A Zimbabwean judge has ruled that 16 activists accused of organising military training to topple President Robert Mugabe must remain in jail. The group includes human rights activist Jestina Mukoko, who went missing for three weeks before being brought to court last week.
The police had initially denied they were holding Ms Mukoko, who was seized from her home by a group of armed men.
The abduction and arrests have raised doubts about a power-sharing deal.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a deal to join a unity government in September but this has never been implemented. He says he will pull out of the deal unless the abduction of opposition activists stops.
Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe declared: "This matter remains to be decided in the Supreme Court and the accused cannot be released." He did not rule on the charges themselves.The 16 will appear in court next Monday for a bail hearing, Reuters news agency reports.
The opposition, human rights activists and lawyers all took part in a high-profile campaign for Ms Mukoko, a former state television news-reader, to be taken to court amid fears for her safety.
Some of those detained say they have been tortured while in custody and a judge has ruled that they be allowed to see doctors of their choice. Some first went missing in October, says the AFP news agency.
Last week, a High Court judge ruled that they should be freed but the state appealed against this ruling.
Earlier this week, five more opposition activists were charged with acts of terrorism.
These allegedly included breaking into a police station and bombing the kitchen and then blowing up a nearby toilet.
Opposition Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the BBC the charges were trumped up as an excuse to crack down on the opposition.
"You can't have a political agreement on one hand and the other you have a cat-and-mouse relationship... trumping up charges against those people you are supposed to be working with in government," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT,.
Second Test, Melbourne, day five:
South Africa 459 & 183-1 bt Australia 394 & 247 by nine wickets
Match scorecard
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South Africa won a first Test series in Australia with a nine-wicket triumph at the MCG, becoming the first team in 16 years to beat the Aussies on home soil.
Resuming on 30-0 in search of 183, they needed 42 more overs, Graeme Smith firing 10 fours in a commanding 75.
Neil McKenzie made an unbeaten 59 and Hashim Amla (30) hit the winning runs.
South Africa can inflict a first home whitewash on Australia and move top of the world rankings by winning the final Test in Sydney, starting on Saturday.
Australian cricket's iconic Melbourne ground was full of empty seats on the final day of the second Test, but there was a sprinkling of South Africans in attendance to see their team take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series 15 overs into the afternoon session.
Inspirational skipper Smith, who became South Africa's youngest captain at the age of 22 in 2003, looked set to be there at the finish, but after recording his 24th Test fifty he succumbed to a quicker ball from spinner Nathan Hauritz.
There was a hint of rain in the air when play resumed after lunch, with the Proteas requiring just 51 further runs for victory, but it did not materialise.
McKenzie had struggled for form earlier in the series with 12 runs in three previous innings and was bowled off a no-ball when on just two by Brett Lee late on day four.
But he stepped down the pitch to launch Hauritz back over his head for six, and having survived some confident lbw appeals from Lee and Mitchell Johnson, he recorded his 16th Test fifty. 606: DEBATE
Well done Proteas. You have capped of a wonderful year where you beat England and Australia away. It doesnt get any bigger than that
CROUCHING-TIGER
There was a stroke of good fortune about the boundary off Johnson that did it, however, Matthew Hayden fumbling a difficult low chance to his right at first slip.
By that stage only 31 were needed in any case, and less than 10 overs later it was all over, Amla clipping slow left-armer Michael Clarke through mid-wicket for two.
An emotional Smith praised his team's collective effort, but gave special mention to JP Duminy, who scored a magnificent 166 in the first innings to put South Africa into a commanding position on the third day.
"Everyone has contributed and made it count," he enthused. "Who could have said we would have batted so well at eight, nine and ten the other day, and JP's knock was an incredible achievement for such a young guy to be so composed and play the way he has.
"The belief though the team is really flowing.
"It's important to say Australia are still a quality unit and it's a real honour for us to come here and beat them. To be 2-0 up after two games is something we only dreamt of."
Fast bowler Dale Steyn, who took 10 wickets in the game and scored 76 in the first innings, was named Man of the Match.
The 25-year-old has taken 74 Test wickets this year said: "It's happened so quickly, the team has done fantastically, led by a fantastic captain."
Stalwart wicketkeeper Mark Boucher said: "We have had a lot of heartbreak in this part of the world and to even think about winning a series in Australia was always going to be tough but I believe this team will go from strength to strength now."
All-rounder Jacques Kallis was delighted to finally win in Australia on his fourth tour. "It's an unbelievable feeling," he said. "We knew to beat Australia here you need a bit of luck to go your way and play the big moments well.
