{jcomments on}OMAR, AGNEWS, BXL, le 26 janvier 2010 – www.un.org- January 26, 2010–The leading United Nations official for Somalia condemned deadly explosion at a hospital in Mogadishu that took place hours after he visited the capital for talks with senior Government officials and African Union peacekeepers.
RWANDA
S. KOREA’S KT WINS US$56.5 MLN NETWORK DEAL FROM RWANDA
26 Jan 2010/www.tradingmarkets.com/AsiaPulse via COMTEX
SEOUL, Jan 26, 2010 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) —
KT Corp., South Korea’s top fixed-line operator, said Tuesday it has signed a US$56.5 million deal with the Rwandan government to provide network infrastructure for the African nation.
The deal signed with the Rwandan Information Technology Authority calls for KT to establish a comprehensive nationwide communications network for Internet access in 30 cities and along the country’s border by the first half of 2011, the local company said.
KT Corp. said last month that it launched a wireless Internet network for government offices in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
KT won a US$7.66 million deal in 2007 from the Rwandan government to build the infrastructure for the WiBro technology-based network in a bid to tap the African market.
WiBro is a version of WiMax technology developed in South Korea, which allows Internet access at broadband speed even when a user is in motion. WiMax, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a leading next generation mobile wireless technology.
KT also has on-going projects in Africa including a $38 million project it undertook in Oct. 2008 to provide a nationwide network for Internet access in Rwanda.
It also clinched a $29 million project to install a broadband wireless network in Sidi Abdela, west of Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
(Yonhap) cg
UGANDA
Tullow Suggests Cnooc, Total as Partners in Uganda, FT Reports
By Ben Livesey/Bloomberg/Jan. 26
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — Tullow Oil Plc has presented Uganda with the choice of Cnooc Ltd. or Total SA as potential partners to develop oil deposits in the country, the Financial Times reported, without attribution.
Executives from CNOOC, Tullow’s first choice, met Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, yesterday, the FT said. Tullow’s move is an attempt to win the country’s support as it seeks to buy Heritage Oil Plc’s Ugandan oil fields, the newspaper said.
Lawmakers Urge Obama To Condemn Uganda Anti-Gay Bill
By On Top Magazine Staff /January 26, 2010
House members are urging President Obama to speak out against a proposed anti-gay bill currently before the Ugandan Parliament, the Minnesota Independent reported.
“The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 is by far the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize the LGBT community,” the letter says.
The bill would strengthen the criminal penalties for having gay sex in a country where it is already illegal. It also includes a death penalty provision for repeat offenders and people who are HIV-positive, and would ban the “promotion of homosexuality,” which would effectively outlaw political organizations, broadcasters and publishers that advocate on behalf of gay rights.
The ninety representatives called on Obama to speak out against the bill.
“Specifically, we ask that you speak out publicly against this proposed legislation to bring further attention to the issue.”
“Also, given your popularity in Africa, speaking out publicly against Uganda and Rwanda’s proposed anti-homosexuality legislation is likely to garner more concern and attention from not only African nations but internationally. We further ask that you give diplomatic weight to your call for homosexuality to be decriminalized worldwide.”
The letter is signed by openly gay representatives Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Strong gay allies that have signed on to the letter include representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Mike Quigley of Illinois, Jerrold Nadler of New York, Michael M. Honda of California, Alcee Hastings of Florida, Jim McDermott of Washington, Pete Stark of California and Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the highest-ranking cabinet member to condemn the proposed legislation.
Uganda to Celebrate President Museveni’s 24-year Rule, Says PM
Uganda’s Prime Minister says the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) will be celebrating President Yoweri Museveni’s 24 years in power Tuesday.
Peter Clottey/ www1.voanews.com/26 January 2010
| Washington, DC
Uganda’s Prime Minister says the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) will be celebrating President Yoweri Museveni’s 24 years in power Tuesday.
Professor Apolo Nsibambi said the government has successfully wiped out terrorism and improved the security situation since President Museveni came to power in 1986.
“(The) government has restored security, especially in the northern part of Uganda where Kony (LRA rebel leader) did a lot of havoc. Kony has been flushed out and important programs of recovery are in place…what is more, we also re-introduced a multi-party system, and I think it is facing challenges, but we have done it in a peaceful manner,” he said.
Tuesday’s celebration is scheduled to be held in the eastern town of Mbale. Trade Minister Kahinda Otafire is quoted by the media as saying the choice of Mbale was reflective of the district’s historic contribution to the 1981-1985 bush war.
President Museveni seized power in 1986 after a five-year guerilla war against then President Milton Obote’s government following the 1980 disputed elections.
Nsibambi said Uganda has made strides despite the recent world economic downturn.
“There was hyperinflation when we took over power, but now there is reasonable economic sobriety,” Nsibambi said.
President Museveni was recently endorsed by his ruling NRM party to stand for a fourth successive constitutional term in the general election scheduled to be held in 2011.
But a leading opposition member has rejected the prime minister’s claim that Ugandans are better off now than they were when President Museveni came to power.
Sarah Eperu, a leading member of the main opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) said the government has failed the ordinary Ugandan.
“Many Ugandans have declared it a day of mourning, mourning the glory that the NRM found in Uganda that has gone to the drain. There is nothing to get excited about 24 years down the road. Many things have gone extremely bad and wrong in the country and I think you should get ashamed to say people are happy of celebrating this day,” Eperu said.
Uganda’s media quoted Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, a former ally of President Museveni as saying the leader’s continued stay in office has created a lot of “bitterness” and “hatred” in the hearts and minds of Ugandans — a charge the ruling party denies.
Eperu said the government has failed to develop Uganda’s infrastructure.
“I have not seen even one referral hospital built by the NRM government. Not even one. If you went to the education sector for example, I want the prime minister to tell you one or two schools that the NRM regime has built. Even universities, they have picked institutions that they found in place that they baptized them as universities,” Eperu said.
TANZANIA:
Britain to oppose sale of stockpiled ivory
Third ‘one-off’ auction will revive illegal poaching trade, say conservationists
www.independent.co.uk/By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor/Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Britain will vote against the proposed sale of stockpiled ivory from Tanzania and Zambia, which conservationists fear would lead to further slaughter of African elephants, the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said last night.
After a day in which opposition spokesmen called for an explicit statement on Britain’s position, Mr Benn made it unequivocally clear that the UK would oppose the proposed sale, which will be voted on at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar in March. Should it go ahead, the Tanzania-Zambia sale, detailed in the The Independent yesterday, will be the third such “one-off” ivory auction to have taken place since the international ban on the trade was brought in 20 years ago this month to halt the catastrophic plunge in African elephant populations at the hands of ivory poachers.
Although the ban was at first successful in halting the decline, the two sales of ivory from four southern African countries – the first in 1997, the second in 2008 – are considered by conservationists to have considerably weakened the ban by reviving a legal ivory market into which illegal, poached tusks can be laundered.
