"SAYINGS" !
"BEGIN, BE HOLD AND VENTURE TO BE WISE" !
Posted by: Mara at February 29, 2008 21:20 |
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sayings
GHANAIAN BOY GETS FREE KIDNEY OP !
A 14-year-old Ghanaian boy is to receive a life-saving kidney transplant free of charge on the NHS. Felix Yeboah, who has six weeks to live, was offered the operation after he spoke at a conference attended by University Hospital Birmingham doctors.
British Airways paid for him to be flown to the UK and he is being put up by the city's Ghanaian community. His pastor father Michael is donating the kidney and surgeons and nurses are offering their time for free.
The operation will take place on Sunday when the operating theatre is normally closed.Doctors became aware of his case after visiting Ghana to set up a charity which aims to improve kidney treatment in the country. The West African state currently has a high death rate from kidney disease.
Felix said: "The things I enjoy most are school and football, but I cannot do them because I become out of breath. "I want this operation so I can play football again and go to school so I can train to become a doctor and help other people."
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said it hoped Felix would be in hospital for about a week. It said it would fund the cost of his operation and time in hospital afterwards.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
BURUNDI MP'S IN DEATH-THREAT PLEA !
Opposition MPs in Burundi, who say they have been receiving death threats, have asked the UN chief for protection. The 46 politicians have written an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlining their concerns. They allege a death-list has been drawn up of 350 opposition members. The government has not responded. Two local opposition politicians have been killed in recent weeks in the country which is emerging from a 12-year civil war.
The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge in the capital, Bujumbura, says the MPs want the international community to intervene before it is too late - not only for the sake of their protection but also to save the democracy which it helped to foster.
President Pierre Nkurunziza came to power in 2005 after elections - the final step in a peace process intended to end years of fighting between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army. But in the last year the country has been awash with divisive political disputes. Parliament is currently deadlocked over the appointment of a speaker, and has not passed any legislation for a month.
Earlier in February, the leader of Burundi's main opposition party, the Front for Democracy in Burundi, was severely wounded in a grenade attack which killed his wife and baby. One rebel group still remains active, although under South African mediation it is hoped the Forces for National Liberation (FNL) will soon return to the negotiating table.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ODINGA PLEDGES TO REBUILD KENYA !
Prime minister-designate Raila Odinga has told the BBC his priority will be to rebuild Kenya after a deal to end the two-month political crisis. He pledged to help those who had been displaced, lost their property or lost their jobs during the violence in which some 1,500 people died.
Many Kenyans have been celebrating the power-sharing deal between Mr Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki. But some of those displaced question whether ethnic hatreds can be healed. "It's become a habit of saying 'peace, peace, peace' every now and then and after peace we see flames of fire," a woman living in a displacement camp in the western town of Eldoret told the BBC.
But in nearby Kisumu, Mr Odinga's home town, thousands of dancing and cheering people poured onto the streets to celebrate the deal brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.Mr Odinga also pledged to reconcile Kenyans, after the violence took on an ethnic dimension, forcing some 600,000 from their homes. "You have seen the ugly face of ethnic confrontation in our country. I feel confident that the experience we have gone through has been a teacher and everyone is going to ensure that this coalition does succeed," he told the BBC's Today programme.
Negotiations between the government and opposition, which lasted more than a month, stalling several times, have resumed to discuss long-term reform of land ownership, the economy and the constitution.
These discussions are expected to last more than a year. Mr Odinga said the agreement was "just a piece of paper" - the most important thing was the will behind it.
POWER-SHARING DEAL
New two-party coalition government to be set up
Cabinet posts to be divided equally between parties
Raila Odinga to take new post of prime minister, can only be dismissed by National Assembly
Two new deputy PMs to be appointed, one from each member of coalition
"It means we recognise Mr Kibaki as president and he recognises that there were some flaws in the elections," he told the BBC. And, he said, the coalition had a lot of work to do - constitutional and legal reforms as well as land reforms to address "historical injustices". "There has be to be trust and confidence developed on both sides. It is important for us to forge a firm foundation for a united country," he said.
But some doubt whether the two bitter foes can now work together. In Mr Kibaki's home town of Nyeri, one man told the BBC he was against the deal: "They're two kings sharing one power - that can never happen. You cannot have two husbands for one woman in one house."