"For the senior players we realised how tough a task it was and this rates with winning a World Cup, if not better. South African cricket is healthy and hopefully we can keep the side together and stay on top for a while."
The baggy greens had not lost at home since 1992-93, when they were defeated by the West Indies.
They had seemed in a commanding position during the opening match of the current series, in Perth, before a remarkable fight-back by South Africa saw the visitors chase down an unlikely second-inning target of 414.
Smith's side came from behind equally strongly at the MCG, where they ended the second day at 198-7 - nearly 200 runs behind their hosts.
But a ninth-wicket partnership of 180 between Duminy and Steyn helped turn the game around, and Steyn's five-wicket haul in the second innings reduced Australia to 247, leaving the tourists a modest victory target.
BBC SPORTS REPORT.
A Scottish missionary and his wife, who pleaded guilty to sedition charges in Gambia, have been sentenced to one year in prison with hard labour.
David and Fiona Fulton were arrested last month after sending e-mails to groups and individuals which criticised the country's government. The couple changed their original not guilty plea last week. Mr Fulton, 60, is from Troon in Ayrshire. His 46-year-old wife is from Torquay in Devon. Last week the couple pleaded guilty to charges of sedition against the government of President Yahya Jammeh.
They issued a public apology but their remorse did not mollify the judge. The Fultons admitted publishing e-mails with seditious comments with intent to bring hatred or contempt against the president or the government.
Presiding magistrate Idrissa Mbai said: "I found the offences of the accused party to be very shocking and they have shown no respect for the country, the government and the president of the republic. I will send a clear message to the offenders. "I therefore sentence you to a fine of 250,000 dalasis (about £6,250) and mandatory jail time of one year with hard labour."
If the couple do not pay the fine they face an additional six months in prison. They can lodge an appeal within 20 days, but it was not clear if they would do so.
The tiny west African country inside Senegal, has been criticised in recent years for its human rights record.
Mr Jammeh, an outspoken military officer and former wrestler, has ruled the former British colony since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said consular staff had been providing assistance to the Fultons. He said the Foreign Office was "seeking clarity" over what hard labour meant "in this context". He added that it was a decision for the Fultons with their legal representative as to whether they appealed against the judgement.
The spokesman said that the couple's two-year-old daughter was being cared for by a family friend in the family home.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
"A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE REQUIRES
FALLING IN LOVE MANY TIMES,
ALWAYS WITH THE SAME PERSON" !
________
Posted by: Mara at December 30, 2008 10:38 |
link | comments |
sayings
At least 40 people have died in clashes between Islamist groups vying to control key towns in central Somalia. Fifty others were wounded as a self-styled moderate Islamist group, Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca, continued to battle militants from the hardline al-Shabab. In the capital, Mogadishu, 10 people died as insurgents fired mortars at the bases of government troops.
Monday's violence came as Somalia's president quit, adding to the chaos as Ethiopian troops prepare to withdraw. Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca, a relatively new Islamist group, has declared a holy war on al-Shabab, blaming it for the bloodshed in Somalia. It seized two towns in central Somalia over the weekend, triggering fierce clashes.
Various Islamist and nationalist groups control most of southern Somalia. Government forces only control parts of the capital, Mogadishu, and the town of Baidoa.
The bloodletting continued as Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf quit following a power struggle with the prime minister. The pair had clashed in recent months over attempts to negotiate a peace deal with moderates in the Islamist-led armed opposition.
In 2006, President Yusuf made the unpopular decision to call in troops from neighbouring Ethiopia to prop up his fragile administration but the move has failed to quell the Islamist insurgency.
Ethiopian troops are due to pull out this week, raising fears of a power vacuum in a country that has not had an effective national government since 1991. Fighting between the Ethiopia-backed government and the insurgents has left one million people homeless and much of Mogadishu deserted.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Guinea's military rulers have named a banker as their prime minister, a week after their coup. Kabine Komara's appointment comes as western envoys are due to meet Guinea's leaders in the capital, Conakry.
On Monday, the African Union suspended Guinea because of the military seizure of power. Guinea would remain suspended "until the return of constitutional order in that country," the 53-member bloc said in a statement from its Ethiopian base.
Junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power after the death of long-serving President Lansana Conte. But many Guineans back the army's move after many years of misrule.
The African Union decided not to apply sanctions and said it would work closely with the military rulers, to try to bring Guinea back to constitutionality.
President Conte died aged 74 on 22 December, after being in power for 24 years - he had staged his own coup in 1984. Hours later Capt Camara took to the airwaves to announce the dissolution of the government, pledging to root out corruption.
