MUGABE BANS PAY AND PRICE RISES !

Mr Mugabe has brought the new rules in unilaterally. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has banned all pay rises and price increases in a new bid to curb the country's runaway inflation.
With Zimbabwe's annual inflation now at more than 7,600% - the highest in the world - the latest move was announced by the state-run Herald newspaper.
Anyone who breaks the freeze, which applies for six months, will get a jail sentence of up to the same length.
Shops have previously been told to cut prices, but most have little to sell.
'Pushing down inflation'
"No one in private or public sectors can now raise salaries, wages, rents, service charges, prices and school fees..." said the Herald.

Q&A: Zimbabwe's economic crisis

The changes have been made by Mr Mugabe without going before the Zimbabwean parliament.
The decree has to be confirmed within six months to remain in force.
Any pay increases can now only be authorised by the government's National Incomes And Prices Commission, which the president heads.
"The net effect of the charges will be to push inflation down since all increases will be by less than the current inflation rate," added the Herald.
Independent Harare-based economist John Robertson said the latest move was a result of plummeting government revenues.
"I just wonder when they will try and reverse the laws of gravity, because this does not work," he said. Mr Robertson also questioned whether the country's armed forces - which have so far been loyal to Mr Mugabe - would accept the pay freeze.
Other analysts predicted that the wage and prices freeze would be impossible for the government to implement.
Once the bread basket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe's economy is now in crisis.
The economic woes date back to 2000, when the government and its supporters began to forcibly seize white-owned farms.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"EVERY ANIMAL LEAVES TRACES OF WHAT IT WAS;

MAN ALONE LEAVES TRACES OF WHAT HE CREATED" !

ON THIS DAY !

1977: Smith keeps power in Rhodesia.

Ian Smith's ruling Rhodesian Front has won an overwhelming victory in the country's general election.
The party made a clean sweep of all the 50 seats reserved for whites in the 66-seat parliament.
The result represents a decisive defeat for 12 right-wingers who split from Mr Smith's party because of his plans for constitutional change.
Mr Smith advocates a phased introduction to black-majority rule.
Last year he accepted a US plan to introduce black rule to Rhodesia within two years.
However, the newly-formed Rhodesian Action Party campaigned on an anti-majority rule platform.
Their defeat in all the seats they contested is seen as strengthening Mr Smith's position.
Ideas being proposed by Britain and America which call for a swift transition to black rule were backed by the left-of-centre National Unifying Force.
Nobody but a fool would disregard the kind of result we witnessed today
Ian Smith
At the polls their candidates were also trounced by the Rhodesian Front.
Speaking after the election count, Mr Smith told journalists he believed the scale of his victory would give him more leverage to produce an internal settlement.
"I am satisfied it has strengthened my hand tremendously. Nobody but a fool would disregard the kind of result we witnessed today," Mr Smith said.
But the prime minister promised to give the Anglo-American proposals careful consideration.
Mr Smith said: "No matter how unpalatable at first sight, we will give them very careful thorough consideration and investigation before attempting to pass judgement."
In spite of Mr Smith's preference for a phased handover to black rule, Wednesday's election is widely expected to be the last time a white-majority parliament will be returned in Rhodesia.
Under the current voting system, the country's 85,000 white voters elect 50 white MPs.
However, just eight black MPs are elected to represent the country's 6m black people - because only 7,000 of them are eligible to vote.
Ian Smith has been Rhodesia's prime minister since 1964.
He unilaterally declared independence from Britain the following year.

TROOPS SENT TO QUELL REBELS

The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent troop reinforcements to try and put down a rebellion in the east.
The government has also ordered rebels loyal to a renegade general to lay down their arms and go to training centres of the national army.
The call came shortly after the rebel soldiers allied to General Laurent Nkunda attacked government troops in the troubled North Kivu province.
Thousands of people have fled their homes since the clashes intensified.
A UN military spokesman confirmed that the government troops are being sent on Monuc helicopters to an area near Katale, the headquarters of the brigade that was stormed by General Laurent Nkunda's rebel soldiers on Thursday.
Since Monday, hundreds of rebel troops loyal to the ethnic Tutsi general have launched three attacks.
The BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in Kinshasa says witnesses at the airport in the eastern regional capital Goma have seen the government troop reinforcements flying in.

IN PICTURES

Elusive peace in east Congo

DR Congo Defence Minister Tshikez Djemu said late on Thursday that if the former rebels refused to lay down their arms, they would be considered bandits and be dealt with accordingly by the army.
Tension is nothing new to North Kivu but it has suddenly increased after the government's decision to dismantle what are known as the mixed brigades, our correspondent says.
These brigades, created earlier this year, were made up of government soldiers and more than 7,000 former rebels.
They joined the brigades on condition that they would remain deployed as a group to protect their own community, the Tutsis, against Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis.
But since the beginning of this year, military operations launched by the mixed brigades against the Hutu rebels have created more instability and the UN says more than 170,000 civilians have been displaced.
Mr Djemu said the mixed brigades would now be dismantled and the former Tutsi rebels deployed to other parts of DR Congo.
But so far most of those rebels have refused to lay down their arms or to leave the protection of their community to other units of the Congolese army, our correspondent says.
Last year's historic elections, which saw Joseph Kabila elected president, were supposed to mark the end of years of conflict and mismanagement in DR Congo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHURCH BACKS MUGABE BISHOP CRITIC !

Archbishop Ncube says Zimbabweans are desperate. Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic bishops have publicly pledged their support for the Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, a prominent government critic.
The nine bishops took out a full-page advert in the official Herald newspaper, in which they said he had "exposed the evils" of the government.
The move comes after accusations that Archbishop Ncube had had an affair with a married woman in his parish.
His lawyers called the allegations an orchestrated attempt to discredit him.
Meanwhile, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has again ruled out any attempt to try to change the government in Zimbabwe.
"We are not going to be involved in any regime change," Mr Mbeki told South Africa's parliament on Thursday.
"We are not going to do it. We think it is fundamentally wrong."
Mr Mbeki has been tasked to try to mediate Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis.
He has been criticised for his policy of "quiet diplomacy" towards Zimbabwe.
'Deplorable'
The Catholic bishops said attacks on Archbishop Ncube by the government and state media were "outrageous and utterly deplorable and constitute an assault on the Catholic Church".
They urged Zimbabwe's Catholics - the country's largest religious grouping - to remember the archbishop in their prayers.

PIUS NCUBE
Born: 1946
Archbishop of Bulawayo
Worked in Matabeleland during massacres in the 1980s
Has called for protests against Mugabe
Profile: The turbulent archbishop

"For years, he has courageously and with moral authority advocated social justice and political action to overcome the grievous crisis facing our country."
The husband of the woman with whom he allegedly had an affair has filed a lawsuit, demanding 20bn Zimbabwe dollars (about $160,000, or £80,000, on the black market exchange rate) in damages from the archbishop.
The archbishop, who denies the allegations, has openly denounced Mr Mugabe as a "megalomaniac".
Last month in an interview with the BBC, he argued that a case could be made for the overthrow of the president.
He has said the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe has reached "life-threatening proportions", and that regional political intervention was now needed.
Earlier this year, Archbishop Ncube called for mass street protests and said people must be prepared to stand in front of "blazing guns" to force Mr Mugabe from power.
President Robert Mugabe has warned the country's bishops they were on a "dangerous path" if they became too political.
Zimbabwe has the world's highest rate of inflation - currently about 7,500% - and just one in five adults are in work.

BBC NEWS REPORT

MERKEL TOPS 'POWERFUL WOMEN' LIST !

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has topped a list of the most powerful women in the world for the second year.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is fourth in the Forbes magazine list, which is assessed using a mix of media "reach", influence and economic impact.
The Queen - among only three UK women listed - rose 23 places to 23, partly because of the length of her reign and her "increasing media favourability".
Businesswomen have performed strongly, taking five of the top 10 places.
Ho Ching, head of Singapore's Temasek Holdings was at number three while Pepsi's chief executive Indra Nooyi was fifth in the list of 100 women.

TEN MOST POWERFUL WOMEN

1. Angela Merkel (German chancellor)
2. Wu Yi (Chinese vice-premier)
3. Ho Ching (Temasek Holdings)
4. Condoleezza Rice (US Secretary of State)
5. Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo)
6. Sonia Ghandi (Indian National Congress Party)
7. Cynthia Carroll (Anglo American)
8. Patricia Wortz (Archer Daniels Midland)
9. Irene Rosenfeld (Kraft Foods)
10. Patricia Russo (Alcatel-Lucent)
Source: Forbes magazine

Second highest Briton after the Queen was London Stock Exchange boss Clara Furse, at 54th.
In another strong showing by the world of business, chief executive of mining giant Anglo American, Cynthia Carroll was the highest ranking newcomer, placed seventh.
Other City-based high-flyers included the chief executive of publishers Pearson, Marjorie Scardino, who was ranked 17th and Angela Ahrendts, the chief executive of fashion label Burberry, who placed 66th.
However, Margaret Beckett, who was placed 29th last year in her role as foreign secretary slipped out of the top 100 list completely after being replaced in the job by a man - David Miliband.
And Cherie Blair also failed to make the list, having been named as 62nd most powerful woman in 2005.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SPRINGSTEEN AND E STREET REUNITE !

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are hitting the road for their first major tour of the US and Europe in almost five years.
The tour, which will start in the US on 2 October, will support the release of Springsteen's new album Magic.
They will play 31 dates in the US, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, France and the UK.
Springsteen, 57, made many of his early records with the E Street Band.
But after 1987's Tunnel of Love album he used the band less often, often touring solo or with different musicians.
The singer-songwriter's upcoming album was recorded with the group, and features ten new Springsteen compositions.
On tour, the E Street Band will include Roy Bittan on keyboards, Clarence Clemons on saxophone and percussion, Danny Federici on keyboards, Nils Lofgren on guitars, Patti Scialfa on vocals and guitar, Garry Tallent on bass, Steven Van Zandt on guitars, and Max Weinberg on drums.
The concerts kick off in Hartford, Connecticut, on 2 October, ending in London on 19 December.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MCCANNS TO SUE PORTUGUESE PAPER !

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann are to launch a libel action against a Portuguese newspaper which claimed they killed their daughter.
Last week, Tal & Qual reported that the "police believe" Kate and Gerry McCann killed her, with the paper suggesting Madeleine may have died in an accident.
The McCanns' lawyers will file for defamation, saying the "untrue" story had caused "suffering and humiliation".
Police have stressed that the McCanns, of Rothley, Leics, are not suspects.
Four-year-old Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on 3 May while her parents were eating at a nearby restaurant.
Earlier this month the police said there were indications that Madeleine might have died.
The newspaper's front-page story, headlined "The police believe the parents killed Maddie", claimed the couple had either caused a fatal accident or given drugs to their daughter.
Evidence analysed
The allegations were attributed to a "source close to the investigation".
However, the director of police has said publicly that the McCanns have never been viewed as suspects.
Lawyers for the couple will file a seven-page defamation complaint against the journalist who wrote the article and the newspaper's director. The legal case says the story was completely untrue.
Media speculation has been rife in Portugal since the police declared that Madeleine might have died.
The BBC's Steve Kingstone, who is in Praia da Luz, said the McCanns had previously held back from responding to the speculation, but now felt "a line had been crossed" and "enough was enough".
The newspaper's claim was based on the discovery of suspected traces of blood inside the family's apartment.
The UK's Forensic Science Service is continuing to analyse evidence recovered from the apartment.
Last week, Mr McCann asked the media to end the constant speculation about his daughter's whereabouts.
He said there had been "huge amounts written with no substance" and that it was not necessary to "bombard people on a daily basis" with Madeleine's image.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CLASHES IN EASTERN DR CONGO !