The second sale of ivory, from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, is believed to have triggered a considerable revival of the illegal trade with a consequent upsurge in poaching over the past year. In several West African countries, such as Senegal, elephant populations are on the verge of extinction.
To the dismay of conservationists, Britain did not oppose the two “one-off” ivory sales, and environmental campaigners feared that Britain would go along with the third.
But last night Mr Benn took a clear stance against the sale, saying: “At the CITES meeting in March, the UK will vote against the proposals from Tanzania and Zambia to sell ivory stocks, and we would urge other countries to vote against such a sale.”
However, he appeared to leave the door open for possible future auctions when he added: “In 2008, the members of the CITES agreed to a single, one-off sale of legal, stockpiled ivory from countries with stable elephant populations. The sale was intended to reduce demand for illegal poached ivory.
“The UK will not consider other sales of ivory until the effects of last-year’s sale have been fully analysed.” Environmental campaigners fear this means Britain will not oppose a second request at the meeting from Tanzania and Zambia that their elephant stocks be “downlisted” from the CITES’s Appendix One to Appendix Two, meaning that eventually some trade in elephant products such as ivory can be resumed.
Yesterday, both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats called on ministers to clarify the Government’s opposition to the proposed sale, which is also opposed by a number of African countries, led by Kenya and Mali, who have sent representatives to Brussels this week to lobby the European Union to oppose it.
At a press conference in the Belgian capital yesterday, the Kenyan minister for forestry and wildlife, Dr Noah Wekesa, said: “As elephant poaching reaches heights not seen for decades and the volume of illegal ivory seized soars, the African Elephant Coalition, representing the majority of African elephant range states, is appealing to the European Union to take urgent and immediate action to prevent the further slaughter of elephants across much of Africa.”
CONGO RDC :
KENYA :
ANGOLA :
Hope fades for 90 feared dead in Ethiopian aircraft fireball
Nicholas Blanford in Beirut /The Times /January 26, 2010
Ninety people, including two Britons, are feared dead after an Ethiopian airliner crashed into the Mediterranean in heavy storms yesterday.
The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737, bound for Addis Ababa, took off from Beirut in a thunderstorm at 2.30am and lost contact with the control tower soon afterwards.
The aircraft was seen crashing into the sea in a ball of fire about seven miles (12km) south of the airport and three miles off the coast.
One of the Britons on board was Afif Krisht, 57, whose ex-wife and family live in Plymouth, Devon. The name of the other Briton has not yet been confirmed.
Ghazi Aridi, the Lebanese Minister of Transport, said: “The control tower was assisting the pilot on take-off and suddenly lost contact for no known reason.”
The Lebanese President, Michel Suleiman, ruled out sabotage.
At dusk about 30 bodies from Flight 409 had been recovered and hopes of survivors were fading. Among the 90 passengers and crew were 54 Lebanese. The others included 20 Ethiopians and two French citizens, one of them Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of Denis Pietton, the French Ambassador to Beirut. Her body was among those recovered.
Mr Krisht’s uncle, Mohammed Tajieddine, said that he was travelling with two others to Angola, where he had a business. The father of six had dual British-Lebanese nationality. His former wife, Tania, said that he was based in Lebanon but visited his family in Britain.
Mr Krisht owned a haulage company and has three sons with Tania Krisht: Mike, 26, Alex, 20, and Adam, 18. He also has three sons with his second wife, Ahlam, in Lebanon.
Mrs Krisht, 44, said: “I’m still praying for a miracle really, that he might be clinging to a bit of debris somewhere. He was here only a couple of weeks ago.”
The Lebanese Navy is leading a rescue operation assisted by a United Nations maritime task force that patrols the Lebanese coastline. The Royal Air Force sent a helicopter and France sent an aircraft, both from Cyprus. The US Navy’s Sixth Fleet, in the Mediterranean, also offered help.
Hundreds gathered on the seafront to watch helicopters searching for survivors. Soldiers dragged ashore wreckage, including seats.
Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, who was in Saudi Arabia, returned to Beirut and met relatives of the passengers at the airport.
“We are doing everything in our power to find survivors,” he said. Declaring an official day of mourning, he said that divers would look for the black box and promised that the investigation would be “transparent”.
Hussein Barakat had driven for two hours from his home in the village of Zibqinein, south Lebanon, to find news of his son, also called Hussein, 26. “My son was returning to Angola, where he lives,” Mr Barakat said. “God willing, he is alive. He has a wife and daughter waiting for him.”
As the hours ticked by with no news of survivors, many relatives began to assume the worst. A woman cried hysterically: “Oh God, oh God, how can I live without my son? Oh God, why did you do this to us?”
The majority of the Lebanese passengers were Shia Muslims from south Lebanon, many of them en route to Angola where they lived and worked. Shia clerics moved through the packed lounge, offering comfort and prayers. “What happened today is a big disaster for the country,” Qassem Hashem, an MP from south Lebanon, told The Times.
Ethiopian Airlines is one of the fastest-growing airlines in Africa, with about 550 flights around the world each week. One of its Boeing 757s performed an emergency landing in Malta this month after the pilot reported trouble in an engine.
Caf president Issa Hayatou defiant over Togo attack
By Piers Edwards /BBC Sport, Luanda, Angola/26 January 2010
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) will never give in to “terrorism”, the ruling body’s president Issa Hayatou has said.
The Cameroonian was speaking to assembled media for the first time since an attack on Togo’s team bus killed two of their delegation as well as an Angolan driver, while Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale continues to recover in hospital.
The incident on 8 January came just 48 hours before the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in Angola, prompting Togo’s withdrawal from the competition.
“Terrorism will never have the upper hand over our activities,” said Hayatou.
“They can behave how they want but we will never accept this.”
“It’s not the first time this type of drama has happened for 11 Israeli athletes were murdered in Germany at the 1972 Olympics – but did they stop the Games?
“The Nations Cup is a symbol for the African continent,” he asserted.
The attack also left Obilale seriously injured, with gunshot wounds to the lower back and abdomen.
The goalkeeper says he feels he is akin to “a miracle” after surviving the attack.
The 25-year-old is still recovering in Johannesburg, where he has been treated since the shooting.
Despite warnings of potential trouble in the oil-rich province of Cabinda, where the rebel group Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (Flec) seeks independence, Hayatou said he had no regrets in staging the Nations Cup in Angola.
“Why would we regret bringing the competition here?” the 63-year-old asked.
“What happened with Togo happened outside the city of Cabinda – nothing happened in the perimeter of the city, which the Angolan government put at our disposal.”
The incident took place shortly after the Togolese team entered the northern part of Cabinda province by road from their base in Congo.
Hayatou, who has held his post since 1988, also confirmed that Caf had received a note threatening trouble from a Switzerland-based group claiming to represent Flec, which has been widely credited with the attack.