The ousted government initially opposed the coup but, with sentiment on the streets favouring the takeover, soon pledged loyalty to Capt Camara. By Friday nearly all political parties and unions were on board.
The junta has so far ignored calls to relinquish power. It promises to hold elections by the end of 2010. The coup was condemned internationally but Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has urged the world community to recognise the new leadership.
At the weekend, Guinea's junta also announced it was suspending mining operations in the country pending a "renegotiation" of agreements with mining companies.
More than a third of the world's bauxite reserves are in Guinea, making it the second-largest producer internationally. It also has large reserves of gold, diamonds, iron and nickel.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Opposition candidate John Atta Mills says he has won Ghana's election run-off, with official results expected to be released shortly.
"The figures show clearly that I have won the election. I am only waiting for the electoral commissioner to declare me winner," he told his supporters.
Police earlier fired warning shots as large crowds converged on the election headquarters demanding the results.
The governing NPP party said the result was still too close to call.
New Patriotic Party chairman Peter Mac Manu said there had been widespread intimidation of its election agents in the Volta region and results from these areas would be challenged.
RIVALS AT A GLANCE:
JOHN ATTA MILLS
Age: 64
Party: National Democratic Congress
Executive posts: Vice-president 1997-2000
Profession: Teacher
Hobbies: Hockey, swimming
Family: Married with one child
NANA AKUFO-ADDO
Age: 64
Party: New Patriotic Party
Executive posts: Attorney general 2001-03; foreign affairs minister 2003-07
Profession: Lawyer
Family: Married with five children
NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo gained the most votes in the first round earlier this month but did not pass the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.
The BBC's Will Ross in Accra says that with suspicion of vote-rigging on both sides, there are fears violence could break out. The stakes have been raised in these elections because of the discovery of oil, which is expected to start generating revenue in 2010.
Outgoing President John Kufuor has appealed for calm and for people to wait for the final results.
The Electoral Commission on Monday declared results from 200 of the 230 constituencies, which showed Mr Atta Mills leading with 52% of the vote, against 48% for Mr Akufo-Addo. Unofficial results published by local media suggest Mr Atta Mills has an unassailable lead with just a handful of constituencies still to declare their results.
State broadcaster Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) says Mr Atta Mills has 4,330,705 votes compared to 4,324,085 for Mr Akufo-Addo, with results declared in 226 constituencies.
These figures give the candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) 50.04%, against 49.96% for the governing NPP.
But Mr Mac Manu said unofficial predictions that Mr Atta Mills had won were "highly speculative and premature".
Ghana is seen as one of Africa's most democratic countries and is hoping to restore the continent's faith in elections after flawed polls and violence in Kenya and Zimbabwe this year.
Some 12.5 million people were eligible to vote in the election - the fifth since the country's return to democracy in 1992.
President Kufuor is standing down having served two consecutive terms.
He defeated Mr Atta Mills in the two previous elections.
Mr Atta Mills served as vice-president under former leader Jerry Rawlings.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
A leading member of the most prominent militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region was arrested on Sunday, the Nigerian military says.
An army spokesman said no shots were fired as Sobomabo Jackrich was detained at Buguma in Rivers State.
A BBC correspondent says the rebel, also known as Ebiri Papa, is a leading member of a faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.
It launched a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2006.
Lt Col Sagir Musa, a military spokesman in the Niger Delta, said: "Not a single shot was fired and no casualty was recorded during and after the arrest."
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer but its lawless southern region is plagued by kidnappings, pipeline explosions and the theft of crude oil by armed groups.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
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The UN has warned the total number of cases could reach 60,000
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The latest figures from the UN and Zimbabwe's health ministry reveal that two-thirds of the victims of the cholera outbreak have died this month.
The death toll at the end of last week stood at 1,564, with 29,131 suspected cases since August, the UN said.
Figures from the health ministry on 1 December put cholera deaths at 484.
The UN has warned it could take six months to control the outbreak that has been fuelled by the collapse of the health, sanitation and water services.
According to the World Health Organization, cases have been reported in all 10 of Zimbabwe's provinces.
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CHOLERA FIGURES SINCE AUGUST
25 December
Deaths: 1,564
Cases: 29,131
1 December
Deaths: 484
Cases: 11, 735
Cases in December 68%
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"The overall Case Fatality Rate (CFR) has risen to 5.7% - far above the 1% which is normal in large outbreaks - and in some rural areas it has reached as high as 50%," the WHO said in a statement.