Mr Odinga said he hoped for a new constitution within a year and fresh elections within two as Mr Annan had given the coalition a maximum life of two years, after which it should be reviewed. The new coalition will be headed by President Kibaki, with Mr Odinga - whose Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is the largest in parliament - set to take the newly created post of prime minister.
Each party will nominate a deputy prime minister, with other ministerial portfolios being divided equally between the two parties. Correspondents say both parties are now likely to begin wrangling over who gets what position in the new government, with the post of finance minister likely to prove the most contentious.
After the deal was reached, Mr Annan said: "Compromise was necessary for the survival of this country." He urged all Kenyans to support the agreement, saying: "The job of national reconciliation and national reconstruction is not for the leaders alone. It must be carried out in every neighbourhood, village, hamlet of the nation." Speaking after the signing, Mr Kibaki said: "This process has reminded us that as a nation there are more issues that unite than that divide us."
BBC NEWS REPORT
VOTE MUGABE, PRISON STAFF ORDERED !
The head of the prison service in Zimbabwe has ordered his staff to vote for President Robert Mugabe in next month's elections. Retired Major-General Paradzayi Zimondi - one of the most senior defence officials in Zimbabwe - said he would resign if the opposition won. He said he would retire to protect his farm from the opposition who, he said, were planning to reverse land reforms.
Mr Mugabe's main challengers are Morgan Tsvangirai and Simba Makoni.
Mr Zimondi told guests at a ceremony to promote 14 senior officers that voting for either of them was tantamount to supporting former colonial power, Britain. "Do not be distracted," the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted him as saying. "The challenges we are currently facing are just a passing phase."
The country is suffering an economic crisis, with annual inflation of 100,000% and unemployment at 80%. There are also severe food and fuel shortages. The president, who has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, blames a British plot for much of the country's failings.
Mr Zimondi said Mr Makoni, a former finance minister, and opposition leader Mr Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change, would give land back to "former colonial masters" if they won the election.He said this would provoke war. "I will be the first one to resign from my job and go back to defend my piece of land. I will not let it go," he said. "No empowerment is more than the land we got. If you let the country go, God will not help you anymore; and when you die, you will go to hell for failing to defend your land against your enemies."
But Mr Makoni told the BBC he would not repossess farms given to Mugabe supporters, unless they had acquired the land improperly. He said it was an important issue and more essential now than 10 years ago, before Mr Mugabe's land seizures began. He said land reform in the past wasn't about taking farms from white farmers, it was about taking land from people who owned more than the majority, and that would continue. Mr Makoni said Zimbabwe's land reform policy was that "land shall be acquired and redistributed equitably, fairly and transparently". "Zimbabweans are entitled to one person, one farm," he said.
Critics say Mr Mugabe's land reform has been marred by corruption, with top officials gaining more than one farm, contravening official policy. Both Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai have urged their supporters to refrain from violence ahead of the 29 March presidential and parliamentary votes.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
WOMAN TO CONDUCT EGYPT MARRIAGES !
By Frances Harrison - BBC religious affairs reporter.
Egypt has appointed a woman to conduct Muslim marriages for the first time. Amal Soliman, 32, has broken centuries of tradition by being chosen as a judicial assistant who officiates at weddings, known as a maazun. Some commentators are saying she is the first female in the Muslim world authorised to conduct religious marriages. The mother of three has a masters degree in law which helped her beat 10 male candidates to get the job.
As a maazun or notary, Ms Soliman will read verses from the Koran at ceremonies, sign marriage certificates and authorise divorce contracts. She will work in the town of Qinayat east of Cairo where her father-in-law also conducted marriages until he died recently. Ms Soliman has told the Egyptian press that as a woman she will be able to check the bride really wants to marry the groom and is not being forced by her family.
She also says she will be better able to dissuade women from seeking divorce. One issue that has been raised is that a menstruating woman or one who has just given birth is not allowed to enter a mosque, but Ms Soliman has been quoted as saying that during such times she will conduct marriages in people's homes or wedding halls.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
SOMALI HUMAN TRADERS FACE DEATH !
By Mark Doyle - BBC News, Bossasso.
People smugglers operating in north-eastern Somalia will face the death penalty, the region's leader has told the BBC. Over the past year, some 1,400 people are estimated by the United Nations to be missing, believed drowned, while trying to escape poverty and fighting. The boat people of the Horn of Africa set off from this bustling port of Bossasso on the Gulf of Aden. They hope to make the perilous two or three-day sea journey to Yemen.