“Do you want us to tell the Angolan government to stop the tournament because a little group put out a release?” he said.
The Cameroonian, whose body passed the “missive” onto Angolan authorities, also cited Fifa’s handling of threats prior to last year’s Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria.
“Fifa received threats in Nigeria from a rebel group but did they suspend the competition? No – and I went there despite the threats,” he explained.
In the aftermath of Togo’s withdrawal, after Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo recalled his players despite their reported desire to stay, Caf officials were quoted as saying the Hawks had been disqualified.
“We did not disqualify them – we simply noted their departure,” Hayatou clarified.
“We wished they would have stayed but respect their decision to leave.”
SOUTH AFRICA:
Harmony, Standard Bank, Telkom: South African Stocks Preview
By Franz Wild and Janice Kew/Bloomberg/Jan. 26
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.
South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index snapped four days of declines, rising 16.80, or 0.1 percent, to 27,080.04 in Johannesburg.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BIL SJ): Copper ended a two-day advance on speculation China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, will take more action to curb bank lending. Aluminum and lead also declined. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, slid 50 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 235.50 rand.
Coal of Africa Ltd. (CZA SJ): The mining company said it completed its acquisition of NuCoal Mining Ltd. for 467 million rand ($61 million). The stock rose 35 cents, or 2.4 percent, to 15.15 rand.
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (HAR SJ): Africa’s third- largest producer of the precious metal briefs investors on its second-quarter performance. Harmony rose 1.45 rand, or 2 percent, to 75.7 rand.
Standard Bank Group Ltd. (SBK SJ): South Africa’s central bank will probably leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7 percent, according to 20 of 22 economist surveyed by Bloomberg. The decision will be announced soon after 3 p.m. in Pretoria. Standard Bank, Africa’s largest banking group, rose 86 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 105.25 rand. FirstRand Ltd. (FSR SJ) fell 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 18.68 rand.
Sasol Ltd. (SOL SJ): Crude oil fell, erasing yesterday’s 1 percent gain, after South Korea said economic growth slowed and China’s stocks declined for a third day on concern the government will tighten credit growth. Sasol, the world’s biggest maker of motor fuel from coal, slid 2.49 rand, or 0.9 percent, to 287.50 rand.
Telkom South Africa Ltd. (TKG SJ): Africa’s largest fixed- line operator was raised to “neutral” from “underweight” by HSBC Holdings Plc’s equity analyst Herve Drouet. Telkom rose 56 cents, or 1.7 percent, to 33.35 rand.
Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:
Anglo American Plc (AAUKY US) climbed 1 percent to $19.95. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) lost 1.5 percent to $38.20. BHP Billiton Plc (BBL US) rallied 1.7 percent to $62.16. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) advanced 0.9 percent to $6.54. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) gained 0.3 percent to $12.39. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) rose 0.6 percent to $9.89. Impala Platinum Holdings Co. (IMPUY US) increased 3.7 percent to $27.23. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) lost 1.9 to $4.12. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) rose 1 percent to $37.88.
South American Dispatch: Cabañas’ Condition Critical But Stable
Goal.com’s Tim Sturtridge reports on the shooting of a Paraguay international in Mexico City plus Diego Maradona’s thoughts on his final 23 for South Africa.
Jan 26, 2010/goal.com
An ugly and all too common element of football west of the Atlantic Ocean reared its head again this week as Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabañas was gunned down in Mexico City.
The footballer who plays for Club America of Mexico is in a critical but stable condition after he was shot in the face in the restroom of a popular inner-city bar.
Cabañas was Paraguay’s leading marksman on the road to South Africa but after under going seven hours of emergency surgery following the shooting he is fighting for his life rather than a World Cup place.
The 29-year-old was out for the evening with his wife when the shooting took place. Dr. Ernesto Martinez who operated on the player said he was unable to remove the bullet from Cabañas’ brain.
“We would do more damage if we tried to extract it. We cannot be assured that he is out of danger. He is however young and healthy and that helps.”
Cabañas was visiting the restrooms in Big Bar, a popular high class hangout in Mexico City, when he was shot. The attack has already been commented on by Mexican President Felipe Calderon who has offered extra funds to the police investigation.
Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera has visited the bar in the upscale neighbourhood of Mexico City and given his first impressions of the incident. Mancera said he did not believe the attack was part of robbery as no possessions were taken. Two security guards, the bar manager and Cabañas’ brother-in-law have been questioned by police.
Cabañas was an unused substitute at the 2006 World Cup but was set to play an important role in Paraguay’s attack in South Africa. His performances in qualifiers including his six goals were cruicial to Paraguay achieving a points record in the CONMEBOL series.
The striker has also averaged over a goal every two games during his time in Mexico with Chipas and Club America.
The Paraguayan Football Association have sent their own doctor to be with Cabañas and the country’s President Fernando Lugo has said the player will recieve all the support he needs.
For everyone wishing Cabañas well they can look for solice in the near fatal shooting of former Argentine international Fernando Caceres in Buenos Aires last November. Caceras was in a coma for over a month after he was shot in the head by a youth.
Earlier this month Caceras was released from hospital, he has lost the use of one eye and the bullet remains lodged in his head but it was the best result anyone could have wished for.
World Cup places still up for grabs says Maradona
Diego Maradona has told his band of domestic based talent to stand up and be counted against Costa Rica tonight. Argentina’s head coach has stated that there are still places up for grabs in his final 23 for the World Cup and that everyone is still in with a shot of a seat on the plane
“There are players with me here in San Juan for the Costa Rica game that are capable of playing in a World Cup. I have put together a list of 30 names which I must reduce to 23 before going back to South Africa. There are some players here that can make that final list.”
The former World Cup winner also reacted to criticism over the number of players he has called up during his time as Argentina’s head coach.
“They can say that I have called on a lot of players but you need to see them in action before making your mind up. You need to see how they react to the shirt, how they play within the team. Not everyone can reproduce their club form at international level.”
During a candid press conference Maradona told how much he missed his job during his two month FIFA ban for lewd comments.
“Those two months were very painful for me. I asked FIFA if I could just pay a big fine and not have to be away from my team. The money I was willing to pay FIFA to avoid the ban could have built football facilities all over Africa but they still preferred the two months.”
The former Napoli star also told the journalists gathered in San Juan about his recent trip to South Africa and how shocked he was by events in Angola.
“My thinking about football has changed in the past weeks after seeing what happened with Togo in the African Cup of Nations. I would like to take this opportunity to express my solidarity with the boys from Togo, it was an absolute tradegy what happened. Despite the attack on the Togo team I know Africa wants the World Cup and we were very well recieved in South Africa.”
Finally, Maradona spoke about the crisis engulfing the club closest to his heart, Boca Juniors. The national coach could only hold his hands up in bemusement like the rest of us when asked about the current state of Boca.