Last Tuesday, Unicef put the number of cholera deaths at 1,174.
Aid agencies say so many clinics and hospitals have closed that large sections of the population have no access to medical care.
The suburb of Budiriro in Harare's capital, has been worst hit by the outbreak, followed by Beitbridge on the border with South Africa.
South Africa has recorded 1,279 cases and 12 deaths - the bulk of these in the border region, the WHO says.
Over the weekend, Save the Children said some five million people in Zimbabwe - or about 50% of the country's population - were now in need of food aid.
President Robert Mugabe has been facing intensified criticism over the dire economic and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.
He signed a power-sharing deal with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, in September, intended to rescue the collapsing economy but progress has since stalled over who should control key ministries.
Mr Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of power-sharing talks unless abductions of his supporters stop.
According to his Movement for Democratic Change, about 40 human rights activists and opposition supporters have been abducted in the past two months.
Meanwhile, the US envoy to Africa, Jendayi Frazer, has warned that last week's military coup in Guinea should serve as a warning of what could happen in Zimbabwe, if Mr Mugabe is allowed to cling to power and die in office.
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BBC NEWS REPORT.
Uganda's army has accused the Lord's Resistance Army rebels of hacking to death 45 civilians in a Catholic church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Capt Chris Magezi said it happened the day after Christmas near Doruma, close to the border with South Sudan. "We got information that the rebels cut 45 people into pieces," Capt Magezi was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
A rebel spokesman has denied responsibility for the killings, which follow a collapse in the peace process.
The armies of Uganda, South Sudan and DR Congo carried out a joint offensive against the rebels in mid-December after LRA leader Joseph Kony again refused to sign a peace deal.
The LRA leader, who has lived in a jungle hideout in north-eastern DR Congo for the last few years, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Uganda's government had been involved in lengthy peace negotiations with the LRA, hosted by the South Sudanese government.
But Mr Kony has demanded that arrest warrants for him and his associates be dropped before any agreement can be struck.
Aid officials requesting anonymity near Doruma, which is about 40km from the border with South Sudan, confirmed to Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper and to AFP that the massacre had taken place.
"Bodies of the women and children, with deep cuts are littered inside and outside the church," an aid official told The Monitor.
However, LRA spokesman David Nekorach Matsanga is quoted by the Monitor and AFP as denying that the rebels are behind the killing.
"Reports about the LRA killing innocent civilians is another propaganda campaign by the Uganda army," he said."I have it on good authority from the filed commanders that the LRA is not in those areas where the killings are reported to have taken place."
Capt Magezi said that on Saturday the army had killed 13 of the rebels behind the alleged attack and were pursing the rest of the group.
Countries from Uganda to the Central African Republic have suffered 20 years of terror inflicted by the LRA.
Tens of thousands of children have been abducted to be fighters and sex slaves.
Uganda's government said the joint offensive had destroyed some 70% of the LRA camps in DR Congo.
BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says that Mr Kony's force is relatively small - about 650 strong - but the difficulty is that when it is hit, it scatters then regroups.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Juliet Njeri BBC News Nairobi.
Kibera, a sprawling slum in the heart of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, was the scene of some of the worst violence after last year's disputed elections.
Neighbours turned against each other because of ethnic and political rivalries and the police were accused of using brutal force to quash clashes and protests.
But it was here that John Okello and Jane Ogolla, both ethnic Luos like then opposition leader Raila Odinga, sought refuge after they were orphaned during violence in other parts of the country.
Fourteen-year-old John says he walked more than 62 miles (100km) to Nairobi from Naivasha after his parents were shot and killed.
"I didn't know where I was going but luckily through God's grace I finally arrived in Nairobi," he says. "I don't remember how I walked but it was many days."He would walk all day and spend the night in forests, depending on the kindness of strangers for money to buy food.
He ended up in Kibera, although he had never been there before and made his way to a local government office to ask for assistance.
Rioting erupted after President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential poll, triggering claims of electoral fraud Mr Odinga.
The rivals signed a power-sharing deal in February to bring an end to the violence and formed a coalition government - but not before 1,500 people died in clashes and another 300,000 fled their homes.
For 20-year-old Jane, the journey to Kibera was not as long or treacherous as John's, but it was no less traumatic.
She had lived with her parents and five younger siblings in Dandora, a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Clashes broke out in Dandora soon after the election results were announced on 29 December, and she says different gangs, including the infamous Mungiki, and the paramilitary General Service Unit were involved in the attacks.
