XINHUA NEWS SERVICE REPORTS FROM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

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Further eight dead, 32 wounded
in continuing Mogadishu clashes

WitnesseS, as well as hospital sources, said that
eight people were killed as shells slammed into 
civilian homes around the battle areas
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MOGADISHU - HUNDREDS FLEE FIGHTING IN SOMALI CAPITAL

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United States denies military intervention in Somalia

WASHINGTON (Xinhua) -- The United States on Friday denied intervening in the military operation by the Somali transitional government on the extremists, saying it has no desire to “Americanize” the conflict in Somalia.
“We have provided limited military support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). We do so in the firm belief that the TFG seeks to end the violence in Somalia that is caused by al-Shabaab and other extremist organizations,” said Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson.
“The United States does not plan, does not direct, and does not coordinate the military operations of the TFG, and we have not and will not be providing direct support for any potential military offensives,” Carson told reporters at a special press briefing in the State Department.
“Further, we are not providing nor paying for military advisors for the TFG. There is no desire to Americanize the conflict in Somalia,” he added, reiterating that the United States supports the peace process in Somalia.
According to Carson, the United States continues to call on all those who seek peace in Somalia to reject terrorism and violence, and to participate in the hard work of stabilizing the country for the benefit of the Somali people.
Carson’s remarks were made as the TFG has renewed its military strike against the Islamist extremists in the capital Mogadishu and a senior U.S. army officer said Washington would support the transitional government to retake Mogadishu.
William Ward, who runs U.S. Africa Command, on Tuesday told a Senate hearing the Somali government’s effort in retaking Mogadishu is “something that we would look to do in support.”
He said the military would do this “to the degree the transitional federal government can in fact re-exert control over Mogadishu, with the help of AMISOM and others.”
AMISOM stands for African Union Mission in Somalia.
The internationally recognized government of Somalia is struggling to fight off an Islamist insurgency poised to run over parts of the city with protection from a few thousand African Union peacekeepers.
Clashes have intensified recently in Mogadishu, with the office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) saying last week nearly 26,000 people have been forced to escape violence in the capital since Feb. 1.
Mogadishu is a sore spot in American memory, where 18 U.S. soldiers died in an operation there in 1993. Some of their bodies were dragged along the streets, and the images prompted the end of that intervention.
The battle was made into a movie called Black Hawk Down.
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Somalis launch new Kenya-based radio station

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- A new radio station for Somalia, Bar-Kulan, or “the meeting place”, has been launched by Somalis in neighboring Kenya. 
Broadcasting from studios in Nairobi and drawing content from a network of correspondents throughout Somalia and around the world, Bar-Kulan’s aim is to be the radio of reference for Somali speakers everywhere. 
Bar-Kulan’s Director David Smith said the primary audience is young people because as is the case anywhere in the world, the future is in the hands of the youth.
Creating a virtual venue for discussion, education and entertainment, is a role Bar-Kulan is cultivating in the belief that an informed population is a population better prepared to make decisions. 
Test transmissions have been on the air since March 1 on two frequencies: 15750 kHz in the 19 meter band between 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) and on 9630 kHz in the 31 meter band between 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) and 8 p.m. (1700 GMT).
“These tests have included specially selected Quranic verses, reports on internally displaced persons, and refugees, interviews with prominent Somalis and the best in Somali music – new and old, “ Smith said in the statement.
He said the launch marked the start of what is the most exciting phase of any new radio station – the launch of live programs.
“Thanks to generous support from the United Nations, Bar-Kulan has been able to construct an infrastructure enabling it to cover the entire Horn of Africa on shortwave, a growing number of urban centers in Somalia on FM, all of Africa on DSTV and soon live streaming as well,” he said.
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Seven Chinese nationals kidnapped off Cameroon coast

YAOUNDE (Xinhua) -- Seven Chinese nationals working for a private fishing company were kidnapped off the Bakassi peninsula in southwest Cameroon, Chinese Embassy in the Central African country confirmed on Saturday.
A group calling itself the “Africa Marine Commando” has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, which occurred on Friday morning, the embassy said.
It said the seven kidnapped Chinese nationals have “no life danger” for the time being and that the kidnappers had provided them with water and food. Two fishing vessels of China’s Dalian Beihai Fishing Company were attacked and robbed at around 2 a.m. Friday (0100 GMT), according to the embassy. The ships returned to the port of Limbe around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) with two sailors on board slightly injured. 
The Chinese and Cameroonian governments are paying great attention to the issue, the embassy said, adding measures have been taken to ensure the release of the hostages as rapidely as possible.
Attacks by gunmen were reported in recent years off the Bakassi peninsula.
A group of assailants attacked an oil vessel working in an offshore oilfield for the French petroleum Total in October 2008.
Ten of the 15 crew members on board the vessel “Bourbon Sagitta” was kidnapped near Bakassi Peninsula.
A series of attacks by armed bandits had killed several army officers before the French men were taken hostage.
The Cameroonian army deployed a Rapid Response Unit (RRU/ DELTA) in April 2009 to beef up security in the peninsula in the Gulf of Guinea. 
In October 2009, RRU/ DELTA killed four pirates and wounded four others at the Idabato sea opening in the Bakassi peninsula.
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Burkina Faso president reshuffles government

LOME (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore reshuffled his government on Friday, replacing three ministers, said news reports from Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.
The three new government members are Minister of Labor and Social Security Amadou Adrien Kone, Minister of Trade, Promotion of Enterprise and Handicraft Leonce Kone and minister in charge of budget planning Francois Marie Didier Zoundi.
Jerome Bougouma, the former labor and social security minister, resigned over love affair scandals several weeks ago.
Local analysts say the reshuffle was a prelude to the presidential election slated for November.
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Security Council extends Chad UN force for two months

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic and Chad until May 15, with the discussions still going on about the future of the operation.
A resolution, unanimously adopted by the 15-nation Security Council on Friday morning, approved the two-month technical roll- over of the mission known as MINURCAT, which was set up in 2007 to ensure the security of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Sudanese region of Darfur, other displaced persons and humanitarian workers.
The new resolution was adopted after recent discussions between the world body and Chadian authorities.
The government of Chad had called for the withdrawal of the military component of MINURCAT, stating that it had served its purpose and that it was better for Chadian forces to take over security responsibilities.
Last Wednesday, Chad’s ambassador to the UN Ahmad Allam-mi said in a letter addressed to the president of the Security Council that Chad had reconsidered its decision requesting the withdrawal of MINURCAT, which is tasked with protecting refugees on the border with Darfur.
“The government agrees to a technical extension of the mandate of the mission for a two-month period beginning March 16, 2010,” said the letter.
Last week, UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters that a two-month extension, which was agreed with the Chadian government, would “give some time to try to find agreement with the Chadian authorities on the future of MINURCAT in Chad.” 
Le Roy, who was recently in Chad to discuss the issue with the leaders of the African country, added that many Council members have stressed the importance of keeping the mission on the ground.
At a daily press conference Friday at the UN Headquarters in New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky reiterated that the extension is “technical.”
“In the meantime the UN will continue discussions on the future of MINURCAT beyond the 15th of May,” Nesirky said.
“The UN’s clear presence is for MINURCAT to stay with the appropriate level of troops to fulfill the mandate given by the Security Council.”
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DR Congo hopes to see UN mission out in 2011

KINSHASA (Xinhua) -- The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) hopes to see the UN peacekeeping mission pull out in 2011 and shift the duty to its own armed forces, a senior official has said. 
Communication Minister and government spokesman Lambert Mende told a press conference here on Thursday that Kinshasa hopes to see the UN mission MONUC out in 2011 to allow the army (FARDC), police and security forces to strengthen themselves and the country to conduct judicial reforms.
Mende said the position had already been communicated to UN officials and that the proposal was being discussed by both sides.
The disengagement of MONUC is supposed to begin with those deployed in the zones no longer threatened by any conflict within the central African county. They need to be transferred by now until the end of 2010 to the two provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which are still facing attacks from armed groups.
On the issue of reconfiguring the mandate of MONUC, the Congolese government stated that this is line with the essential principles of respecting the independence and sovereignty of DR Congo and setting up a national plan by the government to reform the security system.
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Togo authorities release opposition members after brief detention