“The great asset that Boca always had was turning problems into strength on the field. To lose Basile and Bianchi in a week is tough but it is up to the players to take Boca back to the top. Players such as Riquelme, Palermo and Ibarra must get out there and make the difference.”
There are still those who wish Riquelme would get out there and make the difference for Maradona’s national selection.
Tim Sturtridge, Goal.com
AFRICA / AU :
Liberia’s President Sirleaf Announces She Will Seek a Second Term in 2011
Press secretary Cyrus Badio said the president cited her successes in governing as reasons behind her decision to seek re-election
James Butty/www1.voanews.com/ 26 January 2010
| Washington, DC
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically elected woman president, has announced she will run for a second term, despite promising during her first campaign to limit herself to one term.
President Sirleaf made the announcement Monday in an annual speech to the national legislature.
Press Secretary Cyrus Badio said the president cited her successes in governing the country as reasons for her decision to seek re-election.
“The president did catalogue the number of achievements that have been made, including peace and security…the country now enjoys economic revitalization, including infrastructure, the current image that our country has built, but more importantly there is now hope in the future of this country. She spoke of the challenges but said now it is time to confront those challenges and who is best to lead the fight against those challenges but someone who has put in place the vision for the country to follow,” he said.
Charles Brumskine of the opposition Liberty Party of Liberia said he was not surprised by President Sirleaf’s decision to seek re-election. But he said he was shocked by the venue the president chose to make her announcement.
“The fact that the president announced her candidacy during her deliverance of the annual message of the state of our national affair is most indicative of what’s happening in our country. When the president cannot discern her constitutional duty from a campaign affair, our country is in trouble,” Brumskine said.
Brumskine said his Liberty Party will call on the president to account for every Liberian tax dollar that she has spent whether to travel around the country or elsewhere because he’s not sure if those trips were campaign trips or official duties.
“Will Mrs. Sirleaf account, I hope so. But if she doesn’t, I guess we will just have to treat it as just another affair of public corruption that remains unresolved and unprosecuted as many incidents over the last four years,” Brumskine said.
Badio said he saw nothing wrong with President Sirleaf announcing her re-election bid in front of a joint session of the national legislature.
“The president has a right to make her disclosure wherever she finds and where best to make an announcement like somewhere where the representatives of the people are based which is the joint assembly hall,” he said.
In its final report, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommended that President Sirleaf and about 50 others be prevented from holding public offices for the next 30 years because of their support for warring factions during Liberia’s brutal civil war.
Brumskine said the president has decided to sweep the TRC report under the rug because she is not concerned about the rule of law in Liberia.
“The issue is not whether one agrees with the commission as such, but they (its members) must be commended because for the first time in our living history we had men and women who were courageous enough to look at the facts and indict a sitting president. Our duty as a people is to find a balance between maintaining peace in our country and upholding the rule of law,” Brumskine said.
Badio said the Liberian people should have the final say in what happens to the TRC report.
“The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are recommendations, and those recommendations have been advanced to the National Legislature. Mind you the president has said that there are other good aspects in that report. Our people, the Liberian people will find a way out in implementing those aspects which do not violate our constitution,” Badio said.
He denied President Sirleaf’s government has failed to fight corruption.
“What people are used to in this country is arbitrariness, and that is what the president has said she will not do. There is rule of law and the president is obliged to respect the rule of law. If people want arbitrariness from this president they will not get it,” Badio said.
Brumskine describe President Sirleaf’s government as “new wine in old bottles”.
“The difference between this president and her predecessors is that she plays up to the international community. She talks about accountability and transparency but corruption in this government is more rampant than we’ve had in a long time, if not more so than ever,” Brumskine said.
UN /ONU :
Somalia: UN envoy deplores deadly bombing in capital
www.un.org/26 January 2010
25 January 2010 – The leading United Nations official for Somalia condemned today’s deadly explosion at a hospital in Mogadishu that took place hours after he visited the capital for talks with senior Government officials and African Union peacekeepers.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, said the explosion would not stop international officials from visiting Mogadishu nor would it stop the country’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) from making further progress.
Media reports state that at least one person was killed this evening when an explosion struck a clinic run by the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (known as AMISOM).
Earlier today Mr. Ould-Abdallah travelled with Ramtane Lamamra, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, and Boubacar Diara, the AU Commission Chairperson’s recently appointed Special Representative, to the Somali capital for wide-ranging talks with leaders of the TFG.
The Government’s priorities and recent infrastructure development in Mogadishu were the focus of the talks, which involved Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
The UN-AU delegation also visited the headquarters of AMISOM for a briefing on the latest developments on the ground.
Developing Nations Ask for Their Copenhagen Funds
They should receive $10 billion this year
By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor/news.softpedia.com/26th of January 2010
One of the only achievements of last December’s UN Climate Summit, held in Copenhagen, was the promise that the developed world made to developing and poor countries. The terms of the agreement dictated that rich nations would provide about $30 billion in funding to the rest of the world, over a period of three years, to help them combat the effects of climate change and global warming. Now, a group of developing nations known as Basic (China, India, Brazil and South Africa) urges the developed world to make good on its word and make the $10 billion alloted for 2010 available as fast as possible.
The request was officially forwarded to the nations that pledged the money at a meeting the four states had in Delhi, India. Representatives from Basic said that the countries that promised to help fund the Third World needed to start distributing the money as soon as possible, “as proof of their commitment” to fighting climate change. The issue here is the non-binding nature of the Copenhagen agreement. This was a widely criticized part of it once the UN Summit was over. Nothing that was decided and agreed upon in the Danish capital is legally binding, which means that every government that pledged money for the international funds can backtrack whenever it feels like doing it.
Chinese officials said after the Delhi conference that the first round of money should go to the least developed nations of the world, those in Africa, and also to small island states. The second category is the most likely to experience the full, devastating effects of a global rise in sea levels, brought forth by global warming. Already, many of these states are saying that they are losing territory to rising waters at a very fast pace, so they need to start mitigating these events as fast as possible. This was one of the main reasons why the fund was created in the first place, the BBC News reports.
This week marks a very important stage of the Copenhagen agreement, in the sense that it represents the deadline nations must respect in sending the UN figures of how much greenhouse emissions they will save over the coming years. But none of their pledges will be legally binding, which means that they can pull out of them as soon as they want to. Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that the deadline was “soft,” and that nations meeting in Copenhagen failed to achieve the international agreement required to make a considerable impact on global warming and climate change. The next UN Summit on Climate Change will he held this December, in Mexico.
Bill Gates suggests Ugandan anti-gay bill is not that big a deal.
By Alex Seitz-Wald/thinkprogress.org/ Jan 26th, 2010
Bill Gates and Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the U.N.
