ANC Gauteng Branches Opt for Zuma
Geskryf deur Business Day
Dinsdag, 13 November 2007
THE majority of African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng branches have come out in support of Jacob Zuma in the party's leadership race set to come to a head at its conference in 34 days.In Johannesburg, Gauteng's most influential region, not a single branch voted in favour of President Thabo Mbeki's bid for a third term. More than half of Johannesburg's branches have completed their nomination processes. The region produces a quarter of ANC's Gauteng delegates going to the elective national conference in Polokwane.Meanwhile, nothing has come of reports of Mbeki's imminent nomination by the ANC's Sandton branch.An insider said yesterday the Sunday afternoon branch general meeting "did not materialise" as delegates "failed" to pitch.Commentators are looking to the ANC's nomination process, which closes on November 26, for an early indication of the state of the Zuma-Mbeki race.To add to Mbeki's re-election woes in Gauteng, businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has secured more presidential nominations than Mbeki has in the province. Ramaphosa has five nominations, while Mbeki and another presidential hopeful, Tokyo Sexwale, have three each.With just more than a quarter of the 354 branches in Gauteng having finalised their preferences for the ANC's top posts, Zuma has already secured 57 presidential nominations.Gauteng is the ANC's fourth- largest voting bloc at the national conference, after Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.Steven Friedman, senior research associate at policy think-tank Idasa, said the Gauteng picture was a bigger problem for Mbeki than the news for Zuma that he was losing the nomination race in Eastern Cape."This must weigh heavily for Mbeki, and surely will make him pause for thought. The question of how important it is for him to beat Zuma has to arise. What happens to his legacy? What if he ends up losing, what if he ends up winning but only by 52% or 54 % of the vote ?" Friedman asked.Another insider said that the ANC Youth League in Gauteng had been "instrumental" in ensuring the upsurge of support for Zuma in the province.The league remains Zuma's key backer, while KwaZulu-Natal is regarded as his strongest constituency.Mbeki's main support base is Eastern Cape, while his lobbyists are also pursuing the ANC Women's League's nomination .
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Food crisis begins to bite
Food crisis begins to bite
John Vidal
12 November 2007 11:59
A farmer dries the corn in Shenyang, China. The country is tightening controls on the use of corn for industrial purposes, including biofuel processing, in an effort to control surging food prices.
Empty shelves in Caracas. Food riots in West Bengal and Mexico. Warnings of hunger in Jamaica, Nepal, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa. Soaring prices for basic foods are beginning to lead to political instability, with governments being forced to step in to artificially control the cost of bread, maize, rice and dairy products.Record world prices for most staple foods have led to 18% food price inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and Pakistan, and 10% or more in Latin America, Russia and India, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Wheat has doubled in price, maize is nearly 50% higher than a year ago and rice is 20% more expensive, says the UN. Last week the Kremlin forced Russian companies to freeze the price of milk, bread and other foods until January 31, for fear of a public backlash with a parliamentary election looming. “The price of goods has risen sharply and that has hit the poor particularly hard,” said Oleg Savelyev, of the Levada Centre polling institute.India, Yemen, Mexico, Burkina Faso and several other countries have had, or been close to, food riots in the past year, something not seen in decades of low global food commodity prices. Meanwhile, there are shortages of beef, chicken and milk in Venezuela and other countries as governments try to keep a lid on food price inflation.Boycotts have become commonplace. Argentinians shunned tomatoes during the recent presidential election campaign when they became more expensive than meat. Italians organised a one-day boycott of pasta in protest at rising prices. German left-wing politicians have called for an increase in welfare benefits so that people can cope with price rises.“If you combine the increase of the oil prices and the increase of food prices then you have the elements of a very serious [social] crisis in the future,” said Jacques Diouf, head of the FAO, in London last week.The price rises are a result of record oil prices, US farmers switching out of cereals to grow biofuel crops, extreme weather and growing demand from countries like India and China, the UN said last week.“There is no one cause but a lot of things are coming together to lead to this. It’s hard to separate out the factors,” said Ali Gurkan, head of the FAO’s Food Outlook programme on Monday.He said cereal stocks had been declining for more than a decade but now stood at around 57 days, which made global food supplies vulnerable to an international crisis or big natural disaster such as a drought or flood.“Any unforeseen flood or crisis can make prices rise very quickly. I do not think we should panic but we should be very careful about what may happen,” he warned.Lester Brown, president of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute think-tank, said: “The competition for grain between the world’s 800-million motorists, who want to maintain their mobility, and its two billion poorest people, who are simply trying to survive, is emerging as an epic issue.”Last year, he said, US farmers distorted the world market for cereals by growing 14-million tonnes, or 20% of the whole maize crop, for ethanol for vehicles. This took millions of hectares of land out of food production and nearly doubled the price of maize. US President George W Bush this year called for steep rises in ethanol production as part of plans to reduce petrol demand by 20% by 2017.Maize is a staple food in many countries that import from the US, including Japan, Egypt and Mexico. US exports are 70% of the world total, and are used widely for animal feed. The shortages have disrupted livestock and poultry industries worldwide.“The use of food as a source of fuel may have serious implications for the demand for food if the expansion of biofuels continues,” said a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund last week.The outlook is widely expected to worsen as agro-industries prepare to switch to highly profitable biofuels, according to Grain, a Barcelona-based food resources group. Its research suggests that the Indian government is committed to planting 14-million hectares (35-million acres) of land with jatropha, an exotic bush from which biodiesel can be manufactured. Brazil intends to grow 120-million hectares for biofuels, and Africa as much as 400-million hectares in the next few years. Much of the growth, the countries say, would be on unproductive land, but many millions of people are expected to be forced off that land.This week Oxfam warned the European Union that its policy of substituting 10% of all car fuel with biofuels threatened to displace poor farmers.The food crisis is being compounded by growing populations, extreme weather and ecological stress, according to a number of recent reports.This week the UN Environment Programme said the planet’s water, land, air, plants, animals and fish stocks were all in “inexorable decline”. According to the UN’s World Food Programme 57 countries, including 29 in Africa, 19 in Asia and nine in Latin America, have been hit by catastrophic floods. Harvests have been affected by drought and heatwaves in south Asia, Europe, China, Sudan, Mozambique and Uruguay.According to Josette Sheeran, director of the World Food Programme:
“There are 854-million hungry people in the world and four million more join their ranks every year. We are facing the tightest food supplies in recent history. For the world’s most vulnerable, food is simply being priced out of their reach.”
-- © Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=324663&area=/insight/monitor/
John Vidal
12 November 2007 11:59
A farmer dries the corn in Shenyang, China. The country is tightening controls on the use of corn for industrial purposes, including biofuel processing, in an effort to control surging food prices.
Empty shelves in Caracas. Food riots in West Bengal and Mexico. Warnings of hunger in Jamaica, Nepal, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa. Soaring prices for basic foods are beginning to lead to political instability, with governments being forced to step in to artificially control the cost of bread, maize, rice and dairy products.Record world prices for most staple foods have led to 18% food price inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and Pakistan, and 10% or more in Latin America, Russia and India, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Wheat has doubled in price, maize is nearly 50% higher than a year ago and rice is 20% more expensive, says the UN. Last week the Kremlin forced Russian companies to freeze the price of milk, bread and other foods until January 31, for fear of a public backlash with a parliamentary election looming. “The price of goods has risen sharply and that has hit the poor particularly hard,” said Oleg Savelyev, of the Levada Centre polling institute.India, Yemen, Mexico, Burkina Faso and several other countries have had, or been close to, food riots in the past year, something not seen in decades of low global food commodity prices. Meanwhile, there are shortages of beef, chicken and milk in Venezuela and other countries as governments try to keep a lid on food price inflation.Boycotts have become commonplace. Argentinians shunned tomatoes during the recent presidential election campaign when they became more expensive than meat. Italians organised a one-day boycott of pasta in protest at rising prices. German left-wing politicians have called for an increase in welfare benefits so that people can cope with price rises.“If you combine the increase of the oil prices and the increase of food prices then you have the elements of a very serious [social] crisis in the future,” said Jacques Diouf, head of the FAO, in London last week.The price rises are a result of record oil prices, US farmers switching out of cereals to grow biofuel crops, extreme weather and growing demand from countries like India and China, the UN said last week.“There is no one cause but a lot of things are coming together to lead to this. It’s hard to separate out the factors,” said Ali Gurkan, head of the FAO’s Food Outlook programme on Monday.He said cereal stocks had been declining for more than a decade but now stood at around 57 days, which made global food supplies vulnerable to an international crisis or big natural disaster such as a drought or flood.“Any unforeseen flood or crisis can make prices rise very quickly. I do not think we should panic but we should be very careful about what may happen,” he warned.Lester Brown, president of the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute think-tank, said: “The competition for grain between the world’s 800-million motorists, who want to maintain their mobility, and its two billion poorest people, who are simply trying to survive, is emerging as an epic issue.”Last year, he said, US farmers distorted the world market for cereals by growing 14-million tonnes, or 20% of the whole maize crop, for ethanol for vehicles. This took millions of hectares of land out of food production and nearly doubled the price of maize. US President George W Bush this year called for steep rises in ethanol production as part of plans to reduce petrol demand by 20% by 2017.Maize is a staple food in many countries that import from the US, including Japan, Egypt and Mexico. US exports are 70% of the world total, and are used widely for animal feed. The shortages have disrupted livestock and poultry industries worldwide.“The use of food as a source of fuel may have serious implications for the demand for food if the expansion of biofuels continues,” said a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund last week.The outlook is widely expected to worsen as agro-industries prepare to switch to highly profitable biofuels, according to Grain, a Barcelona-based food resources group. Its research suggests that the Indian government is committed to planting 14-million hectares (35-million acres) of land with jatropha, an exotic bush from which biodiesel can be manufactured. Brazil intends to grow 120-million hectares for biofuels, and Africa as much as 400-million hectares in the next few years. Much of the growth, the countries say, would be on unproductive land, but many millions of people are expected to be forced off that land.This week Oxfam warned the European Union that its policy of substituting 10% of all car fuel with biofuels threatened to displace poor farmers.The food crisis is being compounded by growing populations, extreme weather and ecological stress, according to a number of recent reports.This week the UN Environment Programme said the planet’s water, land, air, plants, animals and fish stocks were all in “inexorable decline”. According to the UN’s World Food Programme 57 countries, including 29 in Africa, 19 in Asia and nine in Latin America, have been hit by catastrophic floods. Harvests have been affected by drought and heatwaves in south Asia, Europe, China, Sudan, Mozambique and Uruguay.According to Josette Sheeran, director of the World Food Programme:
“There are 854-million hungry people in the world and four million more join their ranks every year. We are facing the tightest food supplies in recent history. For the world’s most vulnerable, food is simply being priced out of their reach.”
-- © Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=324663&area=/insight/monitor/
Monday, November 12, 2007
S. Africa puts TB patients behind fences
S. Africa puts TB patients behind fences
Posted on Sun, Nov. 11, 2007
h1:first').text ())+'&bodytext='+encodeURIComponent ($('#storyBody > p:first').text ()); return false" href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.miamiherald.com/691/story/304151.html">Digg h1:first').text ()), 'delicious','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;" href="http://del.icio.us/post">del.icio.us AIM print email
By CLARE NULLIS
Associated Press Writer
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/304151.html
Karin Schermbrucker / AP Photo
A doctor examines chest X-rays at a tuberculosis clinic in Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Nov. 9, 2007. South Africa reported 343,000 TB cases in 2006, of which an estimated 6,000 were multi-drug-resistant. The government says that there have been about 400 cases of XDR-TB (extremely-drug-resistant tuberculosis), but groups like Medecins Sans Frontieres say this is a big underestimate.
» More Photos
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Behind high fences patrolled by guards to prevent escape, a drab building once used for smallpox victims houses patients with a new, virtually uncurable strain of tuberculosis.
Patients sleep or sit listlessly in the 12-bed women's ward, which is equipped with a TV, a fridge and a table with a couple of loaves of bread. It's a similar scenario in the men's ward, home to a minibus taxi driver who reluctantly agreed to be admitted after exposing hundreds of people every day to his potentially lethal germs.
Critics say enforced quarantine is a violation of medical ethics and individual human rights. Health authorities - who earlier this year resorted to the courts to compel four patients to stay at the hospital - say they have no choice.
"We are dealing with very depressed people. They feel like they are in prison, but it's the only way," said senior nurse Joan Blackburn.
Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta attorney with drug-resistant tuberculosis, was held under a federal isolation order in May after he went on a European wedding trip and refused health officials' directives that he not take any commercial jets back to the U.S.
"At least our patients won't be able to get on a plane and fly around the world," said Simon Moeti, medical superintendent of the Brooklyn Chest Hospital.
South Africa's AIDS epidemic has brought a related upsurge in TB cases, including multi-drug-resistant and extremely drug-resistant strains.
South Africa reported 343,000 TB cases in 2006, of which an estimated 6,000 were multi-drug-resistant. South Africa's first official case of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, was reported last year. The government says that there have been about 400 cases, but groups like Doctors Without Borders say this is a big underestimate.
Testing methods are hopelessly slow and out of date - and it is particularly difficult to diagnose TB in HIV-positive people. Nearly 60 percent of South African TB patients have the AIDS virus. Many people with drug-resistant TB die before they are tested and treated - having probably infected other people in the meantime.
"There are challenges without answers," Moeti said. "There are people who are refusing treatment, people who want to abscond," he told journalists visiting the 308-bed clinic on the sidelines of an international TB conference that ends Monday.
Treatments are also woefully outdated and inadequate. The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development told the conference that trials of two possible drugs were promising. One of them, antibiotic moxifloxacin, could shorten treatment time and the other, PA-824, had potential for drug-resistant strains. But even if clinical trials are successful, it may take years for the drugs to reach the market.
"We can't wait that long. We need new drugs now," said Winston Zulu, a Zambian AIDS and TB activist who lost four brothers to TB.
Experts worry that the drug-resistant strains will continue to spread - largely the result of people not sticking to the six-month course of treatment for normal TB.
In the Western Cape province that includes Cape Town, 64 cases of XDR-TB have been identified this year, according to local health officials. Twenty of the patients have died and 39 of the survivors are currently being treated at Brooklyn - 24 in the fenced-off ward and others elsewhere in the hospital.
They will be there for at least six months. If they are declared clear of the disease they will be free to leave. But, with treatment of XDR-TB still in its infancy in South Africa, their longer-term prospects are unclear.
The youngest patient is just a year old. Her mother died last year, before local authorities started testing for XDR-TB, although that was most likely the cause, Moeti said.
"But she's doing OK," he added, picking up the child, who was sitting with other infants. He refused to divulge identities because of confidentiality, and journalists were not allowed to speak to patients in the clinic.
The scattered collection of small buildings was purchased from a farmer in 1872 because of its isolation. It was initially used for smallpox, then for the big influenza epidemic and now for TB. Structurally there have been few changes in the past century. Although the clinic is in dire need of a coat of paint, Moeti says its design allows for good ventilation - TB thrives in closed spaces.