LOME (Xinhua) -- The Togolese authorities have released 11 opposition members after brief detention on suspicion of preparing illegal documents against the provisional results of the March 4 presidential election. 
Public prosecutor Robert Bakai said the detainees were set free on Thursday after arrested on Tuesday, citing article 159 of the country’s penal code which stipulates if the maximum sentence of an offense is less than two years, the accused can be temporarily released.
“In this case, the maximum sentence is less than a year.
"This is why they were set free,” the public prosecutor said.
But concerning the documents, he reiterated that the issue was very serious and charges could still be filed against them.
The detainees are members of the West African country’s main opposition United Forces for Change (UFC), whose leader Jean- Pierre Fabre is challenging the results after declaring himself the winner of election.
The official results published by the electoral commission showed that Fabre scored 33.94 percent of the total votes cast, losing to outgoing President Faure Gnassingbe, who won 60.92 percent.
Protests were staged in the capital Lome after Saturday’s publication of the results, triggering fears of violence which led to killings and displacement in the polls held in 2005.
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'Al-Qaida' says Spanish hostages receiving 'correct treatment'

MADRID (Xinhua) -- Terrorist group al-Qaida said on Friday that two Spanish hostages it kidnapped in Mauritania were receiving “correct treatment,” Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.
The group released a female captive, Alicia Gamez, this week but her two male colleagues, Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta, remain in captivity.
The trio were working for a Barcelona-based charity, Accio Solidario, when they were kidnapped on Nov. 29.
Al-Qaida said Gamez was released because of her health and because she had converted to Islam.
“We thank God for having put her on the right road and we pray her Moslem faith becomes stronger every day,” al-Qaida said in a statement.
The terrorist group said Vilaltra and Pascual were in good health.
“They receive correct treatment from us.
"You can ask Alicia and find she too was well treated,” the group said.
“This war has no distinction between civilians and military people ... While innocent Moslems are suffering, Spaniards are not going to have peace,” it said.
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Egypt’s opposition parties call for constitutional amendments

CAIRO (Xinhua) -- Egyptian opposition parties on Saturday called for amending the constitution to give independent candidates bigger opportunity to run for presidency, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
The newly formed opposition alliance which comprises Al-Wafd, Tagammu, Nasserist and Democratic Front parties, kicked off on Saturday their first conference with calls to amend articles 76, 77 and 88 of the constitution which regulates candidacy to the presidency post and judicial supervision of elections.
Article 67 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates for an applicant to the presidency post to get the support of at least 250 elected members of the parliament and local popular councils on governorate level in order to be accepted as a candidate.
Article 77 sets the term of presidency at six years with possibility to re-elect one president for other successive terms, while article 88 stipulates that ballot should be conducted under the supervision of a judiciary organ.
The conferees called for forming a higher council from the parties’ committees and the Higher Election Supervision Committee to supervise the upcoming elections.
They also called for referring election-related disputes to the Constitutional Court instead of Cassation Court.
However, representatives of the participant parties affirmed their intention to run for both parliamentary and presidential votes even if their calls for constitutional amendments were not met.
Some conferees proposed a delegation to be formed from the opposition parties to meet President Hosni Mubarak following his return from Germany to submit a memorandum of their requests to him.
The amendments aim to facilitate the engagement of independent candidates in the presidential elections.
Meanwhile, the participants called on former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to make clear whether he run for the upcoming elections or not.
ElBaradei sets introducing amendments to the constitution to guarantee the integrity of the election process as a condition for running for the presidency elections.
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Sixteen Egyptians injured in sectarian clashes

MERSA MATRUH, Egypt (Xinhua) -- Sixteen people have been injured in clashes between Copts and Muslims in the governorate of Mersa Matruh, northwestern Egypt.
Anonymous security sources said Saturday that 13 Egyptian Copts and three Muslims were injured in clashes in the suburbs of Mersa Matruh while some workers were building a fence to annex a piece of land owned by a Copt to a neighboring church, but the fence blocked a path for local residents between the two lands.
According to the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA), security authorities imposed tight measures in the area to prevent the renewal of clashes, while the injured people were moved to the hospitals.
Meanwhile, Director of Mersa Matruh Security Services Hussein Fekri said calm has been restored in the area and the situation has been put under control.
Matruh governor Ahmed Hussein has contacted on Saturday the church pastor, Begimi, and asked him to bulldoze the fence which sparked the incidents, MENA reported.
The pastor responded immediately and made directives to demolish the controversial fence.
Egypt has witnessed repeated clashes between Muslims and Copts in recent years over building new churches or expanding existing ones; most were in southern areas.
The Egyptian law stipulates taking permission from the governor before carrying out any expansions or renovating any of the churches nationwide.
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Egypt rejects United States human rights report

CAIRO (Xinhua) -- Egypt rejected on Saturday a report issued by the U.S. Department of State which criticized human rights condition in the country, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
“The report released by the U.S. State Department on human rights conditions in Egypt is not new, and it is something usual and released every year on the same pattern,” Mohamed Faeq, head of the complaints office in the National Council of Human rights ( NCHR), said Saturday.
“We should not pay much attention to such report, as local reports from the NCHR, civil societies and international, Arab and African mechanisms concerned outweigh such report,” said Faeq.
The council has submitted some proposals to the government in this respect to further improve human rights conditions in Egypt, he said.
The U.S. State Department report which was issued on Thursday, accused Egyptian government for not respecting human rights saying they remained poor, and serious abuses continued in many areas.
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 SWINE FLU    Hong Kong influenza A/H1N1 death toll rises to 74

HONG KONG (Xinhua) -- Another fatal case of influenza A/H1N1 was reported in Hong Kong, adding the total A/H1N1 death toll in the city to 74, said the local health authorities on Friday.
A 81-year-old female patient with chronic renal failure, hypertension and diabetes attended the Prince of Wales Hospital on February 24 due to influenza symptoms. She was confirmed to be affected with influenza a/H1N1 two days later.
Her condition deteriorated and she succumbed on Friday. 
The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Center for Health Protection.
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 SWINE FLU    Nearly 115,000 inoculated against A/H1N1 flu in Macao

MACAO (Xinhua) -- A total of 114,744 people in Macao have been inoculated with the A/H1N1 vaccines so far, according to the figures released on Friday by Macao’s Health Bureau.
Some 51 people were inoculated with the vaccines on Friday alone, which was initiated by the Bureau in late November last year, according to the Bureau.
Previously, the Macao Special Administrative Region government has announced that it has purchased some 700,000 doses of A/H1N1 vaccines, and local medical staff, children, old people and patients with chronic disease were among the group of local people who were firstly inoculated with these vaccines.
The Bureau also said that there was no newly confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu reported on Friday, and the total number of such case has reached 3,597 since June 18 last year, of which two patients died.
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 SWINE FLU    Cases of A/H1N1 virus decline in Japan

TOKYO (Xinhua) -- The number of cases of A/H1N1 virus in Japan has dropped to a seven-month low and the outbreak has abated, according to a weekly report released on Friday by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
The number of people visiting hospitals with the virus dropped to 3,688 for the week through Sunday, averaging 0.77 people per institution.
The virus peaked in November 2009, and since then the number of cases has slowly declined.
The institution estimates that more than 20 million people have contracted the virus in Japan since last year.
The health ministry in Japan said that it will remain alert for new outbreaks of the virus to make sure that a second wave of cases does not hit the country.
The virus spread across the world last year, leading the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic.
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 SWINE FLU    A/H1N1 influenza still a long-term threat

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- People with chronic diseases, the obese, and pregnant women face a renewed threat of contracting deadly infection of A/H1N1 influenza as spring draws near.
Severe and fatal cases peaked in early and mid December last year, and have been dropping gradually since, but the disease threatened a resurgence as the weather warmed up, senior epidemilogists have warned.
“A new outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza is possible during this winter-spring season, and especially in the southern areas during summer,” said Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Health, at a meeting Thursday.
Cases of patients with chronic diseases, pregnant women and obese people were much more likely to become severe or even fatal.
Pathogenic studies showed a very small chance of the A/H1N1 virus mutating during this winter and spring, so vaccination was still essential to prevent potential outbreaks.
Analyses of past flu outbreaks showed a pandemic usually lasted more than two years before turning into seasonal flu, said Shu.
“So the A/H1N1 influenza might be prevalent in the world for a considerably long time.”
Experts said the government should promote vaccinations for high-risk groups, people in rural areas and migrant workers in urban areas.
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 35,000 pregnant women and 37,000 children aged 6 months to 3 years had been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine and no severe adverse reactions had been reported.
As of March 7, the Chinese mainland had reported a total of 127,427 cases of A/H1N1 flu, of which 8,320 were severe and 796 people had died.
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Kenya will continue to reduce 'visa fee' for foreign tourists