As ThinkProgress has noted, the Ugandan parliament is considering a draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would severely punish gay men and women by making some homosexual acts punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has done tremendous work on global health issues through his foundation — including donating hundreds of millions of dollars to fight HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. But in a recent interview with the Seattle Times, Gates passed on an opportunity to denounce the potential law, suggesting that it’s not very important:
Q: Looking at health efforts in Africa, such as HIV prevention and treatment, are you concerned about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, and have you spoken to anyone there about it?
A: The spread of AIDS is a huge problem and obviously we’re very involved. I talk in my letter about the great success with this male circumcision effort, and preventative drug trials. There’s a tendency to think in the U.S. just because a law says something that it’s a big deal. In Africa if you want to talk about how to save lives, it’s not just laws that count. There’s a stigma no matter what that law says, for sex workers, men having sex with men, that’s always been a problem for AIDS. It relates to groups that aren’t that visible. AIDS itself is subject to incredible stigma. Open involvement is a helpful thing. I wouldn’t overly focus on that. In terms of how many people are dying in Africa, it’s not about the law on the books; it’s about getting the message out and the new tools.
The bill has been strongly condemned internationally and should be especially troubling to Gates because it “in effect bans organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention,” which it considers “promotion of homosexuality.” The U.N.’s Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa blasted to legislation, saying, “The law will drive [patients] away from seeking counseling and testing services.” AIDS activists in Uganda and the U.S. have protested the bill, and the U.N. has threatened to scuttle plans to build an AIDS research center in Uganda if the bill becomes law.
Update In April of last year, the Ugandan government announced a partnership with Microsoft on a “very big project” to aid Uganda’s schools.
USA :
College gender gap remains stable: 57% women
By Mary Beth Marklein/USA TODAY/260110
The gender gap on campus — about 57% female, 43% male — is troubling, but it’s not getting any worse, a report says today.
Men have consistently represented about 43% of enrollments and earned 43% of bachelor’s degrees since 2000, says the report by the American Council on Education, a higher-education organization.
It doesn’t offer solutions on how to narrow that gap, but it suggests policymakers and educators can have the greatest effect by focusing efforts on Hispanics. Just 9% of Hispanic young men have earned a bachelor’s degree, the lowest attainment level of any group studied. Among Hispanic young women, 14% have earned a bachelor’s.
Given that Hispanics represent the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, “raising the attainment rate of Hispanic men — and women — looms as one of the most significant challenges facing American education,” says report author Jacqueline King, assistant vice president of ACE’s Center for Policy Analysis. The group has been slicing and dicing gender data since 2000.
Concern over lagging male academic achievement and its consequences has in recent years captured the attention of policy analysts, researchers, journalists and other groups such as the American Association of University Women.
In December, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said it would investigate whether, in an attempt to minimize lopsided gender mixes on their campuses, some colleges discriminate against women in admissions by admitting males at a higher rate or offering more generous aid packages.
Tuesday’s report is based on the latest available data from the U.S. Census and Education Department. For now, King says, “while the gender gap is important and should be addressed by educators and policymakers, these findings suggest the current female majority may be higher education’s new normal.”
Some of the report’s findings appear at odds with other research. Lorenzo Esters, who is heading an initiative called the American Male Imperative for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, predicts that the gender split could widen to 59%-41% nationally in 2018, and raises concerns about a broader swath of minority students.
Noting President Obama’s goal to increase college attainment, he says, “It is less likely that we will be able to do that if we don’t take a significant look at black, Hispanic and other minority males.”
Richard Whitmire, author of the just-published Why Boys Fail, says evidence that the gap has stabilized “is good news.” But, he says, the report “leaves the impression that except for minorities the gender gaps are no longer a cause for worry. … Men need those degrees as much as women, and yet mostly women are getting that message.”
King doesn’t disagree. “We say throughout the report that this is a real problem, (but) it’s a different kind of problem for different students and a different level of problem for different types of students.”
CANADA :
Flight Centre Limited – Financial and Strategic Analysis Review – market analysis report released
www.pr-inside.com/companiesandmarkets.com/ 2010-01-26
– Flight Centre Limited – Financial and Strategic Analysis Review – a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com
Flight Centre Limited – Financial and Strategic Analysis Review
Summary
Flight Centre Limited (Flight Centre) is an Australian based travel agency company with over 1,500 shops and businesses around nine countries. The company operates through corporate and wholesale brands, which offers a complete travel service for leisure and business travelers in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., South Africa, Hong
Kong, India and China. In addition to this, its FCm Travel Solution network extends to more than 40 countries via strategic alliances with local operators. The company is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia and employs around 8,000 people.
This report presents an in-depth business, strategic and financial analysis of Flight Centre Limited. The report provides a comprehensive insight into the company, including business structure and operations, executive biographies and key competitors. The hallmark of the report is the detailed strategic analysis and views on the company.
Scope
The companys strengths and weaknesses and areas of development or decline are analyzed. Financial, strategic and operational factors are considered.
The opportunities open to the company are considered and its growth potential assessed. Competitive or technological threats are highlighted.
The report contains critical company information business structure and operations, the company history, major products and services, key competitors, key employees and executive biographies, different locations and important subsidiaries.
It provides detailed financial ratios for the past five years as well as interim ratios for the last four quarters.
Financial ratios include profitability, margins and returns, liquidity and leverage, financial position and efficiency ratios.
Reasons to buy
A quick one-stop-shop to understand the company.
Enhance business/sales activities by understanding customers businesses better.
Get detailed information and financial & strategic analysis on companies operating in your industry.
Identify prospective partners and suppliers with key data on their businesses and locations.
Capitalize on competitors weaknesses and target the market opportunities available to them.
Compare your companys financial trends with those of your peers / competitors.
Scout for potential acquisition targets, with detailed insight into the companies strategic, financial and operational performance.
All reports will be updated by analysts at the time of purchase to ensure up-to-date information is included. Clients purchasing this report will be able to gain direct access to the relevant analyst regarding questions about the report.
AUSTRALIA :
Cooling bits chill Weatherford
www.upstreamonline.com/Upstream staff/ Tuesday, 26 January, 2010
Oilfield services group Weatherford International reported a fourth quarter loss on restructuring and legal charges and a 37% year-on-year fall on revenues on the drilling slowdown in its North American market.
The company reported a net loss of $30.4 million, or a loss of four cents per diluted share, for the quarter to the end of December, compared to a profit of $348 million, or 50 cents per diluted share, in the same quarter in 2008.
Revenues for the quarter fell $2.43 billion from $2.63 billion in the previous period.
Net profit from continuing operations in he quarter fell to $15.2 million, or two cents per diluted share, from $364.4 million, or 53 cents per diluted share previously.
Weatherford said in a statement for the period that it had been hit by $21 million in inventory reserves and write offs costs, $12 million in restructuring costs and an $8 million legal charge to settle a long-running dispute.