Many of those that survive the voyage then go on to seek jobs in Saudi Arabia or other Gulf States. But thousands have drowned in the bright, choppy waters, often because they are pushed off the boats before the vessels make it to the Yemeni coast. And most can't swim.
The travellers are mostly Somalis fleeing fighting in the southern parts of Somalia and people from neighbouring Ethiopia seeking refuge from a border war there. Northern Somalia is relatively stable compared with the war-torn region in the south around the capital Mogadishu, where the central government is fighting an Islamist insurgency.
The authorities here in the north, who have declared a semi-autonomous region known as Puntland, want to stop the people smugglers. Puntland's President Mohammed Muse Hersi said the death penalty would henceforth be used against the human traders.
He said he was tired of his relatively stable area being associated with the widespread fighting in the south of the country. He pointed to a new airport that is being built in Bossasso and the busy seaport here as evidence of economic progress in this part of Somalia.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
DEAL OFFERS FRESH HOPE TO KENYA!
By Noel Mwakugu - BBC News, Nairobi.
Many Kenyans had feared the imminent outbreak of renewed violence when peace talks were suspended on Monday but instead there is now fresh hope after the two rival leaders agreed to share power. Both President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga gave ground under massive international pressure and the intervention of African Union Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
They unveiled a deal that is intended to steer the country towards much-needed reconciliation after allegations of rigging in last December's elections. However, as chief mediator Kofi Annan said: "The journey is far from over. In fact it is only beginning."
A peaceful destination will only be reached only if Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga show the political will. After such a bitter dispute, which has cost 1,500 lives, trust between the two men has been in short supply - this is why it took more than a month of tortuous talks for them to reach a deal.
This will not be the first time that the two leaders have formed a joint government - they did it in 2002 but it lasted barely three years before they fell out. While Mr Odinga looks set to take up the new post of prime minister, it is not clear who prevails in the event of a disagreement between him and President Kibaki.
POWER-SHARING DEAL
New two-party coalition government to be set up
Division of posts in new government to reflect parties' strengths in National Assembly
Raila Odinga to take new post of prime minister, can only be dismissed by National Assembly
Two new deputy PMs to be appointed, one from each member of coalition
If the deal is strong enough to overcome that hurdle, the new optimism will prove well-founded. All eyes in a country that has been mourning for the past two months now turn to parliament, where MPs convene next Thursday to vote for the National Accord and Reconciliation Act that will usher in these changes.
The first challenge facing the two leaders once the act is operational is to appoint a new cabinet, whose members will be shared out equally. The violence has left deep ethnic divisions and a new cabinet must be named with a regional balance to appease communities that felt left out in the last administration. Apart from the regional balance, Kenyans are eager to see the parties merge their policies and deliver an equal share of national resources.
Economic disparities lie behind much of the ethnic tension which exploded into violence after the disputed election. One major policy difference is that of decentralising power and therefore wealth. This was a key campaign pledge of Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) but not Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU). The coalition partners now have to marry these and other areas of disagreement.
President Kibaki is credited with steering economic growth in his first term in office but corruption thrived within his administration, drawing much criticism from foreign diplomats. This is yet another hurdle for the new coalition - both sides include people linked with corruption scandals in the past. Many doubt if the leaders will have the courage to sacrifice them and inject fresh blood into the administration since it is clear some of those tainted by scandal helped fund the campaigns and remain very influential.
The talks which gave birth to this new power-sharing arrangement have brought to the fore the influence of hardliners on both sides. While Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga may have shaken hands and exchanged pleasantries, observers are sceptical as to whether they will ignore the advice of some of their hardline backers. But failure to contain their influence may endanger the new coalition.
The power-sharing agreement ends if either partner walks out and this would throw the country back into another phase of uncertainty. Some argue that the new deal could produce a new breed of leader who would be respected for their political principles and not the wealth they possess, as at present.
But as Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete squarely put at the signing ceremony, it is the political will of the two leaders that remains central if this promise is to become a reality.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CHILDREN HELD HOSTAGE IN CAMEROON !