Hospital authorities reluctantly decided to erect the fence around the XDR-TB unit after four patients absconded. Two guards, both wearing protective face masks, stand by the fence. Any patient wanting to go to another part of the hospital has to be accompanied. Family visits are allowed but are strictly controlled.
Patients hate going there - because of the stigma of TB and its association with AIDS. The hospital constantly struggles to get staff. It was bad enough before, but the arrival of XDR-TB has made it even worse, said Moeti.
The minibus taxi driver initially refused to be admitted, saying he couldn't afford the loss in earnings. But he eventually accepted Moeti's arguments that he was endangering the lives of countless passengers.
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Join the discussionThe Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
Posted on Sun, Nov. 11, 2007
h1:first').text ())+'&bodytext='+encodeURIComponent ($('#storyBody > p:first').text ()); return false" href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.miamiherald.com/691/story/304151.html">Digg h1:first').text ()), 'delicious','toolbar=no,width=700,height=400'); return false;" href="http://del.icio.us/post">del.icio.us AIM print email
By CLARE NULLIS
Associated Press Writer
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/304151.html
Karin Schermbrucker / AP Photo
A doctor examines chest X-rays at a tuberculosis clinic in Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Nov. 9, 2007. South Africa reported 343,000 TB cases in 2006, of which an estimated 6,000 were multi-drug-resistant. The government says that there have been about 400 cases of XDR-TB (extremely-drug-resistant tuberculosis), but groups like Medecins Sans Frontieres say this is a big underestimate.
» More Photos
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Behind high fences patrolled by guards to prevent escape, a drab building once used for smallpox victims houses patients with a new, virtually uncurable strain of tuberculosis.
Patients sleep or sit listlessly in the 12-bed women's ward, which is equipped with a TV, a fridge and a table with a couple of loaves of bread. It's a similar scenario in the men's ward, home to a minibus taxi driver who reluctantly agreed to be admitted after exposing hundreds of people every day to his potentially lethal germs.
Critics say enforced quarantine is a violation of medical ethics and individual human rights. Health authorities - who earlier this year resorted to the courts to compel four patients to stay at the hospital - say they have no choice.
"We are dealing with very depressed people. They feel like they are in prison, but it's the only way," said senior nurse Joan Blackburn.
Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta attorney with drug-resistant tuberculosis, was held under a federal isolation order in May after he went on a European wedding trip and refused health officials' directives that he not take any commercial jets back to the U.S.
"At least our patients won't be able to get on a plane and fly around the world," said Simon Moeti, medical superintendent of the Brooklyn Chest Hospital.
South Africa's AIDS epidemic has brought a related upsurge in TB cases, including multi-drug-resistant and extremely drug-resistant strains.
South Africa reported 343,000 TB cases in 2006, of which an estimated 6,000 were multi-drug-resistant. South Africa's first official case of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, was reported last year. The government says that there have been about 400 cases, but groups like Doctors Without Borders say this is a big underestimate.
Testing methods are hopelessly slow and out of date - and it is particularly difficult to diagnose TB in HIV-positive people. Nearly 60 percent of South African TB patients have the AIDS virus. Many people with drug-resistant TB die before they are tested and treated - having probably infected other people in the meantime.
"There are challenges without answers," Moeti said. "There are people who are refusing treatment, people who want to abscond," he told journalists visiting the 308-bed clinic on the sidelines of an international TB conference that ends Monday.
Treatments are also woefully outdated and inadequate. The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development told the conference that trials of two possible drugs were promising. One of them, antibiotic moxifloxacin, could shorten treatment time and the other, PA-824, had potential for drug-resistant strains. But even if clinical trials are successful, it may take years for the drugs to reach the market.
"We can't wait that long. We need new drugs now," said Winston Zulu, a Zambian AIDS and TB activist who lost four brothers to TB.
Experts worry that the drug-resistant strains will continue to spread - largely the result of people not sticking to the six-month course of treatment for normal TB.
In the Western Cape province that includes Cape Town, 64 cases of XDR-TB have been identified this year, according to local health officials. Twenty of the patients have died and 39 of the survivors are currently being treated at Brooklyn - 24 in the fenced-off ward and others elsewhere in the hospital.
They will be there for at least six months. If they are declared clear of the disease they will be free to leave. But, with treatment of XDR-TB still in its infancy in South Africa, their longer-term prospects are unclear.
The youngest patient is just a year old. Her mother died last year, before local authorities started testing for XDR-TB, although that was most likely the cause, Moeti said.
"But she's doing OK," he added, picking up the child, who was sitting with other infants. He refused to divulge identities because of confidentiality, and journalists were not allowed to speak to patients in the clinic.
The scattered collection of small buildings was purchased from a farmer in 1872 because of its isolation. It was initially used for smallpox, then for the big influenza epidemic and now for TB. Structurally there have been few changes in the past century. Although the clinic is in dire need of a coat of paint, Moeti says its design allows for good ventilation - TB thrives in closed spaces.