The company was also hit with costs connected to its withdrawal from sanctioned countries and its reorganisation as a legal entity, as well as investigation into its activities.
Operating income in the period fell to $41.6 million from $296.4 million previously.
Weatherford saw revenues fall 12% to $593 million in its Middle East/North Africa/Asia on continued weakness in the Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Libya, Egypt, Indonesia and Australia and despite improvements in Iraq, Malaysia and China.
It saw revenues jump 59$ in Latin America on improving conditions in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.
The company saw fourth quarter revenues rise 22% year-on-year to $478 million in its Europe/West Africa/Former Soviet Union business unit on improvements in its activities in Norway, Romania, Angola and Nigeria and the company’s acquisition of TNK-BP’s oilfield services business in the former Soviet Union.
For the full year to December 2009, Weatherford reported net income of $253.8 million, 35 cents per diluted share, down from $1.35 billion, or $1.94 per diluted share, in the year to December 2008.
The period included $364 million in severance, reorganisation and investigation costs.
EUROPE :
EU Officials To Send Soldiers To Train Somali Security Forces
www.allheadlinenews.com/Ayinde O. Chase – AHN Editor/January 26, 2010
Brussels, Belgium (AHN) – The European Union has approved a plan sending soldiers to Uganda to train Somalia’s security forces. The decision was made by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
European officials are getting increasingly worried about he stability of the region due to Somalia’s government inability to maintain authority. The region is rife with militant and pirate attacks.
The council of EU member has stated it remained concerned about the situation in Somalia and its regional implications. Therefore it agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to the training of the Somali security forces.
Spain will head the mission of 200 troops.The mission set to be launched in the spring would run in conjunction with the efforts of current forces already in the region. Currently the African Union, United Nations and th United States are bolstering the shaky interim government.
The waters off the coast of Somalia has been plagued with piracy and numerous vessels from various countries have fallen prey to their attacks and ransom demands. Islamic militants control most of Somalia. Officials say Somalia’s government only firmly holds small parts of the nation’s capital, Mogadishu.
Maritime officials say nearly 25,000 ships a year use the shipping lines in Gulf of Aden off Somalia’s northern coast. Furthermore anti-piracy task forces say the waterway also boasts being the highest risk of piracy in the world.
CHINA :
Africa rising
Jan 26, 2010/Reuters
LUANSHYA, Zambia/DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – With the stoicism demanded of all who hope to make money in Africa, Beauty Chama sits in her empty hair salon in a leafy town in northern Zambia’s Copper Belt and looks forward to better times.
World | Davos: China | Davos: New Frontiers | Davos
“We are waiting patiently until the miners start making their money,” she said, fingering the heavy gold chain around her neck that testifies to past fat years. “Then we shall start making our money. It’s only a matter of time.”
Africa for the investor is like that: a story of boom and bust, where famine and disease are punctuated by coups and civil wars. For many, its tales of war and diamonds, tribal rivalries, plundered treasuries and secret Swiss bank accounts make it too risky.
Somalia is fast approaching its third decade without a functional central government, and the prolonged ill-health of Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua has created a troubling power vacuum in Africa’s most alluring frontier market.
But after the implosion of such supposedly sophisticated or promising institutions as Lehman Brothers or Dubai World, the confidence of the Zambian hairdresser is finding echoes as far away as London, New York and Beijing.
The International Monetary Fund believes growth in sub-Saharan Africa will be 1 percentage point above the global average, and puts eight African countries in its top 20 fastest-expanding economies in 2010. Oil-rich Angola and Congo Republic will lead the charge with growth rates of more than 9 and 12 percent respectively, both beating China, according to the IMF’s most recent projections.
“Africa,” said Tara O’Connor of Africa Risk Consulting, “is the continent of the long game. It’s not perfect, but the overarching trend is one toward entrenching political stability, which then allows businesses to operate much more consistently.”
For some African countries, particularly those helped by Chinese investment and its thirst for energy and minerals, another boom may be approaching.
Investors with cheap cash needing to spice up returns in more obscure parts of the globe are asking whether Africa can shift from final investment frontier into the emerging market mainstream. Reflecting this interest, Africa gets top billing at the annual meeting of the rich and powerful in Davos this week.
“Not investing in Africa is like missing out on Japan and Germany in the 1950s, Southeast Asia in the 1980s and emerging markets in the 1990s,” said Francis Beddington, head of research at emerging market investment house Insparo Capital.
He believes that in the long term, Africa has the potential to be home to a sizeable chunk of the factories and warehouses of tomorrow’s world.
The Africa of old — aid-dependent, and with large tracts of the economy controlled by corrupt and capricious governments — has not disappeared.
But for all the previous false dawns, there is a growing belief that the continent — home to 53 countries, a rapidly urbanizing young population of a billion people and as much as a third of the world’s natural resources — is changing.
WIRED
That is not to say it will be a smooth ride. Eric Chirwa, a 40-year-old miner, can tell you what a tough year it’s been in Luanshya: its century-old copper mine was mothballed in the depths of the global slump, leaving 1,700 miners out of work and at the mercy of the banks with whom they had racked up huge debts in the boom years.
He’s been tracking world copper prices on a daily basis, and has seen them rebound: “In the past, we never used to know the copper price,” he said. “Now I’m checking the price every day in the internet cafe.”
Internet access is one aspect of the technology driving changes in Africa that go far beyond letting a miner anticipate fluctuations in copper prices. In central Africa, Rwanda — a republic more widely known for the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus — has invested heavily in broadband and is promoting itself as a business services hub.
Far more visible, of course, is the cell phone. One person in three has one: in 2007 Africa had 270 million of them, according to industry association GSMA, up from 50 million in 2003. The uptake shows little sign of slowing as five years of annual growth above 5 percent swell the middle classes.
Mobile money transfer systems such as M-PESA from Kenya’s Safaricom (SCOM.NR) have allowed people with no bank accounts — still the vast majority — to ping money to each other for a fraction of the cost of transfers or a bus ride to deliver cash.
The system has evolved to incorporate an array of payments from taxi fares to food, drinks and movie tickets, making it possible to spend a whole day in Nairobi without carrying cash. Cities, towns and villages are cluttered with billboards advertising the latest cell phone service or gimmick.
The macroeconomic effect is huge.
A World Bank study released in November suggested half the 5 percent growth Africa enjoyed from 2003-08 was due to improvements in infrastructure, mainly telecommunications.
“Cell phones have already transformed many economies in Africa,” said Arthur Goldstuck, head of Johannesburg-based technology research firm World Wide Worx. “But the cell phone will become far more important than it is now.”
Researchers of M-PESA’s impact on Kenya say it is boosting rural incomes by as much as 30 percent, allowing small farmers to diversify out of subsistence agriculture.
As browser-enabled “smart” cell phones go mainstream in the next 5-10 years, Africans will gain access to the internet-based services and information that have driven huge productivity gains in the rich world.