There have been scenes of unrest in Douala since the weekend. At least 2,000 boarding school children are being used as human shields by demonstrators in Cameroon. Thousands of protesters went into three schools in Bamenda in the north-west to escape police pursuing them after violent demonstrations overnight. There have been days of protests across the country, sparked by a taxi-driver strike over a fuel price rise.
President Paul Biya has blamed the opposition for violence which has left at least seven dead. Opposition groups have been calling for protests to stop the constitution being amended to allow Mr Biya to run for re-election when his current term expires in 2011.
John Fru Ndi of the opposition Social Democratic Front, denied being behind the unrest but he said he could understand the frustrations felt by Cameroonians because of the high cost of living. "It's a miserable situation and the government has not addressed this," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "The people have no other alternative than to express themselves by marching on the streets to draw government's attention to issues affecting their everyday lives."
The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Douala says the protests nationwide are continuing and the trade unions who called the strike, which was called off 24 hours ago, now seem unable to get the people off the streets.
Two post offices were razed to the ground overnight in Bamenda by demonstrators who were then chased by police. The protestors have taken up positions at three boarding schools in the city to stop police throwing tear gas canisters at them. While most schools have been closed all week, boarding school pupils have been unable to get home because transport has been at a standstill, our reporter says.
In Douala, there are still no taxis or motorcycles on the streets and all markets are closed. Our correspondent says people do not seem to have received Mr Biya's comments well - and are angered that he did not address the issue of the cost of living. Groups of angry youths carrying flags and placards have attempted to block off roads with barricades in the city and are involved in a game of cat and mouse with the police.
Some of the placards call for further price reductions and denounce plans to change the constitution. In the capital, Yaounde, there is a heavy military deployment and the situation remains tense. The BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross says Cameroon is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups, and keeping the country relatively stable has been one of the major achievements of President Biya's 25 years in office.
The violent scenes across the country this week are a sign that the population is becoming increasingly frustrated in what is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, he says.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
FRANCE TO CHANGE AFRICAN LINKS !
Sarkozy wants to improve relations with English-speaking Africa. France will renegotiate its defence deals with African countries, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. It has military accords with several of its former colonies and recently helped the Chad government repulse rebels. The changes would mark a "major turning point", he said, with further details to be announced in a speech to the South African parliament.
Mr Sarkozy has said that the previously cosy relationships between France and some African leaders should end. France has what it terms "defence agreements", providing for direct military intervention, with Central African Republic, Gabon, Senegal and Ivory Coast. It also has several military bases on the continent with thousands of troops stationed in Djibouti, Senegal and Gabon. "We are now in the 21st century as opposed to the 20th," said Mr Sarkozy, outlining the change in French policy.
He said the changes had been made through "quiet diplomacy" and all France's partners in Africa had been informed. The full details of the new defence agreements would be published, he added. The French president was quoted earlier in the Johannesburg Star newspaper as saying that France no longer needed to play a policing role on the continent.
Correspondents say Paris has been accused in the past of supporting dubious dictators in Africa while ignoring corruption. Mr Sarkozy arrived in South Africa after a brief stay in Chad, where French forces helped evacuate foreigners as rebels entered the capital last month. France provided logistical help to the government in N'Djamena.
His talks with South African leaders were expected to centre on trade. He is accompanied by 40 French business executives. The French company Areva is hoping to build the country's second nuclear reactor. The South African foreign ministry said the talks would also cover more French investment in transport and vehicle manufacture.
Tensions in Chad and the Darfur crisis were also expected to be on the agenda.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
KENYA RIVALS 'REACH AGREEMENT'!
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have struck a deal to end the post-election crisis, ex-UN head Kofi Annan says. "We have come to an agreement of a form of coalition government," Mr Annan said after a four-hour meeting with them. He said he could not give any further details as the men were going to consult with their political parties.
Mr Annan said he expected them to sign a deal later on Thursday, when further details would be announced. Some 1,500 people died in political violence after Mr Odinga said he was robbed of victory in December's polls. International observers agreed the vote was flawed. Discussions have centred on the creation of the post of prime minister, which would be taken by Mr Odinga, to set up a power-sharing government. Political violence has ignited rivalry over land.
Both sides have previously agreed to create a prime minister but have differed on what powers the new post would have. The BBC's Adam Mynott in the capital, Nairobi, cautions that this is not the first time there a deal has been announced between the government and Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). But he said that Mr Annan is giving the impression that this is a significant development. He says it has been an up-and-down negotiating process, which has already lasted more than a month.