Hospital authorities reluctantly decided to erect the fence around the XDR-TB unit after four patients absconded. Two guards, both wearing protective face masks, stand by the fence. Any patient wanting to go to another part of the hospital has to be accompanied. Family visits are allowed but are strictly controlled.
Patients hate going there - because of the stigma of TB and its association with AIDS. The hospital constantly struggles to get staff. It was bad enough before, but the arrival of XDR-TB has made it even worse, said Moeti.
The minibus taxi driver initially refused to be admitted, saying he couldn't afford the loss in earnings. But he eventually accepted Moeti's arguments that he was endangering the lives of countless passengers.
var comment_headline=$('#storyBody > h1:first').text ();
Join the discussionThe Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Crime scares French workers
Crime scares French workers02/11/2007 10:02 - (SA)
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2213702,00.html
DisplayDCAd('300x250','1','');
Robbers shoot embassy official
Diplomat killed in Pta crash
Man 'planned attack on embassy'
What's the French for scam?
France told to extradite suspect
'Chaos' at French Consulate
Pan African Parly safety fears
Crime on the increase - UN
Boy orphaned in Rio attack
DisplayDCAd('220x120','1','');
Erika Gibson, Beeld
Pretoria - Big French companies planning to invest in South Africa are considering whether workers should leave their families behind in France, due to the growing number of attacks on French citizens in the country.
Christian Bader, the French Consul-General said this on Thursday, following a criminal attack on French Military attaché Naval Captain Denis Fabré and his family.
They were held up by robbers at their house in Sandton on Monday morning.
Fabré, his wife and their children, aged seven and nine, were overpowered in the house, shoved around and tied up.
The robbers looted their house of its domestic appliances, packed everything into the family's car and sped off.
Bader said no-one had been injured, but the family of four had been badly traumatised.
'It is quite terrible'
"One expects of your senior diplomats to continue undisturbed with their work as representatives of France, but one can't tell a woman and children that they're not supposed to be upset. It is quite terrible," he said.
Bader said he fully understood the misgivings of French companies.
Preventive measures are usually considered in countries where there is a civil war or conflict - such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few years ago, or Iraq.
Bader said the families of employees were particularly vulnerable when the families were left at home alone during business trips.
Some embassies are considering housing their employees in closed security complexes, he added
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2213702,00.html
DisplayDCAd('300x250','1','');
Robbers shoot embassy official
Diplomat killed in Pta crash
Man 'planned attack on embassy'
What's the French for scam?
France told to extradite suspect
'Chaos' at French Consulate
Pan African Parly safety fears
Crime on the increase - UN
Boy orphaned in Rio attack
DisplayDCAd('220x120','1','');
Erika Gibson, Beeld
Pretoria - Big French companies planning to invest in South Africa are considering whether workers should leave their families behind in France, due to the growing number of attacks on French citizens in the country.
Christian Bader, the French Consul-General said this on Thursday, following a criminal attack on French Military attaché Naval Captain Denis Fabré and his family.
They were held up by robbers at their house in Sandton on Monday morning.
Fabré, his wife and their children, aged seven and nine, were overpowered in the house, shoved around and tied up.
The robbers looted their house of its domestic appliances, packed everything into the family's car and sped off.
Bader said no-one had been injured, but the family of four had been badly traumatised.
'It is quite terrible'
"One expects of your senior diplomats to continue undisturbed with their work as representatives of France, but one can't tell a woman and children that they're not supposed to be upset. It is quite terrible," he said.
Bader said he fully understood the misgivings of French companies.
Preventive measures are usually considered in countries where there is a civil war or conflict - such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few years ago, or Iraq.
Bader said the families of employees were particularly vulnerable when the families were left at home alone during business trips.