Thousands of people have fled from clashes in the east of DR Congo between government troops and soldiers allied to a renegade general, the UN says.
A UN spokeswoman said rebels loyal to General Laurent Nkunda battled for five hours to seize a military base in Nord Kivu province early on Thursday.
Several people were hit by bullets but the army did not confirm casualties.
About 165,000 people have fled clashes between government forces and rebels since January.
The rebels were members of a mixed brigade created to integrate rebels into the Congolese army, but which fell apart after a series of desertions.

IN PICTURES
Elusive peace in east Congo

The attack, by about 1,500 rebels, targeted a military base in Masisi, a few kilometres from the city of Goma.
"Monuc [the UN mission in DR Congo] has reinforced its troops in Masisi and spent the night ceaselessly calling on both sides to end hostilities", UN spokeswoman Sylvie van den Wildenberg told AFP news agency.
General Nkunda has been leading a rebellion in the east against the country's elected government, which he accuses of promoting ethnic hatred.
The dissident general argues that his troops are protecting the ethnic Tutsis from an extremist Hutu militia accused of leading the 1994 Rwandan genocide, who operate freely in the east.
The government has called off operations against the militias, sparking protests from General Nkunda and the Rwandan government.
Last Friday the UN warned that increasing violent unrest in the east of the country could spark a huge increase in the numbers of people fleeing the fighting.
And last month, UN peacekeeping head Jean-Marie Guehenno warned that forces allied to General Nkunda posed a serious threat to stability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last year's historic elections, which saw Joseph Kabila elected president, were supposed to mark the end of years of conflict and mismanagement in DR Congo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

QUEEN DUO TO PLAY AT MANDELA GIG !

Brian May and Roger Taylor helped launch the 46664 campaign. Queen stars Brian May and Roger Taylor have signed up to perform at a concert in London next year to mark Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
The charity concert is being held to raise awareness of Mandela's 46664 HIV Aids campaign, set up to help those "on the frontline to fight HIV".
May and Taylor helped found the 46664 campaign in 2003, alongside fellow music stars Dave Stewart and Bono.
The former President of South Africa will attend the concert on 27 June.
A worldwide music-led campaign, 46664 takes its name from the prison number Mandela was assigned during his 18-year-sentence on Robben Island in South Africa.
Bono and Beyonce Knowles headlined the first concert in South Africa in November 2003.
Spain and Norway have also played host to concerts, in addition to a second gig held in South Africa in 2005.
In January of the same year, Mandela lost his son to Aids.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA FEARS INFLATION COULD SPARK UNREST !

By Michael Bristow Business reporter, BBC News, Beijing

Rising pork prices have pushed up inflation in China. At the Chunxiu Road Vegetable Market in central Beijing, shoppers and stallholders are grumbling about the price of food. Pork laid out on plastic slabs has increased from about 7 yuan (92 cents, 46 pence) a jin (500 grams) last year to 11 or 12 yuan now.
Food price increases this year have led to a sharp rise in the consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation which jumped to 5.6% in July, its highest level in 10 years.
In a country where inflation and social unrest are historically linked, that statistic cannot be ignored by China's leaders.
On several occasions in the past, rising food prices in China have led to political problems for the government.
Inflation in 1988 is thought to have contributed to the demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square the following year.
Arthur Kroeber, director of economic research firm Dragonomics, says the current level of inflation is no way near as politically serious as it was in the late 1980s.
"We are far away from that kind of scenario," says the economist, whose firm specialises in China.

The Chinese government appears to have inflation - caused by supply problems and increasing demand - under control, says Mr Kroeber.
Last week it raised interest rates for the fourth time this year to curb lending and encourage saving. Incomes are also growing at a rapid pace, meaning people can afford more expensive goods, he says.
And despite complaints about price rises, shoppers at the Chunxiu Road market seem to confirm this view.
"The price rises haven't affected what I buy," says Li Guizhen, as she leaves the market clutching a bag of minced pork which she is planning to use to make dumplings.
"If pensions keep going up steadily then it doesn't matter if prices also go up," adds the 58-year-old retired woman. Her pension went up in July.
Other shoppers, many of whom come to the market daily for fresh produce, give similar comments.
But outside relatively affluent Beijing, even small increases in the cost of everyday food items can have a major impact on people's lives.

Vegetable prices could rise further if floods destroy crops. Just this week there were reports that migrant workers in the southern Chinese boom city of Shenzhen staged a protest, demanding higher wages.
One worker was reported to have complained that employees are not making enough money to compensate for soaring food prices.
Even Mr Kroeber admits that Chinese officials cannot afford to ignore the latest bout of inflation - driven mainly by rising food prices.
"There is no question that in China the connection between inflation and social unrest is very important for historical reasons," he says.
Another Chinese commentator, Liang Jing, believes current conditions make unrest even more likely than in 1989.
"The number and proportion [of people] who are extremely sensitive to the price of basic consumer goods has greatly increased," the commentator wrote in an article posted on Radio Free Asia's website.
This group includes tens of millions of migrant workers who have flocked to towns and cities to find work, and those left unemployed by China's economic restructuring.
Officials certainly seem keen to show they are taking the issue seriously.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signalled his concern over inflation's effect on ordinary people by visiting a vegetable market.
And there is widespread publicity given to measures being taken by the government to keep price rises in check.
Most economists believe the government's current tactics will bring inflation under control at somewhere near the 2007 target of 3% by the end of the year.
But floods and drought mean this autumn's harvest could be 10% down on last year's. This could further fuel inflation.
If that happens, the grumbling at markets like the one in Chunxiu Road could become more audible.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LIBERIA DISCOVERS 'GHOST' WORKERS !

Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf says corruption is the public enemy number one. Liberia's government says it has found more than 7,000 'ghost' workers on its payroll - employees who do not actually exist, or do not work for it.
The discovery was made when the government embarked on a civil service overhaul to improve efficiency.
The Civil Service Agency head, William Allen, told the BBC that the ghost workers "got there through the usual avenue, which is corruption".
He said they had cost Liberian tax payers about $2.6m (£1.3m) a year.
All the fake names have now been removed from the payroll and a biometric identity system is being introduced, he said.
"The biometric (system) is about 99.9% foolproof so once we install this technology we hope once and for all that we will be able to save the Liberian tax payers a huge sum of money," Mr Allen said.
Liberia, under the helm of Africa's first woman president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is in the process of re-building following its 14-year civil war.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WORLD FACING 'ARSENIC TIMEBOMB' !

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website.

About 50 million people are affected in Bangladesh. About 140 million people, mainly in developing countries, are being poisoned by arsenic in their drinking water, researchers believe.
Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) annual meeting in London, scientists said this will lead to higher rates of cancer in the future.
South and East Asia account for more than half of the known cases globally.
Eating large amounts of rice grown in affected areas could also be a health risk, scientists said.
"It's a global problem, present in 70 countries, probably more," said Peter Ravenscroft, a research associate in geography with Cambridge University.
"If you work on drinking water standards used in Europe and North America, then you see that about 140 million people around the world are above those levels and at risk."

Arsenic consumption leads to higher rates of some cancers, including tumours of the lung, bladder and skin, and other lung conditions. Some of these effects show up decades after the first exposure.
I don't know of one government agency which has given this the priority it deserves
Allan Smith"In the long term, one in every 10 people with high concentrations of arsenic in their water will die from it," observed Allan Smith from the University of California at Berkeley.
"This is the highest known increase in mortality from any environmental exposure."
The international response, he said, is not what the scale of the problem merits.
"I don't know of one government agency which has given this the priority it deserves," he commented.
The first signs that arsenic-contaminated water might be a major health issue emerged in the 1980s, with the documentation of poisoned communities in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.

Rice plants absorb arsenic from the soil as they grow In order to avoid drinking surface water, which can be contaminated with bacteria causing diarrhoea and other diseases, aid agencies had been promoting the digging of wells, not suspecting that well water would emerge with elevated levels of arsenic.
The metal is present naturally in soil, and leaches into groundwater, with bacteria thought to play a role.
Since then, large-scale contamination has been found in other Asian countries such as China, Cambodia and Vietnam, in South America and Africa.
It is less of a problem in North America and Europe where most water is provided by utilities. However, some private wells in the UK may not be tested and could present a problem, Mr Ravenscroft said.

Once the threat has been identified, there are remedies, such as as digging deeper wells, purification, and identifying safe surface water supplies.
As a matter of priority, scientists at the RGS meeting said, governments should test all wells in order to assess the threat to communities.
"Africa, for example, is probably affected less than other continents, but so little is known that we would recommend widespread testing," said Peter Ravenscroft.
His Cambridge team has developed computer models aimed at predicting which regions might have the highest risks, taking into account factors such as geology and climate.

Arsenic contamination can be a problem in parts of the US. "We have assessments of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins, for example, and then we look for similar basins elsewhere.
"There are similar areas in Indonesia and the Philippines, and very little evidence of tests; yet where there has been some testing, in (the Indonesian province of) Aceh for example, signs of arsenic turned up."
Asian countries use water for agriculture as well as drinking, and this too can be a source of arsenic poisoning.
Rice is usually grown in paddy fields, often flooded with water from the same wells. Arsenic is drawn up into the grains which are used for food.
Andrew Meharg from Aberdeen University has shown that arsenic transfers from soil to rice about 10 times more efficiently than to other grain crops.
This is clearly a problem in countries such as Bangladesh where rice is the staple food, and Professor Meharg believes it could be an issue even in the UK among communities which eat rice frequently.
"The average (British) person eats about 10g to 16g of rice per day, but members of the UK Bangladeshi community for example might eat 300g per day," he said.
The UK's Food Standards Agency is currently assessing whether this level of consumption carries any risk.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

BBC NEWS REPORT.

EQUINE FLUE HITS SYDNEY RACEHORSES !

Eight Australian racehorses have tested positive for equine influenza, forcing the suspension of Sydney's spring carnival racing.
The horses are based at Randwick racecourse in Sydney, the headquarters of racing in New South Wales.
The racecourse will be quarantined for 30 days to try to contain the outbreak.
The flu was first detected in recreational horses in Sydney last week, forcing a ban on horse movements and the cancellation of race meetings.
The primary industries minister for New South Wales, Ian Macdonald, said the flu could spread quickly through the Randwick stables, where some 700 thoroughbreds are based.
Some of Australia's finest thoroughbreds are stabled at Randwick and it is also home to some of the country's leading trainers.
The flu was found in eight of 10 horses from the stable of Randwick trainer Anthony Cummings.
The outbreak is devastating blow to the racing industry, reports the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.
The suspension of racing will cost millions of dollars, not just to the horse industry but to the bookmakers. There are fears of major job losses.

Jobs at the Randwick racecourse are threatened"It is more than a disaster, it is a grim, black day," Racing New South Wales Chief Executive Peter V'Landys told reporters.
He said the cancellation of Sydney races would have a significant impact on the Melbourne spring carnival, including the Melbourne Cup, Australia's most prestigious horse race which takes place in November.
"The cream of the horses are based at Randwick and Warwick Farm (in Sydney). You have leading trainers at Randwick. None of those horses now will be able to compete in Melbourne," he said.
Meanwhile, about 100 people, 30 of them children, remained quarantined following an outbreak in Warwick, Queensland state. Equine flu does not affect humans, but can be carried on clothing or footwear.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZAMBIA'S NSOFWA DIES IN ISRAEL !