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government promised on Saturday that its policy of halving the visa fees annually will continue. 
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Eunice Miima said the reduction of visa fees from 50 U.S. dollars to 25 dollars and scrapping of the same for children less than 16 years coming to Kenya was aimed at stimulating demand for family travel and was set to last for one year.
According to a statement from the ministry of tourism, the secretary said the visa reduction had been a major incentive that has contributed significantly to the 90 percent recovery to the 2007 levels of the country’s tourism prosperity.
“This was stimulus package that has contributed to tourist growth of between 10 and 15 percent in 2009 despite the global financial crisis,” said the secretary who was speaking in Germany during the ongoing International Tourism Bourse. 
The move has also been welcomed by tour operators in the major tourist source markets for Kenya.
In regard to the single-entry visa for the East African region, the secretary said the Heads of States of the region had already approved its introduction and its implementation is expected to begin by middle of this year.
The lack of a common visa has been a major drawback towards marketing east Africa as a single tourist destination. 
Foreign tour operators have complained of cumbersome immigration procedures at border entry points for those who wish to cover various circuits in East Africa.
In particular, the requirement for tourists to disembark from Kenya tour vehicles to board the Tanzanian vehicles while crossing into Tanzania has been a major point of complain by the international and local tour operators.
Kenya allows tour vehicles from the EAC to operate in the country.
Miima said the issue is being addressed by the two countries through the EAC and is expected to be resolved soon.
Kenya Ambassador to Germany, Mutuma Kathurima and the Managing Director of the Kenya Tourism Board addresses the Kenya press conference which was attended by 80 travel writers from across the globe.
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 SPECIAL FOCUS    Kenya urges world to support ban on ivory trade

By Daniel Ooko NYERI, Kenya (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government urged the international community on Friday to support the ban on ivory trade.
President Mwai Kibaki said the coalition government has submitted a strong proposal to the 15th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) meeting of Wild Fauna and Flora to be held in Doha, Qatar in efforts geared towards saving endangered African wildlife from extinction.
Kibaki asserted the government’s commitment in providing leadership in the conservation of the country’s wildlife.
“Tourism accounts for 21 percent of the total foreign exchange earnings and 12 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tourism resources must, therefore, be guarded fiercely, hence Kenya’s relentless conservation efforts,” the President said.
Speaking when he officially commissioned the Rhino Ark Aberdare Fence in Nyeri, central Kenya, Kibaki further appealed to all friends of Kenya to support the noble call to save the African elephant and rhino from extinction.
President Kibaki declared that resumption of ivory trade could lead to a surge in illegal poaching of wildlife across the continent. 
The Kenyan leader said the government acknowledged the important role that tourism plays in the country’s economy and would relentlessly conserve the flora and fauna of the country.
President Kibaki stated that the government would continue stamping out threats to wildlife conservation especially anti- poaching activities and assured that the Kenya Wildlife Service and other agencies are well equipped to handle the task.
The President announced an ambitious re-afforestation program the government has embarked on to increase the national forest cover from the current two percent to 10 percent by the year 2030.
He said to restore the country’s depleted forest cover, the government has placed special emphasis on conservation and management of the country’s five water towers, bamboo growing and industrial forest development and encourages all land owners to plant trees on at least one-tenth of their land. 
He said tree planting remained on top of the government agenda in recognition of the central role forests play in the development of the country.
“We must all bear in mind that agricultural production, livestock grazing, hydro and geothermal power resources, essential supplies for our industries as well as tourism depend upon our forest ecosystems,” Kibaki said.
“Forests and the precious flora and fauna within them must, therefore, be sustainably managed and conserved for all Kenyans and as a global heritage for all time.” 
President Kibaki called upon the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to develop a comprehensive management plan to coordinate stakeholder interests and ensure the project is properly managed as a public-private partnership. 
In view of the importance of this investment, President Kibaki stressed the need to secure and appropriately maintain the fence.
He said the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and Rhino Ark in preparation of a management facility to be called the Aberdare Trust Fund which will be launched next month. 
In addition to the protection of wildlife and forest resources, the President said, the fence will besides ensure harmonious co- existence of the local people and wildlife as well as enable communities whose livelihoods are dependent upon the Aberdare Mountain range to benefit more from the forest ecosystem.
“Indeed, farmers’ incomes and land value have increased with the construction of the fence which is a product of a consistent effort and whose construction was mooted 21 years ago by the early initiators of Rhino Ark,” he said. 
Kibaki noted that the fence was a valuable asset in the country’ s efforts to protect wildlife as well as forest resources adding that several critically endangered species including the black rhino and the mountain bongo are now better protected within a fenced ecosystem.
“Indeed, the Aberdares is a precious site of valuable biodiversity.
"We all have a duty to protect this God-given heritage in the interest of present and future generations of humanity,” said the President.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Aberdare forest was of historical importance because it was used by the freedom fighters to wage war against the colonialists.
He noted that the Aberdare forest is home to a tree held with reverence by the local community for being used as a ‘post office’ by Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi and other freedom fighters for communication during the independence war.
Odinga declared that such a sentimental role demands that the forest be protected for the country’s future generations.
He asserted that Kenya is a world record breaker and had accomplished another feat by constructing one of the longest conservation fences in the world.
Forestry Minister Noah Wekesa said that the country had the fourth largest herd of elephants counted at 35,000 and asserted that the government would not relent on the ban against ivory trade to protect the herd adding 23 countries supported Kenya’s stand.
KWS Managing Director Kipngetich Bett affirmed that an estimated 30 percent of Kenya’s population whose water provision emanate from the Aberdare Forest are assured of secure water supply.
He declared that KWS was proud of being involved in the longest conservation fence in the world that took 21 years to accomplish and would not only spur the economy of the area but also eradicate human/wildlife conflict.
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Tunisia gets Japanese loan for transport project

TUNIS (Xinhua) -- Tunisia got a loan of 65 million Tunisian dinars (about 47.16 million U.S. dollars) from Japan to finance a transport scheme aiming at electrifying the railway line linking downtown Tunis to southern suburbs, state-run TAP news agency reported Friday.
“Tunisia and Japan signed a 65-million-dinar loan at a preferential interest rate for the additional financing of the plan of electrification of the railway line Tunis-Borj Cedria,” according to the report.
The plan aims at improving transport between downtown Tunis and its southern suburbs and absorbing the increasing number of passengers by raising train frequency and capacity while protecting the environment from air and sound pollution, it added. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.378 Tunisian dinar).
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 SPECIAL FOCUS    African cotton producers call for transformation