Violence has mostly receded but our correspondent says tensions are still running extremely high. Local media report that professionals, traders and politicians are currently raising funds to arm groups that would protect their communities in the event of violence when the talks collapse. A report by the International Crisis Group think-tank published last month said that both government and opposition officials were mobilising youths to carry out fresh attacks.
The post-election violence saw thousands of people targeted because they belonged to ethnic groups seen as either pro-government or pro-opposition. About 600,000 people have fled their homes and some ahve been forced back to their ancestral homelands. Donor countries have warned they will impose sanctions on any politician seen as blocking a deal - threats condemned by the government.
Meanwhile, a politician has lodged a legal challenge to the ongoing talks, saying they were unconstitutional and do not involve all Kenyans. Antony Kirori, who vied for a parliamentary seat and lost to Mr Odinga, says any resolution would alter the country's governance structure.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
SOMALI HUMAN TRADERS FACE DEATH!
By Mark Doyle - BBC World Affairs correspondent
A senior Somali official has told the BBC that the death penalty will be implemented against people smugglers operating off the north of the country. Over the past year, some 1,400 people are estimated by the United Nations to be missing, believed drowned, while trying to escape poverty and fighting. The boat people of the Horn of Africa set off from this bustling port of Bossasso on the Gulf of Aden. They hope to make the perilous two or three-day sea journey to Yemen.
Many of those that survive the voyage then go on to seek jobs in Saudi Arabia or other Gulf States. But thousands have drowned in the bright, choppy waters, often because they are pushed off the boats before the vessels make it to the Yemeni coast. And most can't swim.
The travellers are mostly Somalis fleeing fighting in the southern parts of Somalia and people from neighbouring Ethiopia seeking refuge from a border war there. Northern Somalia is relatively stable compared with the war-torn region in the south around the capital Mogadishu, where the central government is fighting an Islamist insurgency.
The authorities here in the north, who have declared a semi-autonomous region known as Puntland, want to stop the people smugglers. The leader of Puntland, President Mohammed Muse Hersi said the death penalty would henceforth be used against the human traders. The president of the Puntland region of Somalia said he was tired of his relatively stable area being associated with the widespread fighting in the south of the country.
He pointed to a new airport that is being built in Bossasso and the busy seaport here as evidence of economic progress in this part of Somalia.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ROW OVER NIGERIA NUDITY PICTURE!
A female Nigerian politician badly beaten by a local MP is standing by the publication of a revealing photograph showing her injuries in a hospital bed. Habiba Garba told the BBC she wanted people to see the reality of violence against women in northern Nigeria.
But Kano State authorities say they have received complaints the picture breaks Muslim rules about nudity. Labaran Abdu Madari, who beat Mrs Garba in front of witnesses and police last week, is in jail and yet to be charged. Kano is one of 12 mainly Muslim northern states to have implemented Sharia law since Nigeria's return to civil rule in 1999.
The BBC's Mustafa Muhammad in Kano says the state-owned Triumph newspaper, which published the picture showing Mrs Garba's injuries, has a very small circulation and few people in Kano have heard about the incident. But he says the editor of the paper may come under some pressure from government to resign for publishing it.
"I want to show the people of the world what that man did to me," she told the BBC from her hospital bed in Kano city on Wednesday. Mrs Garba, a women's leader in the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), alleged Mr Madari, a Kano State lawmaker for the ruling People's Democratic Party, mounted a campaign of harassment against her. She said that he paid youths to follow and heckle her after she switched political parties from the PDP.
They called her a "prostitute" and physically threatened her, she said. Last week, she went to the police, who arrested one of the youths. The politician heard about the arrest and came down to the police station where eyewitnesses told the BBC that he savagely beat Mrs Garba.
Mr Madari was arrested. He has not been granted bail and will appear in court to be charged early next month. On Monday, the Triumph published the picture of Mrs Garba's injuries showing the area just under her armpit and the scars on her torso. "A women's rights group came to the government to complain that her rights had been infringed by the publication," said Sule Yau Sule, spokesman for the state government.