Chaswe Nsofwa helped Zambia win the Cosafa Cup in 2006. Zambia's Chaswe Nsofwa has died in an Israeli hospital minutes after collapsing during a training session.
The 27-year-old was training with his Israeli second division side Hapoel Beersheba when the tragedy struck.
Rescue workers tried to restart his heart for several minutes on the field before taking him to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
Paramedic Carmel Cohen said that he rushed to the field when he received the emergency call.
"When we arrived we found the soccer player lying on the grass," he explained.
"We found his friends trying to help him.
"We gave him first aid, electric shocks and an external pacemaker, but despite all our efforts, he was declared dead at the hospital."
It was not known what caused the player's collapse.
Nsofwa was part of the Zambia squad at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali and last year had helped the Chipolopolo win the Cosafa Cup, scoring one of the goals in the final 2-0 win over Angola.
On Tuesday Spain and Sevilla's Antonio Puerta died three days after collapsing during a league game.

BBC SPORTS REPORT

"SAYINGS" !

"THE WORLD IS A COMEDY TO THOSE WHO THINK,

A TRAGEDY TO THOSE WHO FEEL" !

BHUTTO 'ULTIMATUM' TO MUSHARRAF !

By Barbara Plett BBC News, Islamabad.

Could Benazir Bhutto co-operate with a Musharraf government?

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has given President Musharraf 48 hours to respond to her demands for a power-sharing deal, media reports say. The embattled military ruler is seeking support for presidential elections that would give him another five-year term.
But his options have narrowed after a series of Supreme Court decisions.
Ms Bhutto wants a clear statement the general will resign as army chief of staff before year end, some say before a presidential vote due in the autumn. She also wants a pledge to remove legal obstacles currently preventing her from becoming prime minister.

Beginning of the end?
Exiled PM to return

The railways minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told reporters on Wednesday that the deal was 80% done. He said the crucial issue over Gen Musharraf's dual role as president and army chief had been resolved.
Ms Bhutto made a similar comment to a British newspaper, although neither she nor Mr Ahmed elaborated.
Until now Gen Musharraf has said he will abide by the constitution when it comes to his dual role as president and army chief.
Some say this means he will take off his uniform by year's end.
But Ms Bhutto wants a public declaration. So why has she upped the ante now?

Analysts say she was alarmed by the Supreme Court's decision last week allowing the exiled opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, to return to Pakistan, perhaps as early as next month.
Mr Sharif has gained much support for opposing army rule and vowing to force President Musharraf out of office.
Ms Bhutto on the other hand has been losing public support by negotiating with the general.
It is not clear whether the military leader can accept her demands.
At the moment he has enough votes in parliament to win another five-year term.
But there are growing defections from the ruling party and crucially, the Supreme Court might rule that his re-election from existing assemblies is unconstitutional.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SADR SET 'TO REBUILD' MEHDI ARMY !

The Mehdi Army is believed to have some 60,000 fighters. The radical Iraqi Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, has announced the "rebuilding" of his Mehdi Army militia over a maximum period of six months.
He called on all its offices to co-operate with the security forces and exercise "self-control", in a statement issued by his office in Najaf.
The order was read out at a conference in Karbala, where fierce fighting on Tuesday killed more than 50 people.
Police blamed the Mehdi Army for the violence, but it denied involvement.
The militia is strongly opposed to the US presence in Iraq and took part in two uprisings against US-led forces in 2004.
It has also been linked to many sectarian attacks on Iraq's Sunni Arabs and on UK forces in the south of the country.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MOST WEAPONS 'IN CIVILIAN HANDS' !

Some 650 million small arms are reportedly in the hands of civilians. Civilians around the world hold more guns, handguns and rifles than previously thought, a new survey says.
Three times more weapons are held by civilians than by all the world's armies and police forces together, the study from a Geneva-based group says.
The Graduate Institute of International Studies' report calls for greater world co-operation to combat urban gun crime.
Uncontrolled urbanisation is leading to decreased public safety and increased levels of armed violence, it adds.
The survey on the spread of small arms says that out of the 875 million firearms circulating around the world, 650 million are held by civilians - some 200 million more than previous estimates.
What concerns the Geneva-based researchers most is the changing relationship between society and weapons, especially in big cities, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.
In the vast urban centres of Africa, Asia and Latin America, wealthy citizens are buying guns to protect themselves, while outside the gated communities in which they live, drug-related crime and gang warfare are on the increase, our correspondent adds.
In Brazil's cities, the number of gun-related deaths is higher than that of many countries at war.
More control
The report also calls for more controls on arms sales, pointing out that many of the world's weapons exporters - among them Germany, Italy and the UK - could do more to ensure the guns they sell do end up in the right hands.
Keith Krause, director of the small arms survey, says countries need to be sure the weapons they export go where they are supposed to.
"Here there has been a lot of attention on the sale of American weapons to Iraq to re-equip the Iraqi forces. And the US government accounting office has expressed great concern over the fact that the United States cannot actually account for all of the weapons that they have transferred.
"That doesn't mean they have been lost, but it means we no longer know whether they are still with the people who legally acquired them."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SUDAN LAUNCHES FLOOD AID APPEAL !

The floods are said to be the worst in living memory. The Sudanese Government and the UN have launched an appeal to raise $20m (£9.9m) to help more than 400,000 people hit by floods across Sudan.
The UN says at least three-and-a-half million could be at risk from water-borne diseases such as cholera.
Sudanese officials described the floods as the worst in living memory, with heavy rains killing at least 89 people and destroying 73,000 homes.
Experts say they believe there will be more floods over the next few weeks.
A further quarter of a million people could be affected in at least 12 states including Red Sea state, the Blue Nile and Upper Nile as well as the capital, Khartoum.

The appeal money will be used to provide clean water as well as emergency shelter and food to those who are at risk.
"These funds will enable us to save lives, to assist families who lost everything in gradually restoring their livelihoods, to prevent deadly epidemics, and to help children get back to school," UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Relief John Holmes said in a statement.
The money will go towards 48 projects to be carried out around the country by seven UN agencies.
Money already committed has enabled the UN and its partners to provide clean water to more than a million people and shelter to 200,000 homeless.
About 50 people were killed in a cholera outbreak resulting from the floods in the north-east of the country, the World Health Organization says.

NELSON MANDELA STATUE IS UNVEILED !

A statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in London.
Mr Mandela, 89, his wife Graca Machel, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among those at the unveiling in Parliament Square.
Mr Brown hailed Mr Mandela as the "greatest and most courageous leader of our generation".
The late South African anti-apartheid activist Donald Woods had the idea for the 9ft-high (2.7m) bronze statue.
Talking to crowds who gathered for the unveiling, Mr Mandela said: "Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolise all of those who have resisted oppression, especially in my country."
Lord Richard Attenborough, trustee of the Mandela Statue Fund, introduced Mr Mandela at the unveiling and spoke of Mr Woods's "bravery".

Mandela speech

"He fled his country with his wife and five children and came here as a refugee, thrown out by the apartheid system," said Lord Attenborough.
"He would have given anything to have been here today because it was his concept."
Wendy Woods, wife of the late Donald Woods, said: "This statue will remind the world of the human qualities that Mr Mandela has.
"These are qualities which have helped South Africa put paid to its past and helped us on our first step towards a future where all people can flourish and lead happier lives."

The statue had been dogged by arguments over where it should go as well as its artistic merit.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, who was also at the ceremony, had wanted it to stand on the north side of Trafalgar Square.
However, in 2005 Westminster Council refused permission saying it would clutter the space needed for large events.
It was finally agreed the statue should face the Houses of Parliament, and stand alongside images of other great leaders such as Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli and Abraham Lincoln.
"Long after we are forgotten, you will be remembered for having taught the world one amazing truth," said Mr Livingstone.
"That you can achieve justice without vengeance. I honour you and London honours you."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MOI THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND KIBAKI !

Former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi has backed his successor Mwai Kibaki's bid for a second presidential term in elections later this year.
The former leader said he had been observing the country's politics and was convinced that President Kibaki was the best candidate to unite Kenya.
Mr Moi stood down after 2001 elections, in which his Kanu party was defeated by a coalition led by Mr Kibaki.
The endorsement is a major boost for the incumbent's re-election bid.
The former leader, who ruled Kenya for 24 years, still wields great political influence.
Mr Moi said he was disappointed that "tribalism and selfish individual interests have been entrenched in our society".
"After very careful assessment, informed by my political experience spanning half a century, I am convinced that Mwai Kibaki ought to be given the chance to complete the constitutionally accepted two-term tenure," Mr Moi said during a news conference.
Unity hope
"You have seen President Kibaki's development agenda that he has shown. He is not tribalist, he is development-minded and he is for the unity of the people of this country," he said, adding that he would be campaigning for President Kibaki in the run up to the December elections.

The move will be a blow for ex-Moi aide Nicholas Biwott.
Mr Moi also lashed out at the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), saying it was a divisive party.
"Above all, all of them are driven by hate. I don't want Kenya to end in chaos," said the self-styled professor of politics.
Politicians allied to the ODM accused the former president of trying to scuttle the opposition movement.
In July, Mr Kibaki appointed Mr Moi as a special peace envoy to Sudan to help facilitate a peace deal in southern Sudan where Kenya has strong economic interests.
Political analysts have seen the thawing of relations between Mr Moi and the incumbent president in recent months as a sign that they may have been planning a loose coalition.
Kenya has enjoyed growing economic strength under President Kibaki, but this has been marred by endemic corruption which has continued to thrive despite the government's pledges to end it.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'MASSIVE' GEM DUG UP IN SOUTH AFRICA !

By Peter Greste - BBC News, Johannesburg.

Experts say the find would be the stone of the century, if genuine. A small South African mining company has claimed to have discovered the world's biggest-ever diamond.
A shareholder in the unnamed mine told the BBC the stone had been unearthed at their operation in the north-west province on Monday afternoon.
He said the giant gem was about 7,000 carats - which would be twice the size of the Cullinan Diamond, centre-piece of the British crown jewels.
But industry experts are sceptical about the unconfirmed claim.
Brett Jolly, a shareholder at the mine, said the stone had been taken to a bank vault in Johannesburg.
Mr Jolly said he hoped tests on Tuesday would prove its worth.
In a photograph emailed to the BBC, the 'stone' appears to be about the size of a coconut, and has a greenish tinge.
But a spokesman for De Beers, the world's biggest diamond mining company, said the north-west province was not known for producing gems and greenish stones were even rarer.
The firm also said that if the find were genuine it would be the stone of the century.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

PIG FARMER DEFENCE TO MAKE CASE !

Robert Pickton has been in custody since 2002. Defence lawyers for alleged serial killer Robert Pickton are due to begin calling witnesses, seven months after his trial began in Vancouver, Canada. Mr Pickton is accused of murdering 26 women but is initially being tried for six murders. He has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution wrapped up its case this month after calling 98 witnesses. But the trial, which was due to resume on Monday, was delayed for at least a day, as the judge said both legal teams needed more time to prepare arguments. The defence team, who expect it will take about three weeks to question witnesses, have not said whether Mr Pickton will take the stand.

Most of the women Mr Pickton is accused of murdering were prostitutes and drug addicts who disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside over more than a decade. Mr Pickton, 57, was arrested in 2002 and has been in custody since then. Prosecutors alleged that Mr Pickton butchered the women after he killed them and disposed of their remains on his pig farm outside Vancouver.

The prosecution case included DNA evidence from the farm, statements he made to the police and an undercover police officer in his cell, and witnesses who testified about what they had allegedly seen on the farm or heard from Mr Pickton. The defence challenged the witnesses' credibility and the reliability of the evidence linking Mr Pickton to the murders.