By Raphael Mvogo YAOUNDE (Xinhua) -- African cotton producers attending a regional forum here are calling for the transformation of the sector so as to improve competitiveness.
Participants at the eighth annual seminar of the African Cotton Association (ACA) being held in the Cameroonian capital on Thursday and Friday stress the need for local transformation so that the African cotton affected by numerous crises could be able to compete globally, increase revenues and create employment.
“It is sad that Africans produce the best quality cotton and yet we have to wear cloths that the people in the Western countries have already used and sent to us.
"I am talking about the second-hand cloths that are on our market.
"It is necessary that African countries have industries that can carry out the transformation,” said Samuel Amehou, the former Benin’s ambassador to Geneva, Switzerland.
Already, the cotton industry is described as the main factor of industrialization and the opening up of the rural areas of the continent, the basis upon which the textile industry is founded, the current president of ACA, a Senegalese Bachir Diop, pointed out on Thursday at the opening of the seminar.
“In our economies, cotton farming has become an important source of income in form of foreign exchange earnings and absorbs a lot of manpower who, incidentally, are never termed as men and women of great value, but who nevertheless contribute to the improvement of their own living conditions,” Cameroonian Commerce Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said.
To ensure the well-being of some 35 million Africans who earn their living from this product, he recommended that there should be “development of cotton based on the culture of diversification of ecologically compatible types.”
He insisted on “reinforcement of the vertical integration of the industry by encouraging more local transformation” and “taking advantage of the results’ research in the biotechnology domain by adopting the new varieties which are more resistant and with high returns.”
In most African countries, the production of cotton is almost entirely destined for the external markets.
For example in Mali, “the CMDT (Malian Company for Textile Development) gins the cotton and essentially sells the fiber to the external market because more than 98 percent of our fiber is meant for export,” CMDT director general Tiena Coulibaly told Xinhua.
This country is one of the big producers on the continent. During the current season of 2009-2010, Mali has harvested 234,000 tons to 235,000 tons.
“This is not much considering what has happened before because Mali sometimes back in 2003 and 2004, produced 620,000 tons of cotton,” Coulibaly added.
The authorities are planning to launch genetically modified cotton like what is happening in Burkina Faso. 
“The National Assembly has already adopted a law called the biosecurity law.
"This law will be effected after the promulgation of the application clauses,” Coulibaly disclosed.
Taking into account the impact of this process, the Malian government is keen to take care of everyone’s interests by carefully looking at each side of the argument before setting the ball rolling.
This is because there are science people who are eager to introduce genetically modified cotton to improve productivity, while some people in the civil society who believe that this is a leap into the unknown are opposed to it for environment and health reasons.
The issue is not yet under discussion in another African producer Benin, which is targeting 150,000 tons for the 2009-2010 season, according to the director general of the national office for stabilization of cotton prices, Adrien Delidji Cossi.
Benin has 700,000 small producers with cotton production feeding almost a third of the population.
It is projecting 200,000 tons in the next few years, but still far below the 427,000 tons harvested in the 2004-2005 period.
Africa’s downturn in cotton production is attributed to many factors.
In Cote d’lvoire, the civil war that broke out in 2002 had negative impact on the production which was estimated to be 150,000 tons before the war.
“Last year, we ended with a catastrophic production of 50,000 tons of Ivorian cotton.
"But we have put in place certain measures that will lead to improved production.
"For this year, we have estimated that we shall produce 85,000 tons and we are working to achieve this,” Firmin Kouassi Konan, the head of the Ivorian commercial and transit services for cotton, told Xinhua.
“We have tried to give farmers the inputs not only for cotton but also for cereals (millet, maize etc). We have also ensured that there’s enough fertilizer.
"There is a new motivation for farmers.
"It’s not enough to do cotton farming, they must also cultivate food crops.
"A farmer who cultivates a hectare of cotton, just on the sidelines, cultivates maize, wheat and other food staffs for his personal food,” he added.
“We need to develop regional trading within Africa to allow African countries to inter-connect in view of increasing production and setting up companies that will make the products to be competitive in the international market,” suggested Jean-Fabien Oum, the commercial director of Shekina Textiles Company based in Douala, Cameroon.
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South Africa slips down world gold production ranks

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- Gold production in South Africa is declining, according to figures released on Friday by the South African Chamber of Mines.
It said in a statement that South Africa’s gold production went down last year.
Formerly the world’s top gold producer, South Africa has slipped down to position four on the global production ranking, behind China, Australia and the U.S., the chamber said.
South Africa produced 204,922.8 kilograms of gold in 2009, a 5. 8-percent decline on 2008 production of 217,648.5kg. 
“The 5.8 percent year-on-year decline in production in 2009 was a significant improvement on the large 14.5 percent decline in production that occurred in 2008, mostly as a result of the electricity crisis.”
South Africa was hit by a series of electricity outages in 2008 affecting many industries, especially mining.
According to the South African Press Association (SAPA), the South African Chamber of mines said the electricity crisis and the stoppages of mines and shafts for safety-related reasons (some valid and some not), had prematurely downscaled the country’s gold sector in 2008.
SAPA reports that South Africa was the world’s largest gold producer for most of the 20th century, and up until 2006.
“Nevertheless, the gold mining industry remains critically important to South Africa’s economy,” the chamber said.
The gold industry earned about 48.7 billion rands (6.49 million U.S. dollars) in foreign exchange in 2009, making it the South Africa’s second largest exporter behind platinum group metals at 58 billion rands (7.73 billion dollars), the chamber statement said. 
On a year-on-year basis, gold production was down by 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. 
The statement added that for gold mining members of the South African Chamber of Mines, production declined by three percent to 46,411.8kg in the fourth quarter of 2009 when compared to the previous quarter. 
On a year-on-year basis, member production fell by 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
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NEW YORK - WORLD ECONOMY - CRUDE OIL PRICES HIGHER

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Crude prices stay above U.S. $ 82 dollars in New York

NEW YORK (Xinhua) -- Crude prices stayed above 82 U.S. dollars per barrel on the New York market on Thursday as investors digested economic data from the United States and China, the two major energy consumers in the world.
Crude prices slid in the early trading as consumer inflation soared to a 16-month high in China. Traders worried that Chinese demand will slow as the government is to tackle rising inflation.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday that workers filing for jobless benefits for the first time fell slightly less than expected. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in January as oil imports fell to their lowest since February 1999.
Those news weighed on markets, but falling gasoline inventories in the United States supported prices.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 2 cents to settle at 82.11 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent crude fell 20 cents to settle at 80.28 dollars on the ICE Futures Exchange.
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Kenya to expand airport cargo area

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) announced on Saturday that it was in the process of expanding the existing cargo terminal to handle more freighters.
The KAA said the move was designed to handle more freighters and raise cargo capacity because of the crucial role played by Kenya in the movement of air cargo in Africa.
KAA Managing Director George Muhoho said the massive expansion project will see the aviation infrastructure authority increase the aircraft parking area, car park and access road at an estimated cost of 1.6 billion shillings. “At completion, the expanded cargo apron will bring the total area under freighting business to 90,000 square meters,” said Muhoho. 
Speaking when he confirmed the new initiative, Muhoho said that the project’s main objective was to increase the capacity of the freight terminal by providing additional parking stands for five wide body aircraft and parking area for 180 additional motor vehicles. 
Noting that Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) was currently the number two in terms cargo business in Africa, Muhoho pointed out that the demand for higher capacity had risen tremendously, with a higher number of cargo freighters expressing a keen interest to operate out of Nairobi. 
He added that due its geographic location especially in relation to the Great Lakes Region, several European, North American and Asian freighters considered JKIA the ideal base of their operation as they sought to grow their transport business in Africa.
“This is in addition to the fact that Kenya has also registered a rise in the number of companies engaging in export businesses primarily targeting Europe and the Middle East.
"As a result JKIA has become the second largest cargo airport in Africa,” he said. 
Muhoho noted that even after the expansion JKIA still has sufficient potential for future expansion, with greater freedom in facilities design that enable it to meet changing logistics needs.
The expanded JKIA cargo area is expected to accommodate large aircraft and provide sufficient large space for freight handling.
In addition all cargo warehouses are directly connected to cargo aircraft.
Warehouses have large and long canopies on both sides in order to shorten the cargo flow and realize the high quality of cargo handling. 
JKIA has five cargo facilities with a capacity to handle 200, 000 tons of cargo annually, and an animal holding facility which occupies 4,318.95ft. 
The cargo facilities are Kenya Airfreight Handling Limited (KAHL), Transglobal Cargo Center, Nairobi Cargo Center, and Cargo Service Center.
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 WORLD CUP 2010    South African footballers relish training in Brazil

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- The South African national football team, Bafana Bafana, relished their training camp in Brazil, home of their coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
They are training twice a day under supervision of physical trainer Francisco Gonzalez, in preparation as they prepare for the five friendly games they will play in South America, including an international against Paraguay on March 31.
South Africa will host the FIFA World Cup in June and July.
In a telephone interview with the South African Press Association from Johannesburg on Saturday, Bafana goalkeeper Emile Baron said all the players are honored to be part of the national set-up.
“So far it has been hard, especially with all the traveling. Only now we are trying to said.
“At the moment all the players know that, at the end of the day, it’s up to each and every one of us to work hard and show we deserve to be in the final squad.”
Striker Lebohang Mokoena echoed his sentiments.
“Training has been tough, especially in that we come from a very competitive short season in the PSL, but as professionals we have to get on with our business.”
“It was a good decision to bring us here because the atmosphere is different and we are able to focus and have peace of mind,” Mokoena said.
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 WORLD CUP 2010    Bafana Bafana finds World Cup base at last

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- South Africa’s national football team, Bafana Bafana, who were early on Thursday reported to be without a training venue for the FIFA World Cup, have found a home.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) announced on Thursday afternoon that they had secured Sturrock Park at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg as their base camp for the World Cup, according to South African Press Association.
South Africa host the World Cup from June 11 to July 11.
Leslie Sedibe, the chief executive of SAFA, called a press briefing in Johannesburg to announce the deal, after the Star newspaper in the city had reported in the morning that Bafana would not be training at Sandown high school in northern Johannesburg.
Sandown had been Bafana’ s second choice after their original facality at Esselen Park, east of Johannesburg, proved unusable.
Bafana have just started a month-long training camp in Brazil, the home country of their coach, Carlos Alberto Parriera.
On Thursday afternoon Sedibe said he has signed an agreement with the university that he said “will leave a lasting legacy” for local soccer.
Sedibe declined to criticize the previous SAFA administration which failed to secure a base camp for Bafana.
The previous officer-bearers were voted out last November.
“It was embarrassing for us because on May 15, 2006, we won the right to host the World Cup and we are the last to get a base camp sorted out.
But we are moving forward and now need to get on with the job.
Now Bafana have the best facilities available and we are delighted with the way things finally turned out for us.”
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 WORLD CUP 2010    South Africa needs more practice in Brazil: coach