"We were at home and we had locked the door. But the attackers came and my mother and father were killed as they tried to defend me and my siblings," she says.
Their house was burnt down and with no-one to turn to, the orphaned children left Dandora.
They lived in a government camp for a month before they left for Kawangware, another slum area outside Nairobi, after hearing that the local MP was giving assistance to those affected by the violence.
But they were forced to leave Kawangware after being warned that it was not safe there and headed for Kibera.
Jane and John are now living at the St Michael's Holy Unity Academy, which was established in 1994 to assist orphans in Kibera. Brought together by fate, the two are slowly rebuilding their lives in their new home. But one year later, the place where they found refuge is still very divided.
The bloodiest clashes in Kibera were between members of President Kibaki's Kikuyu community and Prime Minister Odinga's Luo community.
Today, ethnic tensions between the two communities are still simmering just below the surface of daily life.
Memories of the violence has kept tension simmering in the community
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"People are just assuming things are okay. If you want to talk you still watch your back," says Jane Onyango, a Luo who lives in Kibera.
Mrs Onyango, who does community work in the slum, says things are not back to normal.
"I'm a Luo and I really try to relate to everybody because of the community work I do, but you don't just talk freely," she adds. "There's that margin that has been drawn that is very hard to erase."
She heads a community organisation called Kibera Women for Peace and Fairness, which was formed during the post-election violence to condemn police brutality.
When the organisation was formed, people from different ethnic communities came together to support the cause, but cracks later began to emerge among the group's members.
"The Luos and the Kikuyus dropped off," says Mrs Onyango. "We have only two Kikuyus and four Luos among 384 members. Luos and Kikuyus still have that problem relating."
Although most of those who were displaced have gone back to their homes and are living together, there is still tension between different communities.
"I went to a shop the other day and two people argued. One was shouting very bitterly 'It's a Luo,' and saying 'If we get another opportunity, they will see'," she says.
Statements to demean other communities are still spoken loudly in public places such as public service vehicles, and Mrs Onyango fears this could spark new violence.
"If something happens, I think it can be worse. Things are not safe, especially between the Luos and Kikuyus."
A recent exercise to distribute relief food in the slum led to a confrontation with one community complaining that the other was being favoured.
Resentment is said to remain high in a place which is already a tinderbox
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"There's no peace. There is calm," Mrs Onyango observes.
Some of this tension is being fuelled by the government, which the community worker accuses of treating the two communities differently.
"The government is treating people very, very differently according to ethnic communities. This unequal distribution of resources, it has brought problems before," she says.
There have been no efforts to organise platforms where the two communities can sit together and resolve their differences, and she says the buck stops with the political leaders.
This has created a general feeling that the government is concentrating on helping those displaced from the Rift Valley Province, and not doing enough to help those affected in other parts of the country.
All this is fuelling resentment in a place which is already a tinderbox.
"People are feeling bad and they have no voices to speak and nowhere to air their views. "But the truth is people are not happy and because they can't reach the decision-makers, they turn on the wrong people who are also innocent," Mrs Onyango says.
One year on from the elections, politicians have gone back to squabbling over power and forgotten their promise to heal the country's ethnic divide, an atmosphere of fear is slowly spreading in Kibera.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf has told parliament he is resigning - a move which adds to the chaos in the country as Ethiopian troops withdraw.
Mr Yusuf's resignation follows a power struggle with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, who parliament backed after Mr Yusuf tried to sack him.
Ethiopian soldiers, who support the government, are due to pull out this week, raising fears of a power vacuum.
Various Islamist and nationalist groups control most of southern Somalia.
Last week, Mohamed Mahamud Guled, who Mr Yusuf wanted to install as prime minister, resigned saying his appointment was destabilising the government.
The parliament speaker is now supposed to take over leadership responsibilities.
Mr Yusuf was chosen by MPs four years ago at the end of a long process supposed to bring peace to Somalia, which has not had an effective national government since 1991.
But government forces only control parts of the capital, Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa.
Mr Yusuf told MPs in Baidoa: "As I promised when you elected me on October 14, 2004, I would stand down if I failed to fulfil my duty, I have decided to return the responsibility you gave me."
In his speech, broadcast on national radio, he said: "When I took power I pledged three things.
"If I was unable to fulfil my duty I will resign. Second, I said I will do everything in my power to make government work across the country. That did not happen either.
"Third, I asked the leaders to co-operate with me for the common good of the people. That did not happen," he said, according to Associated Press news agency.
Mr Yusuf had faced criticism for appointing Mr Guled in defiance of Somali MPs, who overwhelmingly rejected the dismissal of his predecessor.