At the trial's opening in January, defence lawyer Peter Ritchie called on the jury to keep an open mind about the case. He urged them to pay "close attention to where Mr Pickton's DNA does not appear in relation to those exhibits (recovered form the property)". He also told jury members to think of the farm as a "busy hive of activity". "Pay attention to...the number of people that go there; the identity of people that go to the property; people who have residence on the property and they type of activities and nature of activities that took place on the property."

Under Canadian law, the prosecution is required to inform the defence about their witnesses but there is no such obligation for the defence team. It is therefore not known whether the defence will call Mr Pickton to testify.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

YAHOO IN CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS CASE !

Whole websites, including media sources, are eliminated from Yahoo. A human rights group in the US is suing Yahoo for alleged complicity in rights abuses and acts of torture in China. The World Organization for Human Rights says Yahoo's sharing of information with the Chinese government has led to the arrests of writers and dissidents.
One journalist cited in the case was tracked down and jailed for 10 years for subversion after Yahoo passed on his e-mail and IP address to officials.
Yahoo insists it must comply with local laws in areas where it operates.
But it acknowledges that providing Chinese officials with information has enabled them to make arrests.
In a statement, Yahoo said it supported privacy and free expression and added that it was working with other technology companies to find a way to address human rights concerns.
The human rights group has brought the case in San Francisco on behalf of the journalist, Shi Tao, and another named Wang Xiaoning.
The men's defence lawyer said Yahoo should have asked the Chinese government why it wanted information about the two men before handing it over. He said Yahoo had failed to live up to its ethical responsibilities.
The BBC's David Willis in California says the case has prompted debate about the responsibility of US internet companies to protect the anonymity of users in the countries in which they operate.
Strict laws exist in China to regulate the internet. Shi Tao was jailed for posting comments critical of government corruption on the web.
Yahoo is not the only internet company accused of collaborating with Chinese authorities. Rivals Google freely admit to blocking politically sensitive items on their China website.
Whole websites - including media sources - are eliminated from Yahoo and Google in China.
De-listed sites are skipped over when the search engine trawls the web for results.
The internet firms argue it is better to offer Chinese users some information than none at all.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MOVE TO END DR CONGO'S INSECURITY !

UN troops remain in the east despite peace and elections. Regional military chiefs are meeting in Rwanda's capital, Kigali to plan joint operations against militia groups operating in eastern DR Congo.
Militia groups operating in DR Congo's troubled east include extremist Hutu fighters involved in Rwanda's genocide and Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army.
Rwanda says the Hutu FDLR rebels are regrouping and it may launch attacks.
DR Congo recently halted a seven-month military campaign against armed groups - a decision that has angered Rwanda.
The Rwandan special envoy in the Great Lakes, Richard Sezibera, has urged the DR Congo government to maintain its campaign against the rebels. Mr Sezibera told the BBC that neighbouring countries were ready to assist through limited joint military operations.

Rwanda has twice invaded DR Congo, saying it wants to wipe out the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR).
But DR Congo's government is unlikely to welcome any military assistance from Uganda and Rwanda, whom it accuses of mass looting during their last intervention in the East
Renegade General Laurent Nkunda, has also criticised the move to suspend the military onslaught against Hutu militias.
General Nkunda, who led an uprising in DR Congo's volatile North Kivu Province, in 2004 has accused the government of supporting the FDLR.
But the government says its priority should now be peace, development and the creation of a strong united army, rather than causing further instability.
Some 165,000 civilians have fled fighting in the North Kivu province since February, when General Nkunda's army brigades launched operations against the FDLR.
Last year's historic elections were supposed to mark the end of years of conflict and mismanagement in DR Congo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE AGRICULTURAL SHOW OPENS !

By Peter Greste - BBC News, South Africa.

Zimbabweans are suffering severe shortages of food and fuel. Zimbabwe's annual agricultural showcase has begun in the capital, Harare. More than 200 farmers from across Zimbabwe are exhibiting maize, wheat, cotton, vegetables, honey and livestock, the show's organisers say. Since the government introduced price controls in June, those goods and many more have vanished from stores.

Meanwhile, the black market prices have continued to soar at an estimated 20,000% - well beyond the reach of the 80% of workers now without a job. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has blamed economic sanctions by the West for the crisis. But critics say it is President Mugabe's own land reform policy that has turned one of Africa's most productive farming states into one of its hungriest.

The Harare show's theme this year is "To feed the nation, time for innovation". It is to be officially opened by Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the President of Equatorial Guinea. The two countries were linked together in 2004, when mercenaries - allegedly on their way to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea - were arrested in Zimbabwe. Since then, ties between the two countries have grown.

Human-rights organisations have accused President Obiang of running a dictatorship responsible for gross human rights violations.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD,

BUT A SMILE SPEAKS THEM ALL " !

NIGERIA OIL CITY IN SLUM CLEAN-UP !

By Fidelis Mbah BBC News, Port Harcourt

Port Harcourt residents raise their hands as they approach road blocks. All waterfront buildings and shacks in Nigeria's oil capital, Port Harcourt are to be demolished, officials say.
Rivers State government says the shacks have become hideouts for the armed militants who are behind the violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Although the government plans to build modern houses to replace the shacks, the villagers have rejected the move.
Some 25 coastal villages are to be affected by the clean up ordered by the governor, Celestine Omehia.
But villagers want the government to provide alternative shelter for them before setting the bulldozers on their shanty towns, home to about one million low income families.
They also say the demolition will "deface" their cultural heritage as they have lived in these seaside slums for hundreds of years.

Port Harcourt has been the scene of recent gun battles between rival gangs locked in a turf war in the oil city where crime rates are very high.
Security forces have set up roadblocks and mounted patrols in some areas of the city.
Some of the villages marked for demolition are built with wood and are poorly planned.
Mr Omehia says the demolition of the slums is a price the villagers have to pay if peace is to return to the violence-torn oil-rich southern state.

"We won't allow that because such a move will deface the culture of our people", Derek Achisomie, president of Port Harcourt aborigines said.
The governor also says the villagers have been harbouring armed militants who are behind the recent upsurge in violence in the state capital Port Harcourt.
Nigerian militants have caused havoc in Port Harcourt.
Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer is also the third largest exporter to the US.
The bulk of the oil comes from the Niger Delta, a heavily impoverished region where oil explorations have led to environmental problems and spawned violence.
The security situation in southern Nigeria's oil-producing region has deteriorated since early 2006 with attacks on oil installations and foreign workers kidnapped for ransom.
The main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), agreed to a ceasefire last month but recently threatened to resume attacks.
The unrest has led to a 25% cut in oil output from Nigeria - Africa's largest producer.
President Umaru Yar'Adua has said tackling the unrest in the south is one of his top priorities.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

FOREIGNERS HELP FIGHT GREEK FIRES !

Military helicopters have been used to fight the fires. Firefighting aircraft from several countries are helping Greece tackle devastating forest fires that have killed at least 60 people. Large swathes of Greece - from the island of Evia north of Athens to the Peloponnese in the south - have been ravaged by the inferno since Friday.

Greek police have arrested 32 arson suspects, as investigations continue into the origins of the blazes. A 1m euro (£678,000) reward has been offered to help catch fire-starters. Dozens of new fires continue to break out, fanned by hot, dry winds.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant, in Athens, says the police and intelligence services will be keen to discover if there is any link between the suspected arsonist, and whether they are part of an organised scorched earth campaign. Greece has the feel of a country on a war footing, our correspondent says.

See map of affected areas

Soldiers are patrolling suburban neighbourhoods trying to catch arsonists in the act and anti-terrorist squads have been questioning some suspects. Meanwhile, a top Greek prosecutor has ordered an inquiry into whether arson attacks can be considered terrorism, and prosecuted under Greece's anti-terror laws. Treating arson as a potential act of terrorism would give authorities broader powers of investigation and arrest.

The fires have gutted hundreds of homes, forcing thousands of villagers to flee and blackening hillsides. Water-bombing aircraft from France, Italy and Canada are in action, with more international aid expected.

Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympics, was in danger on Sunday, but firefighters managed to keep it safe. The hill of Kronos, overlooking Olympia, was engulfed by fire.

In pictures: Greek inferno

Culture Minister George Voulgarakis went to Olympia, in the Peloponnese, to oversee the emergency effort. "All the people, the firefighters, the policemen, the volunteers, they fought with the fire and the museum is as it was." The BBC's Dominic Hughes on the island of Evia says several massive fires are burning in the thickly wooded hills. On Sunday five bodies were found on the island. "Over the weekend the sky was grey-brown over Athens and Kifissia, the air full of smoke and the sun - a dim spot," said Gabriella Gosevits, an Athens resident, in an e-mail to the BBC News website. "There was ash all over the place and the smell of burnt wood was everywhere."

Thousands of Greek firefighters are being supported by 20 water-bombing planes and 19 helicopters. At least 11 countries are helping Greece fight the fires with planes, helicopters and specialist firefighters.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has declared a nationwide state of emergency. The reward, put up by the Greek government, is for anyone providing information which leads to the arrest of an arsonist. One theory is that the fires could have been started as a way of getting around Greek law which forbids development on areas designated as forest land.

The head of the conservation charity WWF Greece, Demetris Karavellas, told the BBC's World Today programme that Greece lacked a forest registry, "so in many cases it's not entirely clear what is forest and what is land for construction". "There is strong pressure for tourism, for more and more development... I hope the public, at least, with the amazing damage that we are going through right now, will really create a lot more political pressure," he said.

At ancient Olympia, flames licked the edges of the original Olympic stadium and scorched the yard of the museum, home to one of Greece's greatest archaeological collections. Athens itself was shrouded in smoke that obscured the sun as several fires threatened the city's outskirts. The rapidly advancing fires caught many people unaware. Those who left the decision to flee too late were caught in their houses, cars, or as they stumbled through olive groves.

At least 39 people were reported to have been killed in the worst affected region, around the town of Zaharo in the western Peloponnese, by a fire that broke out on Friday and quickly spread.

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BBC NEWS REPORT.

P.N.G. AIDS VICTIMS 'BURIED ALIVE' !

Some people with HIV/Aids in Papua New Guinea are being buried alive by their relatives, a health worker says. Margaret Marabe said families were taking the extreme action because they could no longer look after sufferers or feared catching the disease themselves. Ms Marabe said she saw the "live burials" with her own eyes during a five-month trip to PNG's remote Southern Highlands.

PNG is in the grip of an HIV/Aids epidemic - the worst in the region. An estimated 2% of the six million population are believed to be infected, and HIV diagnoses rise by around 30% each year.
International health agencies have warned action must be taken to prevent hundreds of thousands of people becoming infected.

Margaret Marabe, a known local activist in PNG, carried out an awareness campaign in the Tari area of the Southern Highlands earlier this year. "I saw three people with my own eyes. When they got very sick and people could not look after them, they buried them," she told reporters. She described how one person called out "mama, mama" as the soil was being shovelled over their head. Villagers told her that such action was common, she said.

Ms Marabe, who works for the Igat Hope organisation in the capital, Port Moresby, said people in remote parts of the country remained ignorant about HIV/Aids and urged the government to take action. "There are no voluntary counselling training centres in Tari. There are also no training programmes on HIV," she was quoted by PNG's Post-Courier newspaper as saying. PNG's Secretary for Health Dr Nicholas Mann admitted to the BBC in an interview last year that the multitude of cultures and languages in the country made it difficult to get the HIV/Aids message across.

But he said Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had brought the issue under his remit, and the government was working with agencies on a co-ordinated approach to tackling the crisis.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ARRESTS OVER RUSSIA WRITER MURDER !