The picture shows part of her naked torso, and as publishing nudity is forbidden under Sharia law it violates rights to privacy. The government says it will investigate whether her consent was sought by the paper. "If her rights have not been infringed we will drop it," Mr Sule said. Mrs Garba had to have a blood clot removed from her abdomen, the Triumph reported.
"This attack is barbaric, animalistic," the paper quoted ANPP secretary Alhaji Rabi'u Bako as saying.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
DEADLY CAMEROON RIOTS OVER FUEL !
There have been scenes of unrest in Douala since the weekend. Protests have taken place across Cameroon, despite a government decision to scale back an increase in the price of fuel that sparked days of rioting. At least six people have died in the unrest, the worst in Cameroon in more than a decade. Police tear gassed stone-throwing youths in the capital, Yaounde, who had set up burning barricades.
Correspondents say the protests have fuelled anger about plans for President Paul Biya to extend his time in power. He became president 25 years ago.
The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in the city of Douala says a taxi-drivers strike was called off on Tuesday night after the government agreed to a small reduction in the price of fuel. There are plans for Mr Biya to run for president again in 2011.But the unions have lost control of the situation and the violence has not ended, he adds.
Protesters are demanding more cuts in the price of food and fuel. Police in Douala clashed with some 2,000 protesters as they tried to cross a bridge, causing about 20 to fall into the river below, our reporter says. Tear gas was also used to quell demonstrations in other cities like Bamenda and Yaounde.
Opposition groups have been calling for protests to stop the constitution being amended to allow Mr Biya to run for re-election when his current term expires in 2011. On Saturday, tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters in Douala.
The day before, the government had announced the closure of private television station Equinoxe, which has broadcast interviews with politicians opposed to plans to change the constitution.
The BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross says Cameroon is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups, and keeping the country relatively stable has been one of the major achievements of President Biya's time in office.
The violent scenes across the country this week are a sign that the population is becoming increasingly frustrated in what is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, he says.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
OUTCRY IN S.A. OVER 'RACIST' VIDEO !
Several white students in South Africa are facing criminal charges after they allegedly forced black campus employees to eat food that was urinated on. A video has surfaced which appears to show the students instructing five elderly workers to drink beer and perform athletic tasks. At one point, the University of Free State employees are apparently forced to eat food which has been urinated on. The rector at the university has strongly condemned the video.
Students and staff joined a protest march at the campus in Bloemfontein, and student groups say they are now planning to call nationwide anti-racism demonstrationsThe video was reportedly recorded in protest at moves to integrate black and white students in the same residences at the University of the Free State. The BBC's Mpho Lakaje says the university is known for having predominantly white students since the days of apartheid.
In recent years it has encountered difficulties trying to integrate people from other racial groups, and the latest incident is viewed by many as a clear indication of racial intolerance, he says. The video shows five black people allegedly being instructed by a group of white students to down full bottles of beer, reports our correspondent, who has watched it.
Students rallied near the campus, and other protests are planned. The university workers are then led to a playing field where they are told to display their athletic skills. But it is the final extract of the film that has angered members of the public. It shows a white male urinating on food, and then - shouting: "Take! Take!" in Afrikaans - apparently forcing the campus employees to eat the dirty food, and causing them to vomit.
The alleged perpetrators are current or former students at the University of the Free State, say reports. Its rector, Frederick Fourie, told the BBC that he was "extremely upset about the incident". "We are having a management meeting. And there's a strong condemnation of this from everybody concerned," he said. The university says it has begun procedures to suspend the students allegedly implicated in the video, and says the alleged victims have received psychological support.
On Wednesday, hundreds of black students and workers from the institution handed over a list of demands to management. Siviwe Vamva, from the South African Students Congress, said the group was planning to call a national strike on Thursday 6 March to raise the profile its anti-racism campaign.
He said racism was also still a problem in other universities. "It's not only the University of Free State," Mr Vamva said. "We are saying that all these issues must be brought forward so that all the people of South Africa can see that racism is still a dominant feature in South African society."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
S.A. UNION CHIEF SACKED OVER FUNDS!
South Africa's main trade union federation, Cosatu, has sacked its president, Willie Madisha, over a missing large donation. Mr Madisha was suspended in October 2007 over the missing 500,000 rand ($70,000; £35,000). A commission investigating the matter presented its findings to Cosatu's central executive committee this week. As a result, Cosatu has "resolved to remove Willy Madisha as president of Cosatu", spokesman Patrick Craven said.