Some embassies are considering housing their employees in closed security complexes, he added
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
US to set up permanent base in Botswana
US to set up permanent base in Botswana Sunday Standard Reporter 23 October 2007More than 1 500 American soldiers may be permanently based in Botswana from next year, should government go ahead with alleged plans to host America's recently created Africa Command (Africom).The Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week could not confirm reports by Democracy and Governance that Botswana is alleged to have indicated interest to host Africom.Africom is aimed at stemming the assumed threat posed by swathes of Africa's “ungoverned” spaces, feared to be potential hide-outs and training fields for terrorists. According to the controversial 2007 “Failed States Index” recently released by the US-based Foreign Policy, Africa tops the list of failed states.The US budget for the Trans-Saharan Counter-terrorism partnership for 2007 is some $115 million (P1, 5 billion), while non military assistance has increased by 60 percent. Admiral Moeller, head of the Africom planning team hinted that the command will cost in the region of $50 million in the 2007 financial year. The super power's military investment is also expected to create a lot of jobs for locals.Despite the economic lures of Africom, a number of African countries, even America's strategic partners like South Africa, have indicated that they are not willing to host the command, citing concerns with the long term impact it would have on their sovereignty.According to the report by Democracy and Governance, “it is Washington's unilateral invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Bush administration's strategy of pre-emptive strikes against its perceived threats which present liabilities which some African states are shy to bear. Countries considered by the US and its allies as pariahs such as Sudan and Zimbabwe shudder at the possibility of Africom being used to coordinate strikes against them ala Iraq.”Since Al Qaeda blew up American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, killing 225 people, America has trained its heavy guns on the organization and its suspected local allies in the region. Some 1,5 00 US military and civilian personnel attached to the combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) have maintained a presence at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. The command of the CJTF-HOA, currently under CENTCOM, will be transferred to Africom in Botswana in 2008, should Botswana agree to host the command.Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Moostaq Moorad, would not confirm reports that Botswana has indicated that they are willing to host Africom, saying “This is more of a military cooperation issue than an international cooperation issue.” He referred all enquiries to the Office of the President.Presidential Affairs spokesperson, Dr Jeff Ramsay, also said he could not confirm the reports. He promised to come back to us next week.The Sunday Standard can, however, reveal that logistical difficulties that would come with Botswana hosting Africom were cleared in 2003 when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation agreed to sign a non surrender pact with America under controversial circumstances.According to the write up by the Director of Democracy and Governance, Dr Peter Kagwanja, “ locating American soldiers permanently on foreign soil will depend on the host country's approval of a Status-of-Force Agreement (SOFA) - a legal document that the State Department negotiated to define the legal standing of American soldiers abroad.”Botswana has already signed this bilateral pact binding them not to surrender American military personnel to international tribunals, commonly known as Article 98. The agreement was signed on June 30, 2003 in Gaborone and entered into force on 28th September 2003.In its carrot and stick campaign, Washington withdrew military aid to all American allies that refused to sign the agreement, among them SADC countries like South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia , Malawi, Tanzania and Namibia.The Bush administration also issued a waiver, exempting Botswana from the military sanctions.The Botswana government was, however, under pressure from the local media and opposition political parties which felt that the country had sold out to America. In an attempt to stem the groundswell of hostile public opinion, Foreign Affairs Minister, Lt Gen Mompati Merafhe, issued a statement in July 2003 trying to justify Botswana's position.http://www.praag.org/mambo/index.php...050&Itemid=107
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Fury at DNA pioneer's theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners
Fury at DNA pioneer's theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners
Celebrated scientist attacked for race comments: "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really"
By Cahal Milmo
Published: 17 October 2007
One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he claimed that black people were less intelligent than white people and the idea that "equal powers of reason" were shared across racial groups was a delusion.
James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in the unravelling of DNA who now runs one of America's leading scientific research institutions, drew widespread condemnation for comments he made ahead of his arrival in Britain today for a speaking tour at venues including the Science Museum in London.
The 79-year-old geneticist reopened the explosive debate about race and science in a newspaper interview in which he said Western policies towards African countries were wrongly based on an assumption that black people were as clever as their white counterparts when "testing" suggested the contrary. He claimed genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade.
The newly formed Equality and Human Rights Commission, successor to the Commission for Racial Equality, said it was studying Dr Watson's remarks " in full". Dr Watson told The Sunday Times that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really". He said there was a natural desire that all human beings should be equal but "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".
His views are also reflected in a book published next week, in which he writes: "There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so."
The furore echoes the controversy created in the 1990s by The Bell Curve, a book co-authored by the American political scientist Charles Murray, which suggested differences in IQ were genetic and discussed the implications of a racial divide in intelligence. The work was heavily criticised across the world, in particular by leading scientists who described it as a work of " scientific racism".
Dr Watson arrives in Britain today for a speaking tour to publicise his latest book, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science. Among his first engagements is a speech to an audience at the Science Museum organised by the Dana Centre, which held a discussion last night on the history of scientific racism.
Critics of Dr Watson said there should be a robust response to his views across the spheres of politics and science. Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "It is sad to see a scientist of such achievement making such baseless, unscientific and extremely offensive comments. I am sure the scientific community will roundly reject what appear to be Dr Watson's personal prejudices.
"These comments serve as a reminder of the attitudes which can still exists at the highest professional levels."
The American scientist earned a place in the history of great scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century when he worked at the University of Cambridge in the 1950s and 1960s and formed part of the team which discovered the structure of DNA. He shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine with his British colleague Francis Crick and New Zealand-born Maurice Wilkins.
But despite serving for 50 years as a director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, considered a world leader in research into cancer and genetics, Dr Watson has frequently courted controversy with some of his views on politics, sexuality and race. The respected journal Science wrote in 1990: "To many in the scientific community, Watson has long been something of a wild man, and his colleagues tend to hold their collective breath whenever he veers from the script."
In 1997, he told a British newspaper that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual. He later insisted he was talking about a "hypothetical" choice which could never be applied. He has also suggested a link between skin colour and sex drive, positing the theory that black people have higher libidos, and argued in favour of genetic screening and engineering on the basis that " stupidity" could one day be cured. He has claimed that beauty could be genetically manufactured, saying: "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would great."
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory said yesterday that Dr Watson could not be contacted to comment on his remarks.