Anna Politkovskaya was killed as she left her apartment building. Ten people have been arrested in Russia over the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Russian TV showed prosecutor general Yuri Chaika telling President Putin of the arrests, informing him that those held would soon be charged.
Mr Chaika said "serious progress" had been made in the investigation into the killing, which was widely condemned.
The journalist, a harsh critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead at her Moscow apartment block in 2006.
At the moment there is no information about the identity of the suspects.
Anna Politkovskaya was killed as she left for work. Closed circuit television footage showed a single gunman carried out the murder.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield Hayes, in Moscow, says that at the time it was rumoured the killer could have been a member of a Chechen criminal gang or even have a connection to the Russian security services.
The Russian government has always strenuously denied any connection to the murder.
Anna Politkovskaya made her name reporting from Chechnya for Russia's liberal newspaper, Novaya Gazeta.
She was also the author of two books in English, A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya (2001), and Putin's Russia (2004).
Her writing was often polemical, as bitter in its condemnation of the Russian army and the Russian government as it was fervent in support of human rights and the rule of law.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SOLDIERS DIE IN UGANDA ROAD CRASH !

More than 70 people, including 57 soldiers, have died when a truck overturned in east Uganda's mountains. The army says the soldiers and their families were being moved from the border with Kenya to their base when their truck hit a concrete barrier. The accident is one of Uganda's worst in recent history. There are 31 seriously injured soldiers now in nearby hospitals, the army says.

One local official says the truck's brakes may have failed on an incline. The army is still trying to ascertain how many people were travelling on the truck at the time and the condition of the vehicle. The BBC's Sarah Grainger in Kampala says the road between Kapchorwa and Sironko in the east of the country winds through the foothills of Mount Elgon, Uganda's second highest peak, and its hairpin bends and steep gradients make for treacherous driving conditions. As many as 2,000 people are estimated by police to die on Uganda's roads each year - with poorly maintained roads and vehicles often blamed.

Uganda Army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said investigations into the cause of the accident have begun. "It is really tragic and apparently nobody escaped unhurt," Major Kulayigye told the BBC News website "The brakes of the truck failed as it was driving down hill, it hit the pavement and overturned killing most of the soldiers instantly," Nicholas Ngonzi, the district police chief told Uganda's New Vision newspaper.

Most of the injured soldiers and their spouses are undergoing treatment at Mbale and Kapchorwa hospitals in the east of the country. The soldiers had been stationed at Bukwa, close to the border with Kenya and were returning to their battalion headquarters having completed their tour there. About a month ago, the Ugandan army sent a fresh deployment of soldiers to the border because of renewed threats from Kenyan Pokot cattle herders who cross the border into Uganda to raid cattle.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

FIGHT TO SAVE OLYMPIC BIRTHPLACE !

The hill of Kronos, overlooking Olympia, was engulfed by fire. Forest fires are burning inside ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympics, but firefighters have kept the site safe, Greek officials say.
Flames licked the edges of the original Olympic stadium and scorched the yard of the museum, home to one of Greece's greatest archaeological collections.
Fires have ravaged large parts of Greece, affecting the Peloponnese, areas around Athens and Evia island.
On Sunday five bodies were found on Evia, bringing the death toll to 56.
Five fire trucks are protecting the archaeological museum, which houses sculptures from the Temple of Zeus and artefacts from the ancient Olympics, and anti-fire systems have been switched on, according to the secretary general of the culture ministry, Christos Zahopoulos.
A new fire protection and sprinkler system was installed at the Unesco World Heritage site for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

See map of affected areas

Culture Minister George Voulgarakis has arrived in Olympia to oversee the emergency effort.
"We don't know exactly how much damage there is in the Olympia area, but the important thing is that the museum is as it was and the archaeological site will not have any problem," he told Associated Press news agency as he visited the area.
A fire brigade spokesman said that six planes, two helicopters, 15 fire engines and 45 firemen had participated in the effort to protect the site.
However, villages and woodlands in the surrounding area were not so fortunate. The BBC's Malcolm Brabrant in the nearby village of Pelopi says that village after village succumbed to the flames and people began to flee for their lives.

OLYMPIA
An ancient Greek religious site dating back 10 centuries before Christ
Home of the ancient Olympics, first held in 8th Century BC
Was location of giant ivory and gold Statue of Zeus, one of seven wonders of the world
Olympics continued until banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 394 AD
Place where Olympic flame is still lit

Inside a fire starter's mind

At one stage, the flames were racing at more than a mile every few minutes, our correspondent said.
One local villager, speaking to Greek television by telephone, told of the battle to save homes:
"We have no water, we are at God's mercy," they said. "Please tell someone we are putting out the fire with our own hands, we have no help. The village will disappear from the map."
Angela Katsiki, a resident of the village of Kolliri, near to Olympia, told the BBC that she was devastated about the damage the fire had caused to the surrounding area.
"Horrified, absolutely... sad, really really sad. This is the worse I've seen - I've seen other fires here, but this is the worse. It's completely destroyed the area."
Sun obscured
The rapidly advancing fires caught many people unawares. Those who left the decision to flee too late were caught in their houses, cars, or as they stumbled through olive groves.
On Sunday, officials announced that five more people had been killed by fires in Evia, an island north of the capital Athens.
Towns on the island of Evia were being evacuated on Sunday, with ferries carrying people to the mainland near Athens.
"The fire is racing towards the town," a resident of the island town of Aliveri told Greek TV.

In pictures: Fires unabated
Witnesses tell of fire horror

"We are leaving or else we will burn to death. There is no one to help us," he said.
Meanwhile Athens itself was shrouded in smoke that obscured the sun as several fires threatened the city's outskirts.
Houses and industrial buildings in the suburbs of Keratea and Kalyvia were destroyed.
"This is complete hell," said Kalyvia mayor Petros Filippou.
"The front is 30km (19 miles) long and has now reached the first houses. That's it."
At least 39 people were reported to have been killed in the worst affected region, around the town of Zaharo in the western Peloponnese, by a fire that broke out on Friday and quickly spread. Another four bodies were discovered in the central Peloponnese region of Arcadia.

The Greek PM has implied that many fires were started deliberately.
In a nationally televised address, Costas Karamanlis said: "So many fires breaking out simultaneously in so many parts of the country cannot be a coincidence.

The Greek fires are seen from space in this Nasa picture"The state will do everything it can to find those responsible and punish them."
A 65-year-old man has been charged with arson and murder relating to a fire which killed six people in Areopolis, in the far south of Greece.
Two youths were also detained on suspicion of arson in the northern city of Kavala.
Mr Karamanlis has declared a nationwide state of emergency and said the country had to "mobilise all means and forces to face this disaster".
"Fires are burning in more than half the country," fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said.
"This is definitely an unprecedented disaster for Greece."
Emergency workers and fire-fighting planes from other European Union countries have joined the battle against the fires, and more help is expected from countries outside the bloc.
"Thirty-one planes and helicopters from various European countries and from Israel will be sent. We also have an offer of assistance from the American and Russian governments with whom I communicated yesterday evening," Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Dora Bakoyannis said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CAMILLA PULLS OUT OF DIANA EVENT !

Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997.

The Duchess of Cornwall has decided against attending a memorial service for the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, Clarence House said.
Camilla had accepted her invitation by Princes William and Harry to the event.
But she has now pulled out of Friday's service, fearing her attendance "could divert attention from the purpose of the occasion".
The hour-long service will be held by Buckingham Palace, in the Guard's Chapel in London's Wellington Barracks.
The Duchess is said to have talked at length with Prince Charles and her family about whether she should attend the thanksgiving service.
Difficult decision
In a statement explaining her decision, Camilla said she was "touched" at her invitation from Princes William and Harry.
Camilla said her presence could 'divert attention' from the event
"I accepted and wanted to support them," she said.
"However, on reflection I believe my attendance could divert attention from the purpose of the occasion which is to focus on the life and service of Diana."
"I'm grateful to my husband, William and Harry for supporting my decision." An aide said: "It was never going to be an easy decision either way."
Dickie Arbiter, former press secretary to the Queen, told the BBC the Duchess of Cornwall should have acted earlier.
"It could have quite simply been done right at the very beginning when the idea was first mooted to have a service, with a short statement saying the Duchess of Cornwall would love to support her husband, would love to support William and Harry, but she feels that it was inappropriate to attend.
"That would have been the story of the day. It would have been done and dusted ... without all this shilly-shallying, all the way up to the memorial service, which is literally five days away."
Around 500 guests are expected at the thanksgiving service, including more than 30 royals and celebrities such as Sir Elton John, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Princes William and Harry are to give readings along with Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale.
Princess Diana died, aged 36 - along with her companion Dodi Al Fayed, 42, and chauffeur Henri Paul - when the Mercedes they were in crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris on 31 August 1997.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. The number of pounds in circulation doubles every 15 years due to economic growth and inflation.
More details

2. Each slug eats twice its body weight a day.
More details

3. Performers cannot even smoke herbal cigarettes on stage in Scotland, which has no dispensation for "artistic integrity" in its smoking ban, unlike other parts of the UK.
More details

4. Voyagers 1 and 2, launched in 1977 and still beaming back data from billions of miles from the solar system's edge, run on generators that produce 300 watts - which would power several standard light bulbs.
More details

5. Chickens can be diagnosed with depression.
More details

6. There are almost four times more knife-related killings as firearms killings.
More details

7. You can be arrested for using someone's wi-fi network without permission.
More details

8. One in 10 people claim to have had out-of-body experiences.
More details

9. More than half the books on the fiction charts are crime titles - a genre predominately read and written by women.
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10. Queen Victoria and Pope Leo XIII were among the celebrities to endorse charities.
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BBC MAGAZINE .

MUGABE'S HOLD ON AFRICANS !

Despite an economy in turmoil, four-figure inflation and the exodus of millions to neighbouring countries, Zimbabwe's president can rely on the support of his African peers. Peter Biles spoke to one of them in a bid to discover Robert Mugabe's secret.
Mr Mugabe has been in power for over 27 years.
The photographers and cameramen had been waiting patiently outside the Mulungushi conference centre in Lusaka.
Southern African leaders were arriving thick and fast but the man everyone was waiting to see was Mr Mugabe.
He may be a pariah in the capital cities of the European Union but here in the heart of southern Africa he knows he can count on a fair degree of undying loyalty.
When the Mugabe motorcade eventually swept in there was a noticeable tightening of security.
A small pick-up truck bore three heavily armed soldiers in the back, and bodyguards surrounded the black limousine as the 83-year-old president emerged.
He smiled and stepped forward with his wife, Grace, to meet his Zambian hosts.
There was certainly no hint that this was a head of state under intense domestic pressure.
Zambia is a place that all the southern African leaders know pretty well.
On this occasion, they had come for a routine summit but, for some, Lusaka is like a home from home.
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa lived here for years when he was an exiled member of the ANC.
Zambia has always offered a hand of friendship to refugees, especially during the days of the liberation struggle in South Africa and what was Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.
Robert Mugabe spent his time in Mozambique during the bush war but a warm welcome is still assured when he meets his fellow leaders.
He is the longest-serving head of state in the region - bar one - and he clearly relishes his position as one of the elder statesmen.
You have to appreciate the bonds of loyalty that defined the struggle for independence in post-colonial Africa to understand why it is that Robert Mugabe is still treated with so much respect, even when his country is collapsing around him and he is largely to blame.
African tradition dictates that he should not be criticised in public whatever private thoughts his peers might harbour.
In Lusaka, I ran across Kenneth Kaunda - independent Zambia's first president. We first met 20 years ago when he occupied State House. Having been the nation's founding father, he had led the country since 1964.