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- South African national football team Bafana Bafana need as many matches as possible during their month-long stay in Brazil, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said on Friday.
Such experience will help make the South Africa players understand what us required of them when South Africa hosts the FIFA World Cup starting on June11, Parreira said.
“Playing matches will be key for the team because when we go back home we will have gained valuable experience.”
Parreira has included another practice match to the Bafana’s training camp.
Bafana will face Brazilian local club Boavista on March 15 at the Granja Comary, in Rio de Janeiro. 
Parreira was speaking to the South African Press Association form Teresopolis in Brazil.
The extra game will be the fifth match on the national team program - others are against Volta Redonda, Fluminense, Cruzeiro and Botafogo. 
On March 31, Bafana will play Paraguay in a friendly international in Paraguay .
“We need as many matches as possible during our time here because these will help us to make the players understand what we want from them,” Parreira said.
“Playing matches will be key for the team because when we go back home we will have gained valuable experience.”
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 WORLD CUP 2010    South African striker calls for fans’ full support

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- South Africans must get behind their national football team Bafana Bafana at the FIFA Soccer World Cup, says former Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett.
If the South Africans do that, Bafana will find success, said Bartlett who scored 28 goals in 74 games for his country, making him South Africa’s all-time number two goal scorer behind Benni McCarthy on 32.
Bartlett was speaking at a SuperSport function at Soccer City, Johannesburg on Thursday. Soccer City is the stadium where the World Cup opening game will be played on June 11 and the final on July 11. 
The former striker believes South Africans will need to have the same optimism they did before South Africa’s victories at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, if they hope for decent results from Bafana.
He believes that, after they reached the semi-finals of last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, the team can spring a surprise.
“I think we did really well at the Confederations Cup,”
“This negative vibe around South Africa’s chances needs to stop, and as South Africans it starts with us. In 1995 and 1996 the players had the support of the entire nation, and they will need that if they are to do well again,” he told Football365.
Bartlett scored the last goal at the former FNB Stadium before it was torn down and revamped as Soccer City.
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 WORLD CUP 2010    South Africa shuts nuclear unit as precaution

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- As a precautionary measure to minimize the possibility of electricity shortages during the FIFA World Cup, South Africa Koeberg nuclear power station would be shut down to “mitigate” a possible risk in one of its water cooling systems, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Tony Stott, spokesman for South Africa electricity utility Eskom, said there was corrosion on the system that took in sea water to cool down some components in the reactor buildings.
“The cooling system for the turbine is a closed system and does not come into contact with the environment.”
Stott said the planned shut-down was not part of Koeberg’s normal shut-downs, which occurs every 18 months.
“It is just a precautionary measure,” he said. 
“We want to keep the risk during the World Cup as low as possible.”
South Africa host the FIFA World Cup in June and July.
Electricity consumption rises during these Southern Hemisphere winter months.
In addition the presence of 450,000 football visitors could push up consumption.
Stott told South African Press Association that Eskom made an assessment of all the potential risks at all its power stations before the World Cup.
A schedule of short duration shutdowns was implemented to undertake maintenance at stations where problems were identified.
He explained the cooling system at Koeberg where the risk was found cooled some components and structures in the reactor buildings.
“Some of the rubber lines came loose and because we use sea water it causes corrosion on the steel piping,” he said.
He said this was a long term risk.
Koeberg, near Cape Twon, has two units.
Each of them would be shut down for between seven and 14 days respectively, at different times during March and April. 
Stott said the shut-downs would not cause power outages in the Western Cape province or in the rest of South Africa.
“We are slotting in and scheduling the maintenance work on the power stations so that we have enough capacity to meet the demand, “ he said.
“It does increase the risk of power outages if something else goes wrong and another power station has to shut down completely.”
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Egypt retrieves ancient coffin from the United States

CAIRO (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Saturday retrieved a 3,000-year-old ancient coffin from the United States, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawwas returned to Cairo on Saturday with the wooden coffin on board an EgyptAir flight from New York.
Hawwas first received the casket, dating back to the 21st dynasty, at a major ceremony in the U.S. National Geographic Society in Washington.
The coffin, which belongs to a noble man called “Emus,” was smuggled from Egypt some 100 years ago.
It was confiscated by U.S. authorities at the Miami airport in October 2008 from a shipment coming from Spain after the importer could not present proper documentation to prove ownership.
The coffin will be on display at the Egyptian Museum on April 17 among many other retrieved antiquities, MENA reported.
Hawwas said Egypt has managed to retrieve 31,000 artifacts smuggled from Egypt within the framework of a new strategy to retrieve the antiquities which were spirited out of the country during the colonial period.
Among the most famous Egyptian monuments that Egypt wants to retrieve are the Rosetta Stone which is now in Britain, and the bust of Queen Nefertiti which is now in Germany.
In February, the Egyptian parliament ratified a new antiquities- preservation law which included applying tougher penalties to artifacts traffickers.
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UN aid agencies on alert for potential floods in Southern Africa

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is gathering supplies for some 130,000 people in southern Africa on alert for potential evacuation from flood-risk zones following weeks of torrential rains in northern Mozambique and neighboring Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, UN officials said here Friday.
The torrential rains have swollen rivers, forcing authorities to discharge water from the Kariba Dam in Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
The Mozambican government on Tuesday declared a Red Alert, signifying imminent danger. Over the past week, between 50 and 100 millimeters of rainfall was reported in the Northern and Central regions of Mozambique, particularly in areas located on the Zambezi River such as Tete, Manica, Sofala, Zambezia, Nampula and Inhambane provinces, said the officials.
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has said the government and its aid partners have pre-emptively relocated at least 13,000 people to safe areas.
In Zambia, of the 4,800 estimated people living in the affected area, at least 900 have been have been taken to Independence Stadium in northern Lusaka, where the Government has set up temporary shelter.
The Ministry of Education there has told local UNICEF officials that some 10 schools in the Lusaka areas are under water. The flooding has already caused a spike in water-borne illnesses in Zambia. At least 900 cases of cholera have been reported, of which 19 were fatal. 
Governments in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe are monitoring the situation closely with UN Country Teams and national hydrological agencies, and coordinating with international partners on a response. 
Given that the rainy season is ending in southern Africa and the situation appears to be under control so far, the probability of further flooding causing a significant humanitarian impact appears to be low, OCHA reported. 
The rainy season in east Africa is just beginning. Unusually heavy rains in Kenya and Uganda have caused deadly flooding affecting thousands of people in both countries.
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China donates medical equipment to Zanzibar

STONE TOWN, Tanzania (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government on Thursday donated a number of medical equipment worth more than 64 million Tanzanian Shillings (about 49,000 U.S. dollars) to Tanzania’s Zanzibar government through the Chinese medical team working in the Indian Ocean Archipelago.
The equipment was handed over by Zhu Xiangjun, head of the Chinese medical team, to Zanzibar Minister of Health and Social Welfare Sultan Mohd Mughery at a ceremony which was held at the ministry of Health in Zanzibar.
Including medical endoscope Co light Source, high Frequency position, therapeutic apparatus for operation, Some of the equipmentare meant to serve in the theater at Mnazimmoja general hospital, while the others would serve in the eye clinics, it was learned.
In his remarks, Zhu said the donation of the equipment is a further indication to boost the historical medical cooperation between the Chinese government and that of Zanzibar.
“The equipment, we believe, would boost medical services in Zanzibar hospitals and clinics especially at this time when Zanzibar has been without power for the last three months,” he remarked.
For his part, Mughery thanked the Chinese government for its long stand in helping Zanzibar economically and socially especially on the medical services.
He further said the team of Chinese medical experts working in Zanzibar are providing a helping hand in the health centers.
Chinese Zanzibar medical cooperation has started since 46 years ago, while there are at present a team of 21 doctors working in different hospitals and clinics both in Unguja and Pemba, the sister island.
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President of D.R. Congo meets Chinese army official