Steven Rose, a professor of biological sciences at the Open University and a founder member of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science, said: " This is Watson at his most scandalous. He has said similar things about women before but I have never heard him get into this racist terrain. If he knew the literature in the subject he would know he was out of his depth scientifically, quite apart from socially and politically."
Anti-racism campaigners called for Dr Watson's remarks to be looked at in the context of racial hatred laws. A spokesman for the 1990 Trust, a black human rights group, said: "It is astonishing that a man of such distinction should make comments that seem to perpetuate racism in this way. It amounts to fuelling bigotry and we would like it to be looked at for grounds of legal complaint."
Interesting? Click here to explore further
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3067222.ece
Celebrated scientist attacked for race comments: "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really"
By Cahal Milmo
Published: 17 October 2007
One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he claimed that black people were less intelligent than white people and the idea that "equal powers of reason" were shared across racial groups was a delusion.
James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner for his part in the unravelling of DNA who now runs one of America's leading scientific research institutions, drew widespread condemnation for comments he made ahead of his arrival in Britain today for a speaking tour at venues including the Science Museum in London.
The 79-year-old geneticist reopened the explosive debate about race and science in a newspaper interview in which he said Western policies towards African countries were wrongly based on an assumption that black people were as clever as their white counterparts when "testing" suggested the contrary. He claimed genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence could be found within a decade.
The newly formed Equality and Human Rights Commission, successor to the Commission for Racial Equality, said it was studying Dr Watson's remarks " in full". Dr Watson told The Sunday Times that he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really". He said there was a natural desire that all human beings should be equal but "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true".
His views are also reflected in a book published next week, in which he writes: "There is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so."
The furore echoes the controversy created in the 1990s by The Bell Curve, a book co-authored by the American political scientist Charles Murray, which suggested differences in IQ were genetic and discussed the implications of a racial divide in intelligence. The work was heavily criticised across the world, in particular by leading scientists who described it as a work of " scientific racism".
Dr Watson arrives in Britain today for a speaking tour to publicise his latest book, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science. Among his first engagements is a speech to an audience at the Science Museum organised by the Dana Centre, which held a discussion last night on the history of scientific racism.
Critics of Dr Watson said there should be a robust response to his views across the spheres of politics and science. Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "It is sad to see a scientist of such achievement making such baseless, unscientific and extremely offensive comments. I am sure the scientific community will roundly reject what appear to be Dr Watson's personal prejudices.
"These comments serve as a reminder of the attitudes which can still exists at the highest professional levels."
The American scientist earned a place in the history of great scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century when he worked at the University of Cambridge in the 1950s and 1960s and formed part of the team which discovered the structure of DNA. He shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for medicine with his British colleague Francis Crick and New Zealand-born Maurice Wilkins.
But despite serving for 50 years as a director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, considered a world leader in research into cancer and genetics, Dr Watson has frequently courted controversy with some of his views on politics, sexuality and race. The respected journal Science wrote in 1990: "To many in the scientific community, Watson has long been something of a wild man, and his colleagues tend to hold their collective breath whenever he veers from the script."
In 1997, he told a British newspaper that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual. He later insisted he was talking about a "hypothetical" choice which could never be applied. He has also suggested a link between skin colour and sex drive, positing the theory that black people have higher libidos, and argued in favour of genetic screening and engineering on the basis that " stupidity" could one day be cured. He has claimed that beauty could be genetically manufactured, saying: "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would great."
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory said yesterday that Dr Watson could not be contacted to comment on his remarks.
Steven Rose, a professor of biological sciences at the Open University and a founder member of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science, said: " This is Watson at his most scandalous. He has said similar things about women before but I have never heard him get into this racist terrain. If he knew the literature in the subject he would know he was out of his depth scientifically, quite apart from socially and politically."
Anti-racism campaigners called for Dr Watson's remarks to be looked at in the context of racial hatred laws. A spokesman for the 1990 Trust, a black human rights group, said: "It is astonishing that a man of such distinction should make comments that seem to perpetuate racism in this way. It amounts to fuelling bigotry and we would like it to be looked at for grounds of legal complaint."