Not unlike Zimbabwe, Zambia's post-colonial era was characterised by optimism to begin with, but then came economic mismanagement, social unrest, and the emergence of political opposition.
But Kenneth Kaunda did something unusual. He fought an election in 1991, lost and stepped aside gracefully after 27 years in power.
That is exactly how long Robert Mugabe has been around.
Mr Kaunda was never the greatest leader but he was - and still is - a well-meaning man with real charisma.
As we sat talking the other afternoon, there seemed to be no better person to shed light on Robert Mugabe. Kenneth Kaunda is near enough the same age, just two months younger. They were both born in 1924.
These days, KK - as he has always been known - enjoys his retirement with dignity and seems to command genuine respect.
As we chatted a stream of passers-by - most of them young enough to be his grandchildren - lined up to greet him and shake his hand.
I tried to picture Robert Mugabe in a similar situation but, to my mind, he and Kenneth Kaunda were poles apart - the despot clinging to power and the happily retired politician, once renowned for his national ideology of humanism.
An improved spirit?
So I asked Dr Kaunda if he could help explain Robert Mugabe's popularity in the region.
"I'm glad you noticed it," he replied.
He was referring to the huge round of applause for President Mugabe during the opening session of the leaders' summit.
"People see him as a hero," he said.
"Not just in Zimbabwe or here in Zambia but across the whole of southern Africa."
And Kenneth Kaunda speaks for many in the region in blaming not Mugabe for Zimbabwe's troubles but successive British governments.
"It's no good demonising Robert Mugabe," he says.
"We should all put our heads together, talk to him, and work with him on a solution."
But that is not to say that even those closest to the Zimbabwean president want him to seek another term in office in his 84th year. Because by all accounts they do not.
My last glimpse of President Mugabe during his brief visit to Lusaka was on a wind-swept parade ground at the city's military airport.
He and the other southern African leaders had come to inaugurate a regional brigade - a key component in a new African standby peacekeeping force.
As the presidents stood shoulder to shoulder they released a bunch of green, blue, and white balloons.
It was a symbol of what this region aspires to - an improved spirit of togetherness and closer integration designed to stimulate economic growth and development.
But because of Zimbabwe, southern Africa is facing its most serious crisis in years. And love him or loath him, it is Robert Mugabe who holds centre stage.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday 25 August, 2007 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.

"SAYINGS" !

"WE GROW OLD MORE THROUGH INDOLENCE

THAN THROUGH AGE" !

GETTING THE POLICE VERSION IN CAIRO !

Allegations of widespread abuse dog Egypt's police force despite government denials. As the BBC's Jon Donnison reports from Cairo, experiences with the legal system are not always straightforward.
The Egyptian police station was more of a shed than a station.
A small, dimly lit and dusty room with a couple of chairs, a moth-eaten sofa and a desk. The only decoration a faded, slightly lopsided picture of President Hosni Mubarak looking down from the wall, surveying proceedings.
At the desk, Officer Sabry, as I shall call him, a tall, thick-set man with a balding pate, peered over his glasses and looked me up and down.
"You've been robbed," he said, flashing me a not entirely sympathetic smile.
I nodded sheepishly and sat down on the rickety chair beside him.
The statement
People here will tell you that Cairo has more police per head of population than any other city in the world.
Walking down the chock-a-block streets, that is not hard to believe. There are thousands of them in their crisp white uniforms, an unfortunate colour in a city where pollution, dust and sweat make a potent cocktail.
That cocktail had clearly got the better of Officer Sabry's uniform and he dabbed his brow and scratched his crotch before handing me a blank sheet of paper on which I was to write my statement.
I took the paper and carefully began to write out what had happened. The description of the two men, their age, height, distinguishing features, how they had jostled me in the street and nimbly slipped my wallet from my pocket before darting into a waiting taxi and speeding away.
It had been a Friday, a day of rest here, and the only day in Cairo where the traffic subsides enough to make it remotely possible to do any speeding.
Once finished, Officer Sabry took the paper and, peering through his thick glasses, winced at my messy handwriting.
He again dabbed his brow with his handkerchief, picked up his pen and started to transcribe the statement into Arabic.
I watched as his hand slowly shuffled across the page, right to left, leaving behind it a trail of elegant figures and characters. Once two copies had been written out - no photocopiers here - he sat back in his chair, let out a long sigh and admired his handiwork.
As I walked out of the hot dusty police station, clasping my Arabic statement, I felt a little better, as if I was at least some way to justice being done.
Lost in translation
I met up with an Egyptian friend and over a sweet tea I began to recount my minor drama as graphically as possible.

As his eyes darted over the police statement a wry smile crept across his face.
"But there's no mention of a robbery here," he laughed.
"There is no crime, you've been had. It says simply that you dropped your wallet in the street."
Five minutes later we were both back at the police station, the fan circling above our heads struggling in vain to keep us cool.
Officer Sabry looked a little awkward as he realised that his interpretation of the truth had been exposed.
My friend looked a little uneasy. He told me this was only the third time in his life he had been in a police station. And he did not like it.
Crime? What crime?
Egypt's police have a bad reputation.
Many people here feel that, unlike their uniforms, the force is not whiter than white.
Almost everyone you meet has a story about the police, be it of petty bribery and backhanders, brutality or, at worst, torture.
This month three officers are being investigated on murder charges for allegedly beating a man to death.
In a second incident, a 13-year-old boy died after being detained by the police. His family say he too was beaten and badly burned.
In both cases officers deny any wrongdoing.
Human rights groups have long claimed that abuse of power is endemic within the Egyptian police. The government says such claims are exaggerated.
However, most people here in Egypt are, if not scared, then certainly wary of the police. Nobody wants to get on the wrong side of the law.
It is may be one reason why - locals will tell you - there is actually so little crime in Cairo.
In the end, my minor incident was properly filed.
The fact that I had had a media pass in my wallet, giving me access to government events, seemingly whirred Officer Sabry into action. He even told me he had a fair idea who the culprits might be.
But as I left the small police station and stepped out onto Cairo's bustling streets, I suddenly felt a little uneasy and could not help but hope that Officer Sabry and his colleagues did not try too hard to catch up with the men who stole my wallet.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 25 August, 2007 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

Seventh Spring !

Saturday 25th August 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

The view from Zimbabwe's window is absolutely gorgeous this week. Evidence of spring and renewal is all around us. The sky is cloudless and blue, the temperatures are rising and the blue headed lizards are out basking in the sun again. The indigenous woodlands that have survived the army of winter woodcutters are breathtaking as the Msasa trees go from red and burgundy to caramel and a shiny butterscotch colour before finally preparing to shade our land for another year. After nearly two months of government price controls and the ugly mess they have created, the beauty and warmth around us is the only thing keeping many people sane in this seventh spring of Zimbabwe's turmoil. This week, after a long silence, government inflation figures were announced and, as expected, the price controls have not helped at all - exactly the opposite in fact. Inflation which stood at 4530% in May, soared to 7634% in July.

I went to visit an elderly couple this week and we exchanged delights about the season and the climate and then they showed me the letter which had just arrived. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the news about their pension. The letter was from a senior executive in one of the largest pension fund companies in the country and read as follows:"We confirm that you are entitled to a monthly pension of $0.85 cents. This pension is currently suspended. As the monthly pension has now been eroded by inflation, the company has now decided to pay out the balance of your pension as a lump sum. The lump sum payable to you is: $2.9 million dollars."

I can't think of words that adequately describe the outrage of this. A monthly pension representing a person's working life and the result of years of payments being now worth just 85 Zimbabwe cents. There is not a single thing you can buy for eighty five cents in Zimbabwe, not even one match stick; in fact there aren't any coins in circulation in the country anymore. The couple told me they had agreed to accept the lump sum payment because they really had no other option but they knew that even this amount would only pay for 4 days of their board and lodge.

Young or old there is just one way to survive these bleak times in Zimbabwe and that is one day at a time. We have all been forced into short term thinking and even shorter term planning as we try and keep food on the table in these days of government induced famine. There is still almost no food to buy in our shops - no oil, margarine, flour, rice, pasta, maize meal, biscuits, cold drinks or sugar. No soap, washing powder, candles or matches. No meat, eggs, dairy products or confectionary. In a weeks time our children go back to school but even this fact does not seem to inspire our government into action. How do they think schools are going to feed the children who stay for lunch or are boarders? How do they think that parents who have been forced to run their businesses at a loss for the last two months are going to be able to even pay school fees? How do they think pensioners can survive on eighty five cents a month? There are no answers to the questions at any level.

Even more worrying is that glorious as the weather is, it is almost planting time again and yet there is no seed to buy in our empty shops and our day at a time thinking caused by our governments day at a time planning is condemning us to even harder times ahead. It hardly bears thinking about and so we try not to and hope and pray that there may be an end to this, just an end.

Until next week, thanks for reading ,
love cathy.

MCCANN ATTACKS MEDIA SPECULATION !

Gerry McCann was speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
McCann interview

The father of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann has asked the media to end the constant speculation about his daughter's whereabouts.
He said there had been "huge amounts written with no substance" and that it was not necessary to "bombard people on a daily basis" with Madeleine's image.
Gerry McCann told the BBC the media campaign to find her would be scaled down and take on a "low-key format".
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared in the Algarve on 3 May.
Mr McCann, who is originally from Glasgow, described coverage of the abduction from his family's Algarve apartment as being "10 times greater than we ever possibly imagined".
Although he acknowledged that he and his wife Kate had initially sought publicity, there was now a "lack of control" in the coverage, he said.
He told the Edinburgh TV festival his family had deliberately "tried to withdraw" from the public spotlight and signalled the coverage of the campaign to find his daughter would be scaled down.
"The compromise has always been do we do something because it will help Madeleine," he said.
"Unfortunately the human interest side of this is enormous now and that's been very difficult."
It was not necessary for the media to "bombard people on a daily basis with Madeleine's image" and the couple did not expect to sustain the same level of coverage throughout their campaign, he said.
Everything the family did was being scrutinised, he added, and this had become "very unpleasant".
Madeleine's parents say they still believe their daughter is alive.
Police in Portugal have dismissed press allegations that Mr and Mrs McCann were involved in their daughter's disappearance, saying the couple were not suspects in the case.
Mr McCann said that although the British media and photographers had been "very respectful and kept their distance" from his family in Portugal, the pressure on journalists to find a story was leading to "absolutely wild speculation" about what had happened.
"Even early on, there was saturation coverage with nothing to report, and there are commercial decisions being made with filling column inches and time on TV," he said.
"Particularly in the last six weeks, other than the recent searches, there has been nothing."
He said it was the responsibility of TV producers and editors to make it clear when reporters were "talking about speculation".
Mr McCann, interviewed by Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, said he first realised the scale of media interest when he and his wife returned from the police station soon after Madeleine's disappearance to find "about 150" journalists outside their apartment.
However, he said in order to fill a "void" in details from the police investigation, he and his wife had conducted a series of interviews to raise awareness of Madeleine's disappearance.
The difficulty we have is leaving Portugal as a family of four, when we arrived as a family of five
Gerry McCann
But Mr McCann said he now wanted the story to be "reported responsibly and only newsworthy material" used.
"Staying in Portugal may be counter-productive because of the attention on Kate and I, and that generates pressure on people to write things," he said.
He added that he had now started thinking about returning to the UK and his job as a consultant cardiologist in Leicester. "I've spent such a long time training and I have got a lot of sub-specialist expertise, and there aren't a lot of people who have that. "The difficulty we have is leaving Portugal as a family of four, when we arrived as a family of five."
Madeleine disappeared from her family's apartment room in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz while her parents were eating with friends at a nearby restaurant.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA !

Friday 24th August 2007.

Dear Friends.