KINSHASA (Xinhua) -- President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo met here Friday with Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, to discuss the development of bilateral ties and military cooperation.
Kabila said the DRC was satisfied with its cooperative partnership with China, and that Ma’s visit would be a new starting point for military cooperation between the two countries.
Ma said that in recent years China has established a new strategic partnership that lays stress on political equality and mutual trust, economic cooperation, and cultural exchanges with many African countries, including the DRC.
Ma hailed the traditional friendship between China and the DRC, saying close cooperation between the two countries was achieved and the political mutual trust was reinforced thanks to efforts by the leaders of both sides.
Ma said China appreciates the DRC’s adherence to one-China policy and its all-along support to China’s reunification cause and China’s stance in international affairs.
With frequent high-level exchanges and increased pragmatic cooperation, the ties between the army forces of China and the DRC kept developing in recent years, Ma said.
He also pledged further assistance from the Chinese side in the DRC’s army building and national defense construction as well as efforts in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.
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Kenya welcomes China’s role in helping develop infrastructure

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government on Friday hails the role played by the Chinese government in Kenya, especially in the development of infrastructure in the country.
Vice-president Kalonzo Musyoka said in Nairobi that major construction works were being carried out by the Chinese contractors in various parts of the east African nation.
“As a matter of fact China has become a true friend of this country.
"I wish to assure you of our continued bilateral collaboration for the benefit of the two people,” Musyoka said during the handing over of block building machines to the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation by the Chinese government.
The vice president said efforts were being made to ensuring that the living standards of the youth were improved, adding the block making project was an initiative between the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation and the Chinese government.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Deng Hongbo commended the role played by the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation in improving the quality of life for the youth, through poverty reduction and provision of education to bright and needy students.
“It is impressing that this Foundation has contributed immensely to social and economic development of many people in this country,” said Deng.
The ambassador said the three machines—curved interlocking, stone crushing and double interlocking machines—handed over to the foundation will go a long way in the provision of affordable housing system.
Deng said it was encouraging that the two countries were enjoying cordial relations, pledging China will continue to partner with the Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation in improving the living standards of the youth.
Musyoka said the government will continue to support cottage industries as a means of empowering the youth economically through job creation and wealth for them. 
He urged non-governmental organizations to partner with the government in the development of cottage industries as one way of creating more employment opportunities for the youth.
“We are determined to improve the life quality of our people by creating opportunities that can enable them to earn a living,” he said.
He said the machines will help the youth both in urban and rural areas compact a mixture of soil and cement into stabilized soil blocks for the construction of affordable housing, water and sanitation systems.
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South Africa leaders to take public AIDS tests

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- Members of the South African cabinet will undergo voluntary and public HIV/AIDS testing to further display the country’s determination in fighting against the fatal disease, a government spokesman has announced.
The move was part of a new plan approved by the South African cabinet aimed to step up the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country with the one of the world’s worst infection rate.
South African government spokesman Themba Maseko told media in Cape Town on Thursday that the plan, devised by South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, aimed to reduce the rate of AIDS infection by 50 percent by 2011 and to provide antiretroviral treatment to 80 percent of those who need it.
Maseko told journalists that more emphasis will be placed on prevention through information, education, widespread distribution of condoms, and mobilization of millions of South Africans to know their health status.
Voluntary and public HIV/AIDS testing would be led by South African cabinet members and other leaders from all walks of the society.
According to the South Africa Press Association (SAPA), Maseko said the target of the campaign was to test up to 15 million people by June 2011.
The campaign would also promote healthy lifestyles and increase access to treatment, care and support.
All South African public health facilities, fixed and mobile, would be equipped to offer HIV testing.
The plan also includes asking retired and non-practicing medical staff, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists to make themselves available to the health system to support this initiative.
Motsoaledi had already written letters to all retired and non- practicing practitioners, appealing to them to support the campaign, according to SAPA.
The South African cabinet appealed to the professionals to respond positively to Motsoaledi’s call “in the country’s hour of need.”
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 SPECIAL FOCUS    South Africa mourns struggle veteran Fatima Meer

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- South Africans on Saturday mourned the death of veteran anti-apartheid political activist Fatima Meer who died in Durban on Friday afternoon aged 82.
A long-serving member of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), Meer was also a founder member of the Federation of South African Women.
The group organized a march by 20,000 women on the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956. The march was a high point in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Meer was also a founder member of South Africa’s Institute for Black Research.
The ANC said in a statement on Saturday that it was deeply saddened by her death.
It said that in her youth she was swept up by the 1946 Indian Passive Resistance Campaign, which the ANC described as “the most dramatic show of militant anti-government action in South African history.”
The ANC described Meer as Mama, a selfless leader.
In 1976, she was arrested and detained together with other women including Cde Winnue Madikizela Mandela, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, who in 1994 became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
“After her release from detention, she was restricted to the Durban area by the apartheid regime, a restriction she contravened inorder to advance the struggle for our liberation,” the ANC statement said.
A prolific academic, Meer was the first black woman to be appointed as a lecturer at a white South African university.
She taught sociology at the University of Natal in Durban.
Meer also wrote books, two of which dealing with South African struggle issues.
The Trial of Andrew Zondo is the story of an executed ANC guerrilla.
Higher Than Hope is a biography of Nelson Mandela.
The ANC credited her and her late husband, Ismail Meer, with cementing the relationship between the National Indian Congress and African National Congress in the 1940.
“We pay homage to this gallant fighter, writer, academic and mother and will forever treasure the contribution she made in the struggle for liberation and the building of our democracy,” the ANC said.
Patricia de Lille, leader of South African opposition party the Independent Democrats said South Africa had lost a leader in a time when the country was in a desperate need for leadership.
She said Meer was an exceptional woman, who championed the cause of the poor. 
“As we mourn her passing we must also celebrate everything that she stood for and it is my hope that more of today’s leaders will follow in her footsteps in putting the interests of the poor and downtrodden before their own selfish interests.”
Meer’s funeral was held at the Durban Exhibition Centre in Durban on Saturday, according to South African Press Association.
Ramesh Bharuthra, vice-chairman of South African Institute for Black Research, said Meer was a woman of substance. 
“I knew her for a long time and she was an amazing woman with lots of energy.”
Logie Naidoo, deputy mayor of Durban, told the Star newspaper:
“She will be recorded in South African history as a stalwart who championed the cause.” 
The chairman of the 1860 Legacy Foundation and president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, added:
“Even after the struggle, Meer continued with her fight for liberation and the rights of the oppressed. Her fearlessness is a quality that I will never forget.”
South Africa’s Transport Mminister Sbu Ndebele said:
“It is a terrible loss but she can rest knowing she fought a good fight.
“Because of her intellect she was a formidable opponent of apartheid.
A personal friend of Nelson Mandela, she kept the fires burning in the dark days.”
International movie producer Anant Singh said in New York that Fatima Meer was one of the most exceptional women she had ever met.
“We have been blessed to have had her in our lives. 
“She was a shining light in the liberation movement, a defender of women’s rights and a champion of the less advantaged people of our country.
She was a woman of integrity and dignity.”
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Zimbabwe leaders find common ground on black empowerment