The president had clashed in recent months with Mr Nur over attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.
Mr Guled said he had chosen to resign "so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going well now".
The regional grouping, Igad, which brokered the talks leading to Mr Yusuf's election, this month imposed sanctions on him, calling him an obstacle to peace.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at December 29, 2008 09:41 |
link | comments |
The African Union has suspended Guinea after last week's military coup in the West African nation.
Guinea would remain suspended "until the return of constitutional order in that country," the 53-member bloc said in a statement from its Ethiopian base.
The widely-expected move follows the coup in Guinea on 23 December.
Junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power after the death of long-serving President Lansana Conte, attracting international condemnation.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
People in Ghana have been voting peacefully in the presidential run-off, after the 7 December election failed to produce an outright winner.
Nana Akufo-Addo of the governing party is competing against John Atta Mills of the opposition to succeed President John Kufuor, who has served two terms. Mr Addo defeated his rival by a slender margin in the first round but not by enough to avoid the run-off.
The stakes are high as Ghana has just found commercial quantities of oil.
The two main political parties - the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of Mr Atta Mills - have both complained about apparent efforts to rig the vote.
Ghana has held successful elections before but suspicions are high and there is a danger that, unless the people believe this process is free and fair, the country's image could be dented, says the BBC's Will Ross in Accra.
Some 12.5 million people are eligible to vote in the election - the third since the country's return to democracy in 1992.
In Accra and across the West African state, queues formed outside schools and other public buildings where polling stations were operating, guarded by armed soldiers and police.
After Mr Atta-Mills cast his ballot in the capital, he said he hoped the voting would be smooth and carried out properly.
"We don't want any rigging, we don't want any cheating," he said, adding that he was "confident of winning".
On the eve of Sunday's vote, Mr Atta Mills said he had received disturbing reports of "macho men" being hired "to cause mayhem at polling stations".
Mr Akufo-Addo's party accused the opposition of having embarked on a "disturbing... intimidation scheme".
President Kufuor, who has to stand down having served two consecutive terms, called for a peaceful vote.
"I am appealing to all Ghanaians... we should all keep cool, go and vote, as a peaceful exercise, as a legitimate exercise," he told reporters.
Ghana, traditionally an exporter of cocoa and gold, is preparing to start producing oil in commercial quantities from late 2010 and a major boost to the economy is anticipated.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Migrants are charged about $1,000 to cross the Mediterranean
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Several hundred more migrants from Africa have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, bringing the total of arrivals in 48 hours to about 1,700.
Two boats carrying more than 300 people were intercepted by the Italian navy off the island a day after four vessels holding about 1,300 people were found.
Italian officials say there has been a sharp rise in the number of illegal migrants coming from Africa this year.
Many risk the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to enter Europe from Libya.
The latest arrivals included two pregnant women who were among 65 people rescued from a large inflatable dinghy south of Lampedusa, Ansa news agency said.
Another boat was intercepted on Saturday carrying 247 people.
Four vessels made their way to Lampedusa or were intercepted close to the island on Thursday night and Friday morning.
Italian authorities say the island's migrant detention centre, built to house 850 people, is under severe pressure.
The interior ministry says more than 24,000 migrants arrived in Italy from January to September, compared to about 14,000 in the same period in 2007.
Many of the migrants are fleeing wars or poverty and leave Africa through Libya, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome.
People smugglers charge them about $1,000 (£686; 710 euros) each to make the often stormy crossing in barely-seaworthy vessels, says our correspondent.
Italy and Libya agreed earlier this year to step up naval patrols to try to reduce the flow of migrants.
Italy also offered to help Libya improve security on its southern desert frontier.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
By Juliet Njeri - BBC news Nairobi .
Isaac Mweperi squints in the glaring sun as he stands outside the makeshift UN refugee agency-branded tent that has been his home for the past year.
He fled from his home in Kenya's Narok District, where he had lived all his life after his neighbours turned on him during the violence which followed disputed elections on 27 December 2007.
Mr Mweperi says the threats of violence against his community began long before the polls.
Then, two days after the results were announced a gang of 35 men came to his house and attacked him with machetes, accusing him of supporting President Mwai Kibaki because they are from the same Kikuyu community.
His left hand was hacked off during the attack, and he suffered deep cuts on his face and head.
He ended up in an internally-displaced people's camp near the lakeside town of Naivasha with his wife.
One year later, the memory of being targeted because of his ethnicity and perceived political sympathies is still clear in his mind.