The determination with which India’s Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) unsuccessfully pursued an alliance with South Africa’s MTN (MTNJ.J), the continent’s dominant cell phone operator, shows the perceived value in the world’s last major mobile growth market.
HELP FROM THE EAST
Back in Zambia, where a rumbling procession of trucks laden with high explosives and earth-movers is bringing the Copper Belt back to life, the government has sold some of the closed mines to foreign buyers: Luanshya’s new owners are, predictably, Chinese, in step with another major shift in the continent.
China Non-Ferrous Metals Corporation took over in the middle of 2009 and officially started production in December with around 2,500 staff on its books — more than at the height of the recent boom.
Massive Chinese investment, in return for resources to fuel its own economic boom, has helped drag the awful roads in many parts of Africa into the 21st century. Trade with China now tops $100 billion a year, and China has overtaken the United States as Africa’s main partner.
In giving the countries where the resources lie an economic boost, China’s need for oil and raw materials has transformed them into an investment proxy for the Asian giant’s growth, and handed the continent as a whole unprecedented negotiating clout.
China last year promised $10 billion in infrastructure funding over three years, amid talk by Chinese officials that Africa can experience a boom like the one in their country. But the challenges — or opportunities — are still vast.
“In most African countries, particularly the lower-income countries, infrastructure emerges as a major constraint on doing business, depressing firm productivity by about 40 percent,” the World Bank says.
It estimates sub-Saharan countries need to spend $93 billion a year, or 15 percent of regional output, to upgrade their electricity grids, roads, railways and sewers. Only half of that is being spent at the moment. The lion’s share is coming from the African taxpayer, and even with effic
iency gains outlined by the Bank, the continent faces a funding shortfall of $31 billion a year.
Besides making China’s contribution look small, the sums — which far exceed the continent’s domestic or international borrowing capacity — suggest economies rich in hydrocarbon or other mineral resources have the greatest chance of success.
Nigeria, with its vast oil reserves and population forecast to grow to 290 million by 2050, is always top of the list for potential, despite its chaotic politics.
“Nigeria to Africa is like China to the world in many respects. It’s too big to ignore,” said Russell Loubser, head of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
“Are there problems in Nigeria? Absolutely. Are there problems in China? Obviously. Are the problems too big to force you to not look at either Nigeria or China? No ways. The problems are there, but the opportunities outweigh the problems.”
Coming from the head of the continent’s biggest bourse, his comments in themselves reflect another change. Gone are the days when it was Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid South Africa that hogged the African limelight.
Today, interest is broad.
Angola is pushing Nigeria hard for the crown of Africa’s biggest oil producer. Ghana is due to start pumping crude this year, while Uganda is aiming for production of 150,000 barrels a day by 2015, following the discovery of oil near Lake Albert.
As Africa’s top copper producer, Zambia also looks well placed: “The dollars come from the copper the miners produce,” reflects the miner, Chirwa. “We should enjoy some of it.”
AFRONOMICS
Besides new technology, Chinese involvement and resurgent commodity prices, another difference in the Africa of today is improved macroeconomic management.
Major debt relief after the turn of the millennium helped many African countries spend on schools, roads and hospitals, while at the same time maintaining a tight grip on monetary policy with aggressive targeting of inflation. Double-digit inflation is rare.
“In the past, when African countries were reforming, it was usually at the behest of the IMF,” said Zambian central bank governor Caleb Fundanga. “These days, African countries are reforming because they know that reform is a good thing.”
As well as increasing domestic borrowing and widening their tax bases, African governments are looking to tap outside appetites for the high-yielding debt that rapid economic growth is able to offer.
Following in the footsteps of Gabon and Ghana, which launched frontier Africa’s first Eurobond in 2007, are planned bond issues from Angola, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia — all switching to external private sector finance rather than relying on aid.
Even in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe is locked in an uneasy coalition with arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai, the central bank has stopped printing money, leading to an overnight drop in inflation of 500 million percent to virtually zero.
ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM
Zimbabwe, though, is a reminder of the elephants remaining in Africa’s room: political risk and corruption have not gone away, even though most African countries are now ruled by at least vaguely democratic administrations and the polarizing framework of the Cold War has gone, limiting the spread of conflict.
Africa continues to exert a stranglehold over the lowest rungs of world governance and corruption indices. Two-thirds of African countries scored less than three out of 10 for probity in Transparency International’s 2009 corruption perception survey — a big negative which continues to hurt their economies, according to its managing director Cobus de Swardt.
here
“The biggest risk is governance,” said Paul Fletcher, a senior partner at private equity firm Actis and a Davos regular whose firm is doubling its investments in Africa. “But in many respects, Africa is more advanced in terms of governance than other emerging markets, including India and China.”
A controversial oil and gas reform bill on the books in Nigeria has raised wider concerns about resource nationalism. Kenya, the biggest economy in east Africa, is struggling under an unwieldy coalition government cobbled together after mayhem and bloodshed followed disputed elections at the end of 2007.
A guerrilla ambush on the Togolese soccer team this month, traveling through the Angolan exclave of Cabinda to a soccer tournament, shows how fragile stability still is in many countries that have seen less than a decade of peace.
And new challenges are constantly emerging: for example, now Nairobi is awash with talk of ill-gotten gains from Somali pirate gangs propping up the local property market.
Nonetheless, for investors prepared for the long haul — and most dedicated African portfolio managers talk in terms of three to five years — Africa’s growth remains a compelling attraction, especially given stagnant economies elsewhere. (Additional reporting by Serena Chaudhry in Johannesburg and Dominic Evans; Editing by Sara Ledwith and Jim Impoco)
Haircare – Top 5 Emerging Markets Industry Guide – New Market Report Published
New report provides detailed analysis of the Consumer Goods market
January 26, 2010/by Press Office/Companiesandmarkets.com and OfficialWire
LONDON, ENGLAND
The Haircare – Top 5 Emerging Markets Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Haircare industry in each of the Top 5 Emerging markets (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa). The report includes easily comparable data on market value, volume, segmentation and market share, plus full five year market forecasts. It examines future problems, innovations and potential growth areas within the market.
Scope of the Report
* Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and segmentation
* Provides textual analysis of the industry’s prospects, competitive landscape and profiles of the leading companies
* Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
* Compares data from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, alongside individual chapters on each country. .
* Includes a five-year forecast of the industry
Highlights
The Top 5 Emerging countries contributed $7.9 billion to the global Haircare industry in 2008, with a CAGR of 8% between 2004 and 2008
In 2013, the market is forecast to have a value of $11.1 billion, with a CAGR of 6.9% over the 2008-2013 period.
The Brazil haircare industry is expected to lead the Top 5 emerging nations, with a value of $4.3 billion in 2013.