By Tichaona Chifamba HARARE (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai appear to have found common ground with regards to the issue of black empowerment, with both agreeing that the policy should enhance indigenous participation in the economy.
However, they still have to agree on how best to implement the policy as they try to strike a balance between black participation in the economy and the need to attract foreign investors.
Mugabe remains vociferous, to the extent that he has become anti-white, in his bid to implement the policy, while Tsvangirai is taking a cautious approach, lest the policy scares away foreign investment much needed to help turn around the country’s economy.
Since the then entirely Zanu-PF government led by Mugabe moved to promulgate an indigenization law in 2007, Tsvangirai’s MDC party, then in opposition, and the investor community had opposed it because of lack of clarity on how it would be implemented. 
The law requires companies to submit forms declaring their shareholding structures within 45 days from March 1, 2010. 
The intention is that indigenous people should hold 51 percent shareholding in all existing and new multinational businesses.
Businesses that do not meet the 51 percent indigenisation requirement will be expected to submit a plan on how they intend to meet the requirements within 45 days from March 1, and those with acceptable reasons will be afforded an extension not exceeding 30 days. 
Also, all existing businesses with a threshold of 500,000 U.S. dollars should, within 45 days from March 1, 2010, declare their shareholding status to the indigenisation minister through a prescribed form.
Current entities will be given a five-year period from March 1, 2010 to comply, while new businesses will also be given five years from date of commencement of business.
Both existing and potential investors have expressed concern over the new regulations.
Mugabe has said indigenization laws should not be viewed as obstacles to investment promotion but as promoting the greater participation by Zimbabweans in the economy and as a democratization of economic activities.
When indigenization and economic empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere gazetted the indigenization regulations in January, a war of words erupted between him and investment promotion minister Elton Mangoma, with the latter arguing that they would push away investors.
Mangoma is a member of Tsvangirai’s party, which also criticized the regulations.
“The MDC views these provocative and anti-investment regulations as a deliberate attempt to undermine the country and its people.
At a time when Zimbabwe desperately needs foreign direct investment, it is an affront to recovery efforts for the Ministry of Youth and Indigenisation to nocturnally and unilaterally gazette these anti-people and anti-Zimbabwe regulations,” the party said.
It alleged that the people who were intended to benefit from the new regulations were not ordinary people, but those in Mugabe’ s inner circle.
However, party leader Tsvangirai was this week singing a different tune as he sought to assure investors that there was nothing sinister about the new regulations.
“I want to assure you that there is no intention on the part of the government to undermine investment, but to promote broad based indigenization and empowerment.
“Sometimes investors get alarmed when a policy is announced without clarification, but I want to assure you that the policy is in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe.
The policy intends to enhance local participation and, of course, not the enrichment of a few people,” he told a symposium on public-private partnerships in Harare on Thursday.
Even as early as last year, Tsvangirai had expressed support for the regulations, provided they were implemented in a transparent manner.
He told a mining conference in September that he supported the policy, but wanted its implementation to be fair, transparent and in line with international norms. 
“To remove the uncertainty around the policy of indigenization, it will be based on ensuring that ordinary Zimbabweans benefit from the country’s mineral endowment and participate at all levels in the business of mining and mineral exploitation.”
He argued that no right-thinking Zimbabwean, or any person from anywhere in the world, could see fault in such an approach if it was implemented fairly, transparently and in line with accepted international norms. 
Now that the policy is being explained, there is a bit of thawing by skeptics who had seen it merely as a way to expropriate wealth from foreign companies.
It is now clear that investors will get a fair return on their investments following a valuation of their worth.
However, while the government is still to agree on how the new law should be implemented, Kasukuwere has not indicated that the process has been suspended.
He has emphasized though that no shareholding will be taken for free and all transactions will be on a commercial basis. If there are valuation disputes, the Administrative Court will decide.
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 SPECIAL FOCUS    Kenya seeks to reclaim title at Qatar championships

By John Kwoba NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya might not have snow on its track but that will not count when a lean squad of seven descended on the port city of Doha in Qatar for this year’s World Indoor Championships, which sets to start on Friday.
From the blocks, the Kenyans will rest their hopes on Africa outdoor champion in 1,500m Haron Keitany, Augustine Choge and Vivian Cheruiyot all making their debut in the competition to sparkle and improve on the previous record in Valencia, Spain where Kenya could only secure two silver medals.
But at 26, world indoor 3,000m champion Meseret Defar, has already created quite a bit of history on the track. 
In Doha, she’ll be looking to add a little more to that legacy as she chases an unprecedented fourth consecutive title in the event. 
The Ethiopian has hit the track twice this winter, winning in Stuttgart 3000m in 8:24.46, the third best performance of all-time, and the Stockholm 5000m in 14:24.79 (which was the second fastest time), both world leaders. 
Needless to say, the world record holder in both events indoors is fully prepared to break her tie with this event’s other three- time winner, Gabriela Szabo.
Among those in the chase pack will be her compatriot Setayehu Ejigu who displayed her form in Stuttgart where her chase of Defar resulted in an 8:25.27 performance, the fourth fastest performance ever.
Fourth four years ago, she’ll be eager for a podium finish here.
But the bigger threat to Defar’s quest will be the reigning World 5000m champion outdoors, Vivian Cheruiyot. 
The Kenyan suffered a narrow defeat to Tirunesh Dibaba over Two Miles in Birmingham, her only track appearance this winter, but most recently showed solid form with 31:07 victory over 10km in San Juan where she took down a very strong field. 
Sylvia Kibet, who finished second to Cheruiyot in Berlin last summer, in a race Defar failed to impress will also need to put doubt to rest of her ability.
In the men’s 800m race, Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki face a strong challenge to defend the crown he won in Valencia becoming the youngest ever winner of a world indoor title.
Kaki, 20, was an impressive winner in Stuttgart and Stockholm during this indoor campaign and with a season best time of 1:46.29. He looks a decent bet to become the first man since Kenyan Paul Ereng to complete back-to-back world indoor 800m titles. 
The champion’s main challenger could be his team-mate Ismail Ahmed Ismail (1:45.99), the Olympic 800m silver medallist, and one of the world’s most consistent 800m performers.
Boaz Lalang (1:46.37) is the sole entrant from Kenya, but after registering a victory at the Millrose Games in New York he must be respected.
Nick Symmonds (1:47.59), the U.S. indoor champion and 2008 world indoor finalist, is a growing force in the world of 800m running and will also fancy his chances. 
The European challenge is led by Adam Kszczot (1:46.00) the 20- year-old Polish champion and Czech Jakob Holusa, who set a national record of 1:46.09 in Karlsruhe. Look out too for the Spanish duo, Luis Alberto Marco (1:47.13) and the teenager David Bustos (1:47.23).
Over to the 1,500m and Ethiopian Deresse Mekonnen mounts the defence of his title on the back of a, so far, flawless season. 
Top of the world lists with 3:33.10 following his impressive victory in Birmingham the world outdoor 1500m silver medallist will be out to solidify his growing championship reputation.
Kenya has, surprisingly, triumphed only once in this event ( Paul Korir in 2004) but they have two decent chances in Gideon Gathimba (3:35.40) and Haron Keitany (3.35.69). 
The latter athlete in particular must be considered a serious threat after recording an outdoor personal best of 3:30.20 last year.
Morocco’s Abdalaati Iquider, the fifth place finisher in the Olympic final, recorded 3:34.68 to win in Leipzig and is another with medal potential.
Look out also for Spanish pair, Diego Ruiz (3:37.86) and Alvaro Rodriguez (3:38.06), and French Olympic steeplechase silver medallist Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbab (3:37.52). 
America’s Bernard Lagat will aim to recapture the title he first took six years ago in Moscow and further add his impressive collection of precious metal. 
The 35-year-old bagged the U.S. 3000m title last month and a record-breaking eighth victory in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games suggests he is fine fettle.
Defending champion Tariku Bekele, of Ethiopia, will not give up his title without a fight. 
The younger brother of distance running legend Kenenisa is in good shape and sits second on the world lists after his 7:31.78 clocking in Stockholm. 
His countryman Abrehem Cherkos, 20, was a bronze medallist two years ago in Valencia and is another with medal credentials.
Qatar’s hopes rest with James Kwalia, a Kenyan expert, the World 5000m bronze medallist in Berlin.
The European challenge is led by the Spanish duo Sergio Sanchez, who set a European record of 7:32.41 in Valencia, and European outdoor 5000m champion Jesus Espana (7:45.60).
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Mozambique are threat in AFCON qualifiers, says Zambia coach

LUSAKA (Xinhua) -- Head coach of the Zambian national soccer team Herve Renard said Mozambique are the only threat to Zambia’s qualification to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Friday.
Zambia has been drawn together with Mozambique, Comoros Island and Libya in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers. The 2012 finals will be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Making a comment for the first time since the draws were made last month, the Frenchman said Mozambique will be a hard nut to crack.
“I am not saying these other teams can’t beat Zambia, they are capable of doing it but the main threat will be Mozambique.
Zambia needs adequate preparations.
We have very good players who are capable of delivering to the expectations of the nation,” Renard was quoted as saying by the paper.
Zambia have faced Mozambique in the regional Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup on many occasions and have won all the games, the most recent being a 2-0 win in the semifinals of the 2009 edition in Zimbabwe.
Zambia beat Mozambique 1-0 in the build-up to the 2010 AFCON in Angola.
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Tunisia sets 20 friendlies for basketball worlds warm-up