A police report released this month has identified ethnic bigotry, similar to that evident during the post-election violence, as still being a major threat to national security.
The report says the provinces most adversely affected are Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza and Nairobi, which were all flashpoints for ethnic violence after the elections.
Although the two political rivals, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, have buried their differences and agreed to work together, many in the country worry that the underlying issues such as land ownership and ethnic animosity have not yet been addressed.
Mr Mweperi has been back to his home in Narok only once since the attacks, and he is convinced that it is not safe for him and his family to go back.
When the Commission of Inquiry into the Post Election Violence - known as the Waki Commission - traversed the country several months ago, Mr Mweperi was one of the witnesses.
He believed that his testimony would help to reveal the truth and punish those who committed the atrocities.
Now, he is a hunted man again and has received threats on his life because he dared to name his attackers.
In its final report, the Waki Commission said some of the attacks were based on "ethnicity and political leanings" and recommended the establishment of a local tribunal to try those implicated in organising and carrying out the attacks.
The post-election bloodshed shocked the world
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But Mr Mweperi says he does not believe that the establishment of a local tribunal will meet these goals.
"I don't think it will succeed here in Kenya. Kenya is plagued by corruption and these same MPs incited the attacks. It's like looking for a goat with the help of the goat thief," he says.
As Kenya marks one year since the violence, another challenge the country is struggling with is the resettlement of more than 300,000 people who fled their homes.
While many have been able to go back home through the government's Operation Rudi Nyumbani (Operation Go Back Home) programme, some like Mr Mweperi remain in camps.
Each family received $130 (£88) as compensation from the government to help them rebuild their lives - a desperately meagre sum for those who had lost everything in the clashes.
Mr Mweperi and some of his new neighbours have chosen to pool the compensation money and have bought a piece of land close to the camp to build new homes.
They are afraid to go back home, fearing fresh attacks and, for Mr Mweperi, reprisals for testifying before the commission.
Hundreds of thousands fled their homes in the post-election violence
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But while Mr Mweperi and his neighbours can look forward to a New Year with new opportunities, for 68-year old Mary Mureu and her family, 2009 holds no promises.
Mrs Mureu fled her home in Molo, in Rift Valley Province, at the height of the violence with her three daughters and four grandchildren.
They went to Kikuyu, 30 kilometres from Nairobi, seeking refuge among fellow members of their Kikuyu community.
"The Nandis attacked us and we ran for our lives. We've never gone back home but I went back to check on my house recently but there is no peace there," she says.
She vows that she will never go back to the home she built with her husband. The attackers destroyed everything, her house, her crops, and there is nothing to go back to.
"It is only God's grace which helped me to flee. I am old, I cannot go back so that they can attack me during the next elections," she says.
Families fear ethnic tensions lurking beneath the surface could erupt again
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Mrs Mureu and her family have been living with a family which sympathised with their situation, and with no help forthcoming, they will continue to seek refuge there.
With skyrocketing food prices and rising inflation, life is now looking grim for the two families which are bound together by fate.
"We are still helping them but now life is becoming so hard," their host Peter Mburu says.
Many others who were displaced are still afraid to go back home fearing fresh attacks and still live in camps or "transit camps" situated close to their former homes.
The fear that the ethnic tension which led to the attacks has not dampened is very real for many of those who bore the brunt of the violence, even as the rest of the country moves on.
And it is not difficult to see why many of them feel that they have been forgotten and left to face their uncertain fate on their own.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
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Some five million Zimbabwean rely on food aid, the aid agency says
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Acute child malnutrition in parts of Zimbabwe has increased by almost two-thirds compared with last year, aid agency Save the Children says.
In a report, the UK-based agency concluded that some children were "wasting away from lack of food".
It said there was a shortage of 18,000 tonnes of food needed for January and urged world donors to increase aid.
The agency said innocent Zimbabweans should not suffer because of a political crisis out of their control.
"There is no excuse for failing to provide this food," said Lynn Walker, programmes director for Save the Children in Zimbabwe.
The agency said some five million people in Zimbabwe - or about 50% of the country's population - were now in need of food aid.
Zimbabwe's farming sector collapsed after President Robert Mugabe launched a controversial land reform programme more than five years ago.
As well as suffering economic meltdown, Zimbabwe is experiencing a cholera outbreak, fuelled by the collapse of its health, sanitation and water services.
Aid agencies have warned that the disease, which has already claimed more than 1,100 lives, could infect more than 60,000 unless its spread is halted.