If there is one message that has come out of the events of the last two weeks for ordinary Zimbabwean people, it is this: You are on your own! There is no one who is going to going to rescue Zimbabwe. Some of us have been saying that for a very long time and now maybe it has finally sunk in. Certainly none of the southern African countries are going to lift a finger; the Americans have their hands full in Iraq and anyway it was Bush who nominated Mbeki as the 'pointman' on Zimbabwe; the EU appears divided and indecisive on the issue and the Brits apart from plans to evacuate their own nationals in the event the situation further deteriorates are unwilling to provoke Mugabe's rage and hysterical sloganeering of 'Zimbabwe will never be a colony again' Ironically, colonial mastery is precisely what the Brits do not want! They cannot yet face up to their colonial past. They're very good at the guilt and wringing of hands but not so good at accepting their moral responsibility to the inhabitants of their former colony.

Even if it is true, as reported in some UK and South African papers this week, that behind the scenes the SADC leaders spoke very sternly to Mugabe about the economic collapse in his country, anyone who still believes - as the MDC appears to - that SADC has done enough to justify our hope for a just solution to the current impasse is, in my view, guilty of dangerous self-delusion. It is dangerous because it is based on the false premise that the other side, ie. Zanu PF and, by extension Thabo Mbeki are sincerely committed to honest negotiation. The likely result of such false and unsubstantiated optimism is that it raises the hopes of millions of Zimbabweans that maybe there is the possibility that their lives will get better. Those hopes are bound to be dashed again on the rock of Mugabe's intransigence and a desperate starving people with nothing else to hope for may resort to violent change which no one can control.

It is naivety that has been the downfall of the opposition parties in Zimbabwe; they continue to believe that they are dealing with a man and a party who can be trusted to keep their word. The problem I believe is that the MDC in calling for democratic change through the ballot box has failed to see that in addition to the ballot box there are other non-violent ways to bring about change. The civic organizations such as WOZA, the NCA and the churches have demonstrated time and again that it is possible to get ordinary men and women out on the street peacefully demonstrating their anger and displeasure at the continuing misery of their lives. Without that public display of disaffection Zimbabwean ministers and their South African counterparts will continue to claim that all is well in the country. There is no evidence they can claim that the mass of Zimbabweans are dissatisfied with their lives under the Mugabe regime because, they say, we do not see the people out on the streets. But Zimbabweans and the leadership of the opposition parties would do well to remember that 'one little brown man in a dhoti' as Churchill described Mahatma Ghandi, brought the entire might of the British empire to a standstill when he led millions of Indians on the great salt march and then on to Indian independence. In America, Martin Luther King got thousands of African Americans out on the streets in the Civil Rights Movement. Nearer to home, the children of Soweto were instrumental in bringing an end to apartheid when they took to the streets in June 16th 1976. In all of these struggles against tyranny it was the people, armed only with their courage and longing for freedom who initiated change.

My question to the opposition parties in Zimbabwe is why have you so little faith in your own people? They have shown that they are capable of courageous resistance but what they desperately need now is leadership, someone who will organize and lead them from the front. Then the whole world will see Zimbabweans in their thousands demonstrate their longing for freedom and a new beginning. I believe that Africa and the west would then be forced to come to the aid of the people, not just with words and gestures but with a UN resolution and action to follow. I can hear the cynics asking, 'What did the UN ever do about Rwanda, Dafur or the DRC?' and their cynicism is justified. My point is that until Zimbabweans stand up and demonstrate publicly how desperately they want change, the rest of the world has every excuse for continuing to turn a blind eye. For surely even the opposition must by now see that the ballot box alone will not bring about change because Mugabe has already rigged the result. MDC can never win while Mugabe sets the rules.

Until the opposition parties in Zimbabwe harness the strength of people's power, Mugabe and his cronies in SADC will continue to claim that all is well in the country and no change is needed. By their continued failure to provide leadership for a genuine people's revolt the opposition makes it possible for Mugabe and his ministers to go on telling their nonsensical lies about the state of the country; they will be believed because there is no evidence to the contrary. The sight of determined people peacefully demonstrating on the streets might waken Africa and the world to the tragedy that is Zimbabwe. To quote Robert Nesta Marley: None but ourselves can free ourselves.

Ndini shamwari yenyu. PH

GEORGIA FIRES AT 'RUSSIAN PLANE' !

Georgian forces have fired at an aircraft they believed to be Russian after it violated Georgian airspace, a senior government official said.
Tbilisi could not confirm whether the plane was shot down, but said that a nearby section of forest, in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, was on fire.
Russia dismissed the claim, and an air force spokesman called it "the latest provocation aimed against us".
The two ex-USSR states' relations have been strained since a 2006 spy row.
Earlier this month, Georgia said that two Russian planes had violated its border around the same area.
In a separate incident, Georgia also claimed a Russian plane had dropped a missile near the capital, Tblisi.
Russia strongly denied the accusations.
Georgian officials said Wednesday's incident was not reported earlier because they were still checking information.
The Russia defence ministry said Russian planes had not flown near the area on that day.
Georgian officials said the site where the plane may have crashed was in the Georgian-controlled territory of Upper Abkhazia, but that it was remote and difficult to reach.
Upper Abkhazia is the Georgian authorities' term for the strategic Kodori gorge, which is the only part of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia over which Georgia retains partial control.
Under an agreement between the two, Georgian defence forces and heavy weaponry cannot be deployed in the area. However, Georgian interior ministry forces can operate there.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NIGERIA FREEZES CURRENCY CHANGE !

By Alex Last BBC News, Lagos

The new banknotes will have to wait for another launch date. Nigerian Justice Minister Michael Aondoakaa said he is freezing a plan to re-denominate the Nigerian currency, the naira.
The plan had been announced by the governor of the Central Bank, Chukwuma Soludo, last week.
Mr Aondoakaa said the plan was frozen because President Umaru Yar'Adua had not given his written permission.
The case has raised questions about the effectiveness of the leadership of the new president.
Ten days ago amid much fanfare, Mr Soludo told an audience of hundreds of dignitaries that the naira would be redenominated.
It was a big move, which was not universally popular, but straightforward enough, it would seem.
Now, bizarrely, Mr Aondoakaa has told reporters that for now all plans for the re-denomination are frozen.
"I, as the chief law officer of the (Nigerian) federation, hereby stop all actions on the re-denomination of the naira," said the minister.
A spokesman for the Central Bank said in response there had been consultations with the president about the plan before the announcement.
Political fallout
Either way, the fact is this is a major humiliation for Mr Soludo and there is growing speculation that politically he will not survive this debacle.
As head of the Central Bank for the past few years, he has overseen major banking reforms in Nigeria.
But just a few weeks ago the country's new President, Umaru Yar'Adua, chose Mr Soludo's deputy, not him, for the job of finance minister in the new cabinet, and the central banker has been dropped from the government's economic team.
This whole episode also raises questions about the leadership of the new president.
He is said to be quite hands-off in his style of government, especially in comparison with his predecessor.
After this, some will argue that state of affairs might have to change.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"ONE MUST LAUGH BEFORE ONE IS HAPPY,

OR ONE MAY DIE WITHOUT EVER LAUGHING AT ALL" !

IRAN SHUTS 'WESTERN' BARBER SHOPS !

Iranian police have closed more than 20 barbers' shops in the capital Tehran. The authorities say the barbers were encouraging un-Islamic behaviour by offering Western hairstyles, tattooing and also eyebrow-plucking for men. Police say they have inspected more than 700 shops during a two-week crackdown in the city.

The move is part of an annual campaign against what is known locally as bad hijab, or un-Islamic clothing, that this year is also targeting men. Hundreds of women and men have already been cautioned. Police say that as well as avoiding Western hairstyles and make up, barbers should not pluck customers' eyebrows.

The closure of the shops comes several months after barbers were warned that they could lose their licences if they did not comply. However, police have denied a report that they have ordered barbers not to serve customers wearing ties. Some young boys in Iran sport very wild hair styles, using gel to make their long hair stand on end in a fashion not seen in other countries, correspondents say.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

DOPE CHEATS WILL GET OLYMPIC BAN !

Rogge has long held a firm stance against athletes caught doping. Athletes given more than a six-month ban for doping will be banned from the next Olympics, the International Olympic Association has said.
The move was announced by IOC president Jacques Rogge on the eve of the World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
Rogge also backed calls for a compulsory four-year ban for drug offences in any sport.
Only a plea-bargain involving useful information in the fight against cheats could save athletes from the ban.
"If an athlete reveals who gave him the [blood-boosting drug] EPO for example, who was behind it, was it the doctor or coach etcetera. If he tells of other cases, if the information is very valuable then we might consider reducing the penalty," he said.

606: DEBATE
Give your reaction to this proposal

Flanked by world athletics body (IAAF) chairman Lamine Diack, Rogge underlined the IOC's commitment to rid sport of drug cheats.
"The fight against doping in sport is a daily battle which must be fought in concert by the sports authorities, sports teams, athletes, coaches and governments," he said.
"The measures that we have reviewed today aim to reinforce the IOC's zero-tolerance policy."
The world championships get under way on Saturday, with athletics keen to repair a reputation badly hit by recent doping scandals, including last year's failed test by world and Olympic 100 metres title-holder Justin Gatlin.

BBC SPORTS REPORT.

CHINA BLOCK ON WIFE OF ACTIVIST !

Yuan Weijing was detained at the airport, her friends say. The wife of a jailed human rights activist in China has been prevented from leaving the country to pick up an award on his behalf, friends say.
Yuan Weijing had been due to travel to the Philippines to collect a human rights award for her husband, Chen Guangcheng, who was jailed last year.
But fellow activists say the Chinese authorities revoked her passport and stopped her boarding the flight.
Chen Guangcheng was jailed for damaging property and disrupting traffic.
But his supporters say the real reason Mr Chen, who is blind, was sentenced for four years and three months is because he exposed violations linked to China's one-child policy, including forced sterilisations and abortions.

Yuan Weijing said the authorities told her on Thursday that they had revoked her passport, even though it was still valid.
She said the authorities then attempted to block her journey both from her home in Shandong province and from the house in Beijing where she stayed in overnight.

Chen Guangcheng has been honoured for his campaigning
She was eventually detained at the airport and her luggage removed from the flight, friends said.
Yuan Weijing had been due to collect the award from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation in Manila - one of Asia's most prestigious honours.
The foundation had named Chen Guangcheng as one of seven winners for his "irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law".
Mr Chen, 35, has campaigned against what he says are abuses of the Chinese government's one-child policy.
Before being imprisoned, he accused local health workers in Linyi city, in Shandong province, of illegally forcing hundreds of people to have late-term abortions or sterilisations.
China brought in its one-child policy 27 years ago, in a drive to curb population growth, but forced sterilisation and abortion are prohibited.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

KHARTOUM 'DEFYING DARFUR EMBARGO' !

Amnesty says an Antonov dropped off weapons at El Geneina in July. Amnesty International (AI) has accused the Sudanese government of deploying weapons to Darfur in "breathtaking defiance" of a UN arms embargo.
The rights group said photographs of Russian-supplied military helicopters and a transport plane at an airport in Darfur in July showed the violations.
But Sudan's embassy in London told the BBC the pictures are suspect and accused AI of erecting a "smokescreen".
At least 200,000 people are thought to have died in the region since 2003.
A UN Security Council resolution passed in March 2005 prohibited the supply of arms to all parties in the conflict.
If the Sudanese government moves planes from one place to another, is this proof that there are arms?
Sudanese diplomat Khalid al-Mubarak
More than two million people have fled their homes since rebel groups rose up against the government's rule.
Khartoum and the pro-government Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
Sudan's government says the scale of the crisis has been exaggerated and only 9,000 have died in the fighting.
Bombing raids
In a statement, AI said the photographs of Sudanese military aircraft taken by witnesses in Darfur reinforced evidence it had provided in May that Khartoum was continuing to fuel serious human rights violations there.