TUNIS (Xinhua) -- Tunisia, which makes its first appearance in world basketball championship in Turkey, plans 20 friendlies to prepare the team enough for the international tournament, coach Adel Tlatli said on Friday.
“20 friendly matches are scheduled during the next two months.
Tunisian players will meet teams having similar tactics and performance of our rivals in the championship,” the coach said.
“We will test all the schools such as France, Serbia, Finland, Lebanon and Cote d’Ivoire.
We need to work more to well prepare the five nationals for its first participation in the world championship,” he added.
Tunisia was drawn in group B along Olympic championship United States, Slovenia, Brazil, Croatia and Iran.
The top four teams of this group will play the qualifiers from pool A made up of Argentina, Serbia, Australia, Germany, Jordan and Angola, Africa’s champions. 
“Preparation program will test performance and technical skills of national players given the high level of our opponents in the world tournament,” Tlatli said.
Tunisia will open their campaign on Aug. 28 and go on to face Slovenia.
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Setback for South African Sevens rugby champs

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- South Africa’s Springbok Sevens team, who, like their national counterparts in the 15-man form of the game are world champions, suffered a setback on Saturday when it was announced that their coach would not be joining them for a while.
Coach Paul Treu’s mother is seriously ill and he can only join the team in Adelaide, Asutralia, on Friday when the tournament starts.
The Springboks hold the Adelaide Sevens title. 
The team was disrupted earlier in week by the loss of stand-in captain Mzwandile Stick, who injured his knee in a practice session.
Stick was forced to withdraw from the tournament in Adelaide and the one in Hong Kong. 
Kyle Brown will take over as captain for the two tournaments.
They have already lost two other captains in Neil Powell and Paul Delport, as well as their chief playmaker in Renfred Dazel to injury this season, the side that will front up in Adelaide is young and inexperienced. 
“It was a very difficult decision for me to take, but my family comes first and this is where I’m needed at the moment,” Treu told Sport 24 on Saturday.
“I will hopefully be able to join the team before the start of the tournament but it is very difficult not to get onto that plane tonight.” 
In Treu’ s absence, the team’s internal player leadership will run the practice sessions, under the watchful eye of Treu’s management team, which for this tournament will also include former Reds skills coach and Australian touch rugby expert Jason Stanton. 
The Springboks, defending World Series champions, are seventh on this year’s log.
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Call for drastic action as South Africa’s rugby Lions tamed

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- After watching the Lions Super 14 rugby team from Johannesburg being thrashed 73-12 by the Waratahs in Syndey on Friday, South Africa’s foremost rugby commentator called for drastic action.
Naas Botha, a former captain of South Africa’s national rugby team the Springboks, who in the 1980s was the South Africa’s most prolific points scorer, said on South African national television that in the era of professional rugby a performance such as that delivered by the Lions was unacceptable.
In particular the tackling by the Lions, the pride of Johannesburg, was woeful.
They missed 12 tackles in the first 25 minutes.
They allowed the Waratahs to score 11 tries, with four accruing to Australian Drew Mitchell.
Botha asked: “When in the professional era, have you ever seen a player just being fired because he’s not good enough.
That’s what needs to happen now.”
Botha said there seemed to be only one Lions player, forward Todd Clever, who was up to the challenge of Super 14 rugby.
The rest were simply not up to it on the day, he said.
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Kenya drops six volleyball players ahead youth Olympics

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya’s volleyball officials on Friday dropped six players from the national women volleyball team which has been preparing for the Africa Youth Olympics qualifiers set for Egypt.
Valentine Chepkoech, will skipper the Kenyan team, which is set to jet out on Monday for Cairo expectant to claim the single slot reserved for the continent. 
It was a major relief for Violet Makuto, the youngest sister to the Makuto empire that has Asha (Kenya Pipeline) and Evelyne (Kenya Prisons) to be named in the team after she was dropped from the World Junior volleyball championship team that went to Mexico last year.
Assistant coach Catherine Mabwi, a former Kenyan international, said consistence and quick response to training was paramount in the selection. 
“We looked at reflex action of each player and how they used to respond to training.
It is important for them and I believe this team is in top form to wrest the title in Cairo,” she said.
Mabwi confirmed that six players dropped are Sheilla Kimasera, Florence Chepkemoi, Irine Idd, Trufosa Samoei, Pamela Simonjera and Fauster Kasisi. It has been a struggle for Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) to prepare the team. 
“It has been a struggle but we are happy that we have been able to go through without nay injury concern.
We are now ready for the challenge ahead,” said team manager Moses Mbuthia.
The team will arrive in Cairo in time for the technical meeting set for Tuesday in which the draw if lots will be done before the tournament proper starts a day after.
The team is coached by former Japanese International Hidehiro Irisawa, is under pressure to win the single slot for the continent to travel to Singapore for the Youth Olympics in August.
The girls’ edition will feature six teams led by the African champions Tunisia, pitted as the tournament favourites together with host Egypt.
The Tunisian team will depend on most of the players who won the African youth title in 2008 and represented the continent at the World championship.
Rwanda, which is trained by Kenyan Paul Bitok, is also eying to ruffle the status quo and so will Guinea (Conakry) and Democratic Republic of Congo.
“This team shouldn’ t be underrated.
They know that they have a chance to impress and make it to the senior’ s team that will be travelling to Japan for the World Championship in November.
So they will give it their best shot,” said Mabwi.
DRC has already secured the boy’ s slot after winning in the tournament in Durban South Africa.
Host South Africa, Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia were the only team that took part in the tournament. 
The Youth Olympics targets boys and girls born between January 1, 1992 and December 31, 1993.
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South African boxer Lovett banned till July 2011 for doping

JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport has banned South African boxer Jared Lovett until July 2011 after he tested positive for the steroid Stanozolol.
The ban is effectively for two years because Lovett tested positive in July 2009 after he lost to Tommy Oosthuizen in a 12-round bout for the International Boxing Organization light heavyweight youth title in Johannesburg.
Lovett, 23, has not fought since then.
Stanozolol is a water-based steroid that aids muscle growth.
In Feb. 2010 the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport held a hearing.
Its verdict was announced late on Thursday, Sport 24 reported. 
Last year Lovett’s trainer Colin Nathan said he was shocked by the positive test.
“He’s a good kid and he trains hard, but this has hit me hard and totally out of the blue.
“I expect an etiquette and ethic from my boxers’”.
Rodney Berman, head of Golden Gloves, Lovett’s promoters, said at the time he was disappointed in the fighter.
“I’ve seen a lot of fighters in my time.
I thought Jared and Tommy would become one of the great rivalries of all time in South African boxing.
That seems like it will never be, which is a travesty for all boxing fans.
I can only wish Jared and his family the best.
I don’t know what else to say.”
Lovett told The Sowetan newspaper in Johannesburg on Friday that he will take the punishment “on the chin”.
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Zimbabwe seeks scholarship for junior tennis stars

HARARE (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe Table Tennis Union has applied for scholarship from the International Table Tennis Federation for four promising junior players who have represented the country at regional tournaments, the Herald reported on Thursday.
ZTTU president John Muringani said the union had recommended the four junior players to benefit from the scholarship because of their good performance in the past year.
“We have applied for ITTF scholarship for players who have shown great potential in past tournaments we have organized,” Muringani was quoted as saying by the Herald.
One of the selected players, Takudzwa Sawanga, who won the Perspective Prince Edward Table Tennis Open in the under-10 boys category on Sunday, said he was happy to know that he has been shortlisted for a scholarship.
Sawanga beat Chinese Yan Feiqi of Harare International School 11-4, 6-11, 11-7 to win the series 2-1. Muringani said they expected to get feedback from ITTF any time this week, adding “we will communicate the information to the concerned players”.
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American football coaches expected in Zimbabwe

HARARE (Xinhua) -- Five football coaches from America are expected in Zimbabwe at the end of this month to conduct trials at Harare’s Lord Malvern High School.
Denford Mutashu, the Zimbabwe football agent who is co-ordinating the trials, said the coaches who are attached to five American Universities will select 50 players at the end of the program for scholarships abroad.
He told the Herald that the trials were targeting the 15-20 year age group and that participants will pay 50 U.S. dollars as registration fees.
“The coaches will select 50 players at the end of trials and they will receive scholarships to go to universities where the coaches are based,” he said.
Mutashu said the first batch of successful players will leave the country in August and the remainder will follow next year in March.
The players will be enrolled for three-year programs, he said.
The coaches are Dennis Currier from Dyton University, Chess Brooks of Ohio, Daniel Ridenour from Winthrop, High Port’s Spencer Smith and Chris Barret from Radford University.
They will jet into the country on March 25 and conduct the trials over the weekend of March 27-28.
Mutashu said this program began last year and four players were already at these universities for their three-year scholarship program.
“After completion of the scholarship program, these players will be sent to European clubs as professional footballers and the countries they normally go to are England, Germany, Austria or Spain,” he said.

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