Interesting? Click here to explore further
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3067222.ece
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Selebi was probed, says NPA
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=320875&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
Mail & Guardian Online reporter and Sapa Johannesburg, South Africa
02 October 2007 05:49
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Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi has been investigated but no decision has been made on prosecuting him, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.It said there has been "considerable confusion" about the status of a probe involving Selebi."The NPA would like to clarify aspects relating to this issue," it said in a statement."An investigation relating to this matter has been conducted by the Directorate of Special Operations [the Scorpions]. In terms of the NPA Act, the national director of public prosecutions [NDPP] may review a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute."The acting NDPP [Mokotedi Mpshe] has decided to conduct a review of this matter."NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali declined to indicate when this review will be completed. The statement said Mpshe would continue to be briefed regularly on all "significant matters" that were being investigated or prosecuted by the NPA. Responding to media reports of other cases under review, the NPA said: "In relation to other high profile matters which are the subject of media speculation today [Tuesday], the NPA would like to state that there is no such review under way."Decisions about prosecutions in outstanding matters will be taken in due course and in accordance with the law." There has been much speculation in the media around the reason for the suspension last week of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli -- due to an "irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between him and Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla, according to the government.Some reports have suggested that Pikoli was dismissed after issuing an arrest warrant for Selebi based on the police chief's alleged ties to criminal syndicates.The Mail & Guardian has reported that Pikoli's failure to give his political superiors full details of the investigation into Selebi -- and possibly of Selebi's planned arrest -- led to his suspension, according to a range of official sources.The M&G first revealed Selebi's links to organised crime figures, and the Scorpions' investigation into these links, in May last year.The Democratic Alliance has said it will ask President Thabo Mbeki questions in Parliament relating to Pikoli's suspension.Question timeMbeki was caught off guard on Tuesday when asked questions at a media photo opportunity at the Union Buildings in Pretoria about the possible arrest of Selebi.Responding to questions from journalists by asking more questions, Mbeki queried whether it was a president's job to issue warrants of arrest, at which the journalist asking the question responded: "No.""So why do you ask it of this one?" Mbeki inquired.The short but lively impromptu question-and-answer session started with Mbeki being asked whether he had seen a warrant of arrest for Selebi. "You cannot be serious. Have you ever heard of a president issuing a warrant?" a bemused Mbeki asked.When he was pushed for an answer, he said the questions should be asked of prosecutors.Shortly afterwards, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad intervened and journalists were ushered out of a room where he was meeting the presidential working group on trade unions."You are out of order, stop it, you are out of order," Pahad said as officials escorted journalists out of the room.After being taken out of the room, journalists were told that a media briefing on the outcome of Mbeki's interaction with union leaders was cancelled. Selebi, in an interview with Talk Radio 702 this week, said there was a problem "when someone makes an allegation in order to investigate his own allegations".He told the radio station and was quoted in the Star as saying: "I am certain that I, Jackie Selebi, have never been involved in that kind of wrongdoing. I have never been involved in any kind of criminal activity. If I was I would have resigned a long time ago." -- Sapa
Related articles
Selebi probe under way
Rumours swirl over suspension
Pikoli: The Selebi connection
Mail & Guardian Online reporter and Sapa Johannesburg, South Africa
02 October 2007 05:49
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Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi has been investigated but no decision has been made on prosecuting him, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.It said there has been "considerable confusion" about the status of a probe involving Selebi."The NPA would like to clarify aspects relating to this issue," it said in a statement."An investigation relating to this matter has been conducted by the Directorate of Special Operations [the Scorpions]. In terms of the NPA Act, the national director of public prosecutions [NDPP] may review a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute."The acting NDPP [Mokotedi Mpshe] has decided to conduct a review of this matter."NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali declined to indicate when this review will be completed. The statement said Mpshe would continue to be briefed regularly on all "significant matters" that were being investigated or prosecuted by the NPA. Responding to media reports of other cases under review, the NPA said: "In relation to other high profile matters which are the subject of media speculation today [Tuesday], the NPA would like to state that there is no such review under way."Decisions about prosecutions in outstanding matters will be taken in due course and in accordance with the law." There has been much speculation in the media around the reason for the suspension last week of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli -- due to an "irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between him and Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla, according to the government.Some reports have suggested that Pikoli was dismissed after issuing an arrest warrant for Selebi based on the police chief's alleged ties to criminal syndicates.The Mail & Guardian has reported that Pikoli's failure to give his political superiors full details of the investigation into Selebi -- and possibly of Selebi's planned arrest -- led to his suspension, according to a range of official sources.The M&G first revealed Selebi's links to organised crime figures, and the Scorpions' investigation into these links, in May last year.The Democratic Alliance has said it will ask President Thabo Mbeki questions in Parliament relating to Pikoli's suspension.Question timeMbeki was caught off guard on Tuesday when asked questions at a media photo opportunity at the Union Buildings in Pretoria about the possible arrest of Selebi.Responding to questions from journalists by asking more questions, Mbeki queried whether it was a president's job to issue warrants of arrest, at which the journalist asking the question responded: "No.""So why do you ask it of this one?" Mbeki inquired.The short but lively impromptu question-and-answer session started with Mbeki being asked whether he had seen a warrant of arrest for Selebi. "You cannot be serious. Have you ever heard of a president issuing a warrant?" a bemused Mbeki asked.When he was pushed for an answer, he said the questions should be asked of prosecutors.Shortly afterwards, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad intervened and journalists were ushered out of a room where he was meeting the presidential working group on trade unions."You are out of order, stop it, you are out of order," Pahad said as officials escorted journalists out of the room.After being taken out of the room, journalists were told that a media briefing on the outcome of Mbeki's interaction with union leaders was cancelled. Selebi, in an interview with Talk Radio 702 this week, said there was a problem "when someone makes an allegation in order to investigate his own allegations".He told the radio station and was quoted in the Star as saying: "I am certain that I, Jackie Selebi, have never been involved in that kind of wrongdoing. I have never been involved in any kind of criminal activity. If I was I would have resigned a long time ago." -- Sapa
Related articles
Selebi probe under way
Rumours swirl over suspension
Pikoli: The Selebi connection
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