be compared to a base load power station – complementing South Africa’s energy consumption profile and providing power when its grid is at its most fragile,” said Development Manager for Rainmaker Energy Projects’ Luke Callcott-Stevens.
A number of wind energy projects in South Africa have commenced development during the last three years, but the industry has so far failed to come online. However, the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) announced in 2009 and the proposed introduction of the Independent Systems Operator by the Department of Energy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) promise an imminent breakthrough for the industry.
The proposed Dorper and AB’s projects both have existing transmission grid infrastructure on site. Their development and operation could contribute to the Department of Energy’s self-imposed target of producing 10,000GWh of renewable energy by the year 2013.
INDIA :
Pirates hijack ship with Indian crew
April 13 2010 /www.iol.co.za/Sapa-dpa
A cargo ship with 26 crew members including 11 Indians was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Seychelles, local media reports said on Monday.
The vessel MV Rak Afrikana belonging to a United Arab Emirates company was seized by pirates en route to Zanzibar, India’s Directorate-General of Shipping based in Mumbai said, the PTI news agency reported.
“We have received information that a general cargo ship with 26 crew members including 10 Tanzanians, five Pakistanis and 11 Indians has been hijacked near the Seychelles en route to Zanzibar on 11th April morning,” a senior official from the directorate told PTI.
The ship is believed to have been taken to the Somali coast by pirates.
“The Directorate of Shipping is in contact with the managers of the vessel for regular updates and measures initiated for the early and safe release of the crew and vessel,” the official added.
Somali pirates seized 11 vessels with over 120 Indians on board during the past fortnight.
Of them, five vessels have been released along with 67 Indians while an Indian sailor died during rescue operations by the navies of the US and Oman in which eight Indian sailors were rescued, the report said.
Repeated attacks on Indian vessels had also prompted the Indian government to issue a warning to owners of cargo vessels about the dangers, particularly along the sea-lanes of Salalah and Male.
The number of attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and further out in the Indian Ocean in 2009 was almost double the 2008 figure, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
BRASIL:
Zuma to attend India, Brazil, SA summit
By: Creamer Media Reporter /Edited by: Mariaan Webb/13th April 2010
President Jacob Zuma and a number of other South African Ministers would attend the fourth India, Brazil, South Africa (Ibsa) Summit, in Brazil, on Thursday, during which trilateral memoranda of understanding in the areas of science and technology, solar energy and intellectual property would be signed.
Zuma would meet with Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the coordination of positions on areas of global importance, like UN Security Council reform, climate change, and the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals.
The summit would also be used to strengthen cooperation between the three countries, as well as to discuss how to deal with the similar socioeconomic challenges in these countries.
Zuma would be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane; Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies; Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson; Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka; and Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Minister Noluthando Mayende Sibiya.
The first Ibsa Summit was held in September 2006.
Advent raises largest ever Latin America PE fund with $1.65bn close
13 Apr 2010/Source: AltAssets
Advent International has closed its latest Latin American fund on $1.65bn, making it the biggest ever private equity fund to be raised for the region.
The oversubscribed Latin American Private Equity Fund V shows that, despite investors largely sitting on their hands since the Lehman collapse and ensuing economic fallout, limited partners are still attracted to emerging markets.
With the new fund, which is 25 per cent larger than Advent’s previous Latin American vehicle, the firm will focus on buy-outs and growth equity investments mainly in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
A total of 51 investors participated in LAPEF V, with the majority of capital coming from limited partners in LAPEF IV. Geographically, 56 per cent of the capital was raised from North American investors, 25 per cent from European investors and 19 per cent from institutions in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Advent managing partner Juan Carlos Torres said the firm is in a strong position as “the availability of private equity capital in Latin America continues to be limited relative to similarly sized economies in other emerging markets worldwide.”
Advent first set foot in the region in 1996 and has since invested in 40 companies across seven countries.
EN BREF, CE 13 avril 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,13/04/2010