President Mugabe has blamed the West for his country's problems.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
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"IF YOU WANT TO BE RESPECTED BY OTHERS,
THE GREAT THING IS TO RESPECT YOURSELF" !
__________
Posted by: Mara at December 24, 2008 19:24 |
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sayings
Esther (not her real name), 28, a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, describes how Christmas will be celebrated this year.
It is Christmas Eve and the queues are something else.
I was at this shopping centre a few hours ago and it was packed, everything there is sold in foreign currency and you have to be prepared to stand in a queue for more than an hour - it's so full of people doing their Christmas shopping.
While Zimbabwean dollars are still in chronic short supply, there seem to be more US dollars about for the festive season.
The queues at money transfer agencies are really quite long, so I think there's a lot of foreign currency coming in from people with relatives in the diaspora for the holiday period - and that's the reason for the queues in supermarkets.
Usually at this time of year, there are decorations up - Santa Clauses in the department stores and all that stuff, but there aren't that many this time.
Without US dollars it is hard to buy goods in Harare
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At home too, we've just been remarking on how different Christmas is - usually our house is covered in Christmas cards, covering every surface, but this year we've only received two.
I've just been to my uncle's house and they haven't received a single one.
Normally we have this family gathering on Christmas Day where we get together with our cousins, uncles and aunts, but we've cancelled that this year for a quiet day at home instead.
I think many people have decided to be defiant and enjoy the day despite all the many difficulties here - and many Zimbabweans are strong Christians.
There's quite a number of foreign-registered vehicles around - people home for Christmas.
Cholera victims need to be buried quickly
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However, I was saying to my friends earlier that many of my contemporaries seem reluctant returnees - saying how scared they feel about coming home because of the situation here.
Today, I saw this girl who used to stay in our neighbourhood and she was saying her husband had just come from the rural areas and the cholera outbreak has spread to that area. She said it was really very bad.
The cholera is affecting funeral practices. Usually we gather for three days and bury the person on the third day.
But cholera victims have to be buried immediately and people aren't allowed to gather, which is out of sync with our culture.
The good news for Christmas is that Jestina Mukoko [the human rights activist missing for the last three weeks] is alive.
She appeared in court today. I was so scared she had been killed.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Mr Yusuf (left) has been criticised by African leaders for appointing Mr Guled
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A Somali official named prime minister by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed last week has quit, saying his appointment was destabilising the government.
Mohamed Mahamud Guled said he had chosen to resign "so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going well now".
Mr Guled was appointed in defiance of Somali MPs, who said the dismissal of Nur Hassan Hussein had been illegal.
On Sunday, East African leaders imposed sanctions on President Abdullahi.
At a meeting in Addis Ababa, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (Igad) said it would not recognise the unconstitutional appointment of Mr Guled, and gave its backing to Mr Nur.
The grouping also called on other countries to take similar measures.
Speaking to reporters in the town of Baidoa on Wednesday, Mr Guled said that "after evaluating the current situation", he had decided to resign as prime minister.
"I stood down so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going on well now," he added "I want the government to remain in power and differences among its leaders to be sorted out."
Responding to a question whether he initiated any projects during his short tenure, Mr Guled said that he had done nothing apart from engaging in "consultations that led to my resignation". The former interior minister said he hoped the president would accept his decision, and that he would remain a member of parliament.
BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says Mr Guled's resignation further weakens the president, who had clashed in recent months with Mr Nur over attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.
Mr Abdullahi said he sacked the prime minister because his government had been "paralysed by corruption, inefficiency and treason" and had failed to bring peace.
However, Somalia's parliament declared the sacking illegal and passed a vote of confidence in Mr Nur by a huge majority the following day.
Mr Nur was appointed prime minister in November 2007 to replace Ali Mohamed Ghedi, who had clashed with the president after refusing to negotiate with armed Islamists and other opposition groups.
He was previously chairman of Somalia's Red Crescent Society.
The African Union and the UN secretary-general have both described the political in-fighting as disruptive to the peace process, currently under way in neighbouring Djibouti.
Somalia has not had a functioning national government since President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.
Ethiopian troops intervened two years ago to oust Islamists from Mogadishu, and install the transitional government.
But it is now in disarray and only controls parts of the capital and the town of Baidoa after recent advances by different Islamist groups.
The "irrevocable" departure of the Ethiopian troops from the country over the coming weeks has added to fears of further instability.
On Monday, the African Union agreed to keep its small peacekeeping force in place for a further two months, but did not say how it would cover for the imminent Ethiopian withdrawal.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at December 24, 2008 13:34 |
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