The donation was made by a businessman to the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 2002. Mr Madisha says he handed it to the head of the party, Blade Nzimande, but Mr Nzimande denies this. Cosatu and the SACP are part of the governing coalition led by the African National Congress (ANC).
Mr Madisha is a close political ally of President Thabo Mbeki, and angered other union chiefs by backing him against Jacob Zuma in the ANC leadership contest last year - which was won by Mr Zuma.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CHEPKEMEI GETS ONE-YEAR DRUGS BAN !
Kenya's Susan Chepkemei, runner-up to Paula Radcliffe at the 2004 New York marathon, has been handed a one-year ban after failing a drugs test. The 32-year-old former Commonwealth 10,000m silver medallist tested positive for salbutamol in September.
Yet she avoided the normal two-year ban after Athletics Kenya accepted her plea of mitigating circumstances. Chepkemei had been administered the banned substance when she was treated for pneumonia at a Nairobi hospital.
Salbutamol is given to aid a patient's breathing. Chepkemei's representative, Jos Hermens, said: "The bombshell was later dropped on Susan that she had failed the test. "She told the testers what she had taken following her hospital treatment and supposed the doctor - knowing she was an international athlete - had not prescribed anything which contravened doping regulations.
"She wasn't in full-time training at the time both because of the illness and the fact she was pregnant."
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
ZIMBABWE POLICE LICENCED TO SHOOT !
Zimbabwe's police chief says officers will be ready to use firearms if the country's forthcoming elections spark violence like that seen in Kenya. Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri urged political parties to avoid clashes with police before the 29 March presidential and parliamentary votes. Speaking to reporters, he said "machetes, axes, bows and arrows can not put anybody into office".
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe banned the carrying of weapons in public. Mr Chihuri said the Public Order and Security Act allowed a police officer to use firearms "if he finds other methods to be ineffective or inappropriate". "There has been talk in some opposition circles and civic organisations of street protests or Kenya-style riots if the ballot does not go in the favour of one's political party."
He was referring to ethnic and political violence in Kenya which has seen at least 1,500 people killed since a disputed presidential election in December. Both President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have urged their supporters to refrain from violence. The two launched their election campaigns last weekend.
Mr Mugabe's launch coincided with the celebration of his 84th birthday. He has been in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.
The country is suffering an economic crisis, with annual inflation of 100,000% and unemployment at 80%. There are also severe food and fuel shortages. Many of Zimbabwe's problems have been blamed by the opposition and Western countries on the policies of President Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe has blamed a British plot.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
ANNAN BID TO SALVAGE KENYA TALKS !
Former UN head Kofi Annan is to meet Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga separately in a bid to salvage talks suspended on Tuesday. Mr Annan said those negotiations had become acrimonious and that the situation had become "very dangerous".
Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement has threatened to hold protests on Thursday if a deal to end the post-poll crisis is not reached by then. More than 1,000 people have died in political violence since the election. Mr Kibaki claimed victory in the 27 December poll, but Mr Odinga said it was rigged.
Talks between the government and opposition on securing a power-sharing deal have stalled. Correspondents say the parties seem unwilling to bow to international pressure. Government officials blamed the situation on false reports of deals reached during negotiations.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula has criticised comments by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said that bilateral relations between the US and Kenya could suffer unless progress was made in negotiations. He said Kenya's international friends were welcome to support the dialogue process but not to impose solutions to the conflict.
Mr Annan, who has been in Kenya for more than a month trying to reach a settlement, is also expected to meet the African Union head, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is also in the country to help save negotiations. "The leaders have to assume their responsibilities and become directly engaged in these talks," Mr Annan said.
Both sides had agreed last week to create the post of prime minister, which would be taken by Mr Odinga, leading to hopes that a final deal was imminent. However, they still needed to finalise which powers he would have. The government now says the president should appoint the prime minister, which would not be an executive post.
As well as how to divide powers between a prime minister and a president, the rivals are also split on sharing cabinet positions and the possibility of a new election if the coalition collapses.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
"SAYINGS"
"TOO MANY PEOPLE OVERVALUE
WHAT THEY ARE NOT,
AND UNDERVALUE WHAT
THEY ARE" !
Posted by: Mara at February 27, 2008 09:39 |
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sayings