Why you should buy this report
* Spot future trends and developments
* Inform your business decisions
* Add weight to presentations and marketing materials
* Save time carrying out entry-level research
Market Definition
The haircare market consists of conditioner, hair colorants, salon products, shampoo and styling agents. The market is valued according to retail selling price (RSP) and includes any applicable taxes.
INDIA :
Environment Ministers From BASIC Countries Meet In India
allheadlinenews/Nilanjana Bhowmick – AHN India Correspondent/ January 26, 2010
New Delhi, India (AHN) – Environment ministers from BASIC countries i.e. Brazil, South Africa, India and China met in Delhi on Monday to discuss the post Copenhagen scenario on climate change.
BASIC ministers took stock of all issues arising from the Copenhagen Conference and steps to ensure the interests of developing countries.
The second meeting of ministers of the four BASIC Group countries underlined the Copenhagen Accord as a political agreement. They said it represents a high level of political understanding among the participants on some of the contentious issues of the climate change negotiations.
The Ministers also emphasized that BASIC is not just a forum for negotiation coordination, but also a forum for cooperative actions on mitigation and adaptation.
The meeting brought to the fore the important role that the BASIC Countries played at the recently concluded meet in Copenhagen and re-emphasized their commitment to working together with all other countries to ensure an agreed outcome at the meet in Mexico later this year.
The members of the BASIC Group have already announced a series of voluntary mitigation actions for 2020.
“The ministers also called for an early flow of the pledged $10 billion in 2010 with focus on the least developed countries, small island developing states and countries of Africa, as proof of their commitment to urgently address the global challenge of climate change,” an official release said.
The BASIC meeting followed the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference where it was decided to continue negotiations in two tracks relating to Bali Action Plan and Kyoto Protocol for another one year to lead the way to a final outcome at the sixteenth Conference of Parties in Mexico.
Gates says vaccines still urgently needed
Jan. 26, 2010/UPI
SEATTLE
, Jan. 25 (UPI) — Former Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said the global climate agreement made in Denmark in December could subtract from funding for children’s vaccines.
In a letter describing his first year as a full-time philanthropist, Gates said if just 1 percent of the international pledge of $100 billion to be spent in the next decade to mitigate global warming “came from vaccine funding, then 700,000 more children could die from preventable diseases.”
Vaccinations have prevented 1 million childhood deaths since 2005, but 9 million children still die each year, including almost 4.5 million who die within a month of their births, The Seattle Times reported Monday.
In his first year away from Microsoft, Gates has been to Italy, Africa, and India, speaking to farmers, financiers and world leaders as head of the world’s largest charity, the $34 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
While the aim is to fund innovation, the largest share of donations — $800 million a year — go to vaccinations for people in poor countries, Gates said.
In a year, he has gotten a better idea of the scope of the world’s problems, he said.
“Seeing the work firsthand reminds me of how urgent the needs are as well as how challenging it is to get all the right pieces to come together,” he wrote.
Sudan, India discuss energetic cooperation
Tuesday 26 January 2010 /www.sudantribune.com
January 25, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan and India discussed way to develop joint cooperation and investment in oil and electricity as well as gas.
Indian Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Murli Deora arrived yesterday to Khartoum met today with his Sudanese counterpart Al-Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan, to review progress on the existing projects and discuss ways to expand it.
ONGC’s overseas arm of the state-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has a 24.125 per cent stake in Sudan’s Block 5A. OVL also has a 25 per cent stake in Sudan’s Greater Nile Oil Project (Block 1, 2 and 4), which produces 280,000 bpd.
OVL, which entered Sudan in 2003, already has three oil blocks in Sudan. It has also built a 741-km-long multi product Pipeline linking Khartoum Refinery to Port Sudan.
Al-Zubair, welcomed the visiting minister stressing Sudan is opened for new Indian investments. He also praised an agreement signed last December on expanding ties in the oil and gas sector during a two-day India-Africa Hydrocarbon conference adding it can play an active role in increasing oil production in existing wells of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC).
He also spoke the growing cooperation in the field of electricity particularly the construction of Kosti Power Thermal Station with a capacity of 500 megawatts and the construction of transmission lines carrying electricity.
Omer Mohamed Khair, Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mining, encouraged India to making use of its experiences in optimizing the use of gas found in the block (8) and in the Red Sea.
India is the fourth largest global consumer of crude oil, consuming over 2.8 million barrels per day. India imported crude worth $75 billion in 2008-09.
OVL, which has interest in blocks in Sudan that give it 2.4 million tons of crude oil annually, wants to consolidate its operations and acquire more acreage in the African country.
The Indian minister Shri Deora offered Indian expertise to modernize and upgrade the Sudanese oil refineries besides training its technicians. Sudan would send teams to India this year for training in these disciplines.
The India press reported that the visiting minister raised the issue of payments of the pipeline ONGC Videsh built in Sudan.
OVL completed the pipeline connecting Khartoum refinery to Port au Sudan in August 2005 at an investment of $194 million. This included a $15 million component for financing of pumping stations etc. As per agreement with OVL, Sudan’s ministry of energy and mining was to pay back investment in 18 half-yearly equated installments of $14,134,790 each.
(ST)
Survey: India, China Top Over-Performers for Trade Logistics
2point6billion/2010/01/26
Jan. 26 – India and China were the top two over-performers among developing economies in terms of improved logistics performance despite lower levels of per capita income, says a World Bank Group survey on international trade logistics.
The “Connecting to Compete 2010: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy” ranked 155 economies based on Logistics Performance Indicators compiled from information provided by international freight forwarders and express carriers on the logistics process of the countries where they trade and operate in.
The survey’s top overall performers came from high income economies able to implement more improvements in their global and regional supply chains although selected lower income countries were found to perform better than what their income level would dictate. The over-performers include China (27), India (47), Uganda (66), Vietnam (53), Thailand (35), the Philippines (44) and South Africa (28).
Regionally the top performing economies were India (47) from South Asia; China (27) from East Asia; South Africa (28) from Africa; Poland (30) from Central and Eastern Europe; Brazil (41) from Latin America; and Lebanon (33) from the Middle East.
“Economic competitiveness is relentlessly driving countries to strengthen performance, and improving trade logistics is a smart way to deliver more efficiencies, lower costs and added economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, in a statement. “Streamlining the connections among markets, manufacturers, farmers and consumers offers tremendous growth and investment opportunities and should be a top focus for developing country growth strategies.”
Germany’s economy was ranked as having the most efficient logistics in the world. The logistics performance of an economy is affected by the quality of its public sector institutions and the streamlining of border clearance processes in agencies. Economies which reported better logistics and trade facilitation reforms compared to the last survey were Colombia, Brazil, and Tunisia.
Overall, the survey indicates improving trade logistics around the world although it notes that more development needs to be enforced to nurture growth that would significantly improve global business.
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 26 janvier 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,26/01/2010