UN ARMS EMBARGO

Imposed by Resolution 1591, 29 March 2005
Cuts the supply of arms to all parties to the conflict in Darfur
Some nations regard arms exports to Sudan's government as allowed under the embargo
Sudan is permitted to run humanitarian flights into Darfur, but only with UN permission - never requested
Source: Amnesty

Taken at the airport in El Geneina, a town close to Sudan's border with Chad, the photographs show containers being taken from an Antonov 12 freighter plane and loaded onto military vehicles, as well as Sudanese Air Force Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters.
"The Sudanese government is still deploying weapons into Darfur in breathtaking defiance of the UN arms embargo and Darfur peace agreements," said Amnesty's arms control research manager, Brian Wood.
"Once again Amnesty International calls on the UN Security Council to act decisively to ensure the embargo is effectively enforced, including by the placement of UN observers at all ports of entry in Sudan and Darfur."
Local people told AI that such aircraft had been bringing in military equipment for government troops and Janjaweed militia operating in Darfur.
A Sudanese government Antonov aircraft also carried out bombing raids following an attack by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement in Adila on 2 August, Amnesty said. The nearby town of Ta'alba and two other villages in the area were also reportedly bombed.
'Demonising'
But Khalid al-Mubarak, a diplomat with the Sudanese embassy in London, said there was "a pattern of fake photographs" and was part of an attempt to deflect public opinion from issues like Iraq, Gaza and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sudan bought 12 Mi-24 attack helicopters from Russia in 2005
"The Sudanese government... has sovereignty over all its territory. If it moves planes from one place to another, is this proof that there are arms?" he said on the BBC's World Today programme.
He also accused AI of becoming "part of an industry of demonising Sudan".
AI said the recent proliferation of small arms and militarised vehicles in Darfur had led to an increase in armed attacks on aid convoys and civilians.
On 31 July, the northern Rizeigat group - many dressed in Border Intelligence force uniforms - killed at least 68 members of the Tarjum, it said.
To help counter such attacks, the UN Security Council has approved a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to expand the 7,000 African Union (AU) force currently operating in Darfur.
Officials say the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid) will be better equipped and will have a stronger mandate to protect civilians and aid workers.
However, the director of AI's Africa Programme said the force's mandate did not go far enough.
"If weapons continue to flow into Darfur and peacekeepers are not given the power to disarm and demobilise all armed opposition groups and Janjaweed militia, the ability of the new peacekeeping force to protect civilians will be severely impeded," Erwin van der Borght said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"A BORE IS A MAN WHO, WHEN YOU ASK HIM HOW HE IS,

TELLS YOU" !

GUINEA IN NUCLEAR ENERGY AMBITION !

By Will Ross BBC West Africa correspondent.

Guinea wants to take advantage of its discovery of uranium deposits. The west African state of Guinea is the latest country in Africa to announce that it is seeking nuclear power.
It follows the discovery of significant deposits of the nuclear fuel uranium earlier this month.
The government has said it wants to start talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Power cuts are a major hindrance to development in Africa which is home to 16% of the world's population but generates just 4% of its electricity.
When a government spokesman appeared on state television to announce Guinea's intention to seek nuclear power many people would have missed the news altogether because of yet another power cut - a poignant demonstration of the need to increase the country's power supply.
Power crisis
Although several countries are keen to explore nuclear energy, South Africa is currently the only nuclear energy producer in sub Saharan Africa.

Many have no access to electricity, like these students in a car parkWhilst there are concerns around the world over the safety of nuclear energy, Africa does need a solution to a power crisis.
Rapid urbanisation and a reliance on poorly maintained hydro power plants coupled with unreliable rainfall mean the problem is going to get worse.
Several African countries are building or planning to build new hydro-electric dams and for many Africans sitting in the dark, the vast potential of the Congo river provides some hope.
With an abundance of sunshine, solar energy seems an obvious solution in Africa but so far it has been largely ignored, partly because of high set-up costs.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

OLD AGE 'NO BARRIER' TO SEX LIFE !

Seniors with a partner are more sexually active, the study found. Old age is apparently not preventing US citizens from enjoying active sex lives, researchers there say.
In a survey of 3,005 people aged 57 to 85, a significant number said they were sexually active into their 70s and 80s.
Health problems or lack of a partner, rather than lack of desire, were listed as the most common barriers to sex.
The researchers say their survey overturns stereotypical ideas about sex and ageing, an area that has been little studied.
"There are a lot of people who feel that age is very tightly correlated with sexual activity or interest," Professor Edward Laumann of the University of Chicago, one of the report's authors, told the BBC.
"But it turns out that healthy people are sexually active if they have a partner, and that this is an important part of the quality of life."

Sex with a partner in the last year was reported by:
73% of those aged 57 to 64
53% of those aged 64 to 75
26% of those aged 75 to 85

Of those who said they were sexually active, most said they were having sex at least two or three times a month.
Half of the people surveyed up to age 75 said they had oral sex.
About half of the men and a quarter of the women said they masturbated, regardless of whether they had a sexual partner.
"This suggests that, among older adults, there is an internal drive or need for sexual fulfilment," said Stacy Tessler Lindau, the study's leader.
Research gap
The research highlights the importance of health on people's sex lives. People who rated their health as poor were less likely to be sexually active than people in good health.
About half of the respondents said they had a "bothersome" sexual problem.
Among men, the most common problem was erectile difficulties. Fourteen percent of men said they used medicine or supplements to boost their sex lives.
Women said lack of desire, difficulty with lubrication and inability to climax were their most common problems.
The survey helps fill a gap in research on sex and sexual attitudes among elderly people, say the researchers.
"People are living longer," said Dr Lindau.
"Many people have higher expectations for what ageing should be like, and we spend billions on treating erectile problems. Yet we have no baseline data on sexuality on later life.
"These data will give people a sense of whether what they're experiencing is typical."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SCOTLAND 1 - 0 SOUTH AFRICA !

Substitute Kris Boyd scored the only goal of the game to give Scotland an unlikely victory at Pittodrie.
South Africa dominated the first half but failed to capitalise and fashion a lead despite penning the Scots in for most of the opening period.
Scotland improved after the break and Boyd scored with a half-volley after 71 minutes following a superb ball from captain Darren Fletcher.
The visitors could not find an equaliser as the Scots held on.

Interview: Scotland manager Alex McLeish
Interview: Scotland striker Kris Boyd

Scotland struggled to create many goalscoring opportunities in a first half which the visitors looked the more likely to break the deadlock.
On the half-hour mark, the unmarked Nomvethe missed the best chance of the half when he headed a Carnell cross over the bar from 16 yards.
Moments later Nomvethe flashed in a cross-shot which Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon did well to palm away from danger.
McFadden fired a free-kick from 25 yards over the bar after 37 minutes as the Scots failed to test the South African goalkeeper.
Bafana Bafana substitute Siyabonga Nomvethe, on for Sibusiso Zuma, who missed the best chance of the match when he headed a Bradley Carnell cross over the bar.
Scotland looked sharper after the break and substitute Kris Boyd gave the home side the lead after 71 minutes.
Fletcher played a ball over the top of the South African defence and Boyd timed his run to perfection before hitting a crisp half-volley into the net.
Barry Robson cleared Thembinkosi Fanteni's header off the line to preserve Scotland's slender lead as the visitors failed to restore parity.

Scotland:

Gordon, Hutton, Anderson, McManus, McEveley, Brown, Caldwell, Fletcher, McFadden, O'Connor, Miller. Subs: Neil Alexander, Graham Alexander, Berra, Pearson, Robson, Teale, Beattie, Boyd, Maloney, Marshall.

South Africa:

Fernandez, Nzama, Mokoena, Mhlongo, Carnell, Pienaar, Zothwane, Sibaya, Buckley, Nkosi, Zuma. Subs: Marlin, Mere, Fransman, Evans, Modise, Vilakazi, Nomvethe, Dikgacoi, Sheppard, Fanteni.

Referee: Martin Atkinson

BBC SPORTS REPORT.

CONGONLESE MOURN THEIR RUMBA KING !

Thousands of fans have taken to the streets of the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital to mourn Madilu System, known as "Congo's King of Rumba". Police controlled the crowds as they accompanied the singer's coffin from Kinshasa's main stadium, where it had lain for three days, to the cemetery. Madilu played with the famous TP OK Jazz band led by the late Franco Luambo Makiadi in the 1980s. Congolese music is world renowned and has an important place in life there.

Since his death at the age of 57, the country's radio stations have been playing Madilu's music for hours on end in tribute to him. The BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in Kinshasa says many thousands turned out to pay their respects at the stadium in one of the country's best attended funerals in many years.

"Since you are gone, we do not live, we do not eat," sang some leading Congolese musicians as they surrounded Madilu's coffin. He says the old, young, star musicians and minsters all attended. "I've been attending Madilu's funeral for two days while the body was exposed. I don't know when there will be another Madilu," one woman said as the coffin was moved from the stadium to its last resting place.

The rich and famous were allowed into the cemetery; the fans were kept at a distance from where they tried to get a glimpse of the ceremony, our correspondent says. Madilu, born Jean De Dieu Bilau, died in a Kinshasa hospital on 11 August; he had suffered from diabetes. His other nicknames were Ramses II and the Grand Ninja.

Music critics say he will be most remembered for his duets with Franco. After Franco's death, he sang alone and continued to tour with band members. Lubangi Muniania, head of music label Tabilulu Productions, says Madilu was arguably one of the best composers in DR Congo. "To most fans of TP OK Jazz, Madilu had a particular way of singing, his system - no wonder he became System," he wrote in tribute to the singer.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MAGAZINE RETOUCHES SARKOZY PHOTO !

The French magazine Paris Match touched up a photograph of President Nicolas Sarkozy on his US holiday, making his figure more svelte.
Leading news weekly L'Express printed before and after shots, showing a distinct tightening of the area it called poignees d'amour (love handles).
L'Express quotes Paris Match as saying the president's seating position made the bulge look more prominent.
Paris Match said it had tried adjusting the lighting on the picture.
"The correction was exaggerated during the printing process," the magazine told L'Express.
'Magic wand'
In the photograph the president is shown, bare to the waist, canoeing with his son.
L'Express said Paris Match had "removed with the wave of a magic wand the love handles that were slightly weighing down the figure of Nicolas Sarkozy".
When contacted by the BBC, Paris Match declined to make any further comment.
Correspondents say the French president's US visit this month did much to improve US-French relations but was not without incident.
Mr Sarkozy scolded two US photographers trying to take shots of him on Lake Winnipesaukee during his stay at a luxury villa in New Hampshire.
French media pressure on the financial details of his US holiday also forced him to reveal he had stayed as the guest of two wealthy families.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BANNED KENYAN GANG LEADER CAUGHT !

Recent grisly murders have shocked Kenyans. A suspected leader of Kenya's outlawed Mungiki gang, linked to a series of grim beheadings, has been arrested.
Njoroge Kamunya is alleged to be a key figure in the shadowy sect which claims to have political links.
He was seized by police at his home just outside the capital, Nairobi, after being on the run since April.
The BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says his arrest is part of a sweep by security forces to stamp out the gang ahead of elections later this year.
'Heavy handed'
The man arrested by police is the brother of another alleged Mungiki leader who was jailed for five years in June, for firearms offences.

KENYA'S SECRETIVE MUNGIKI

Banned in 2002
Thought to be ethnic Kikuyu militants
Mungiki means multitude in Kikuyu
Inspired by the Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s
Claim to have more than 1m followers
Promote female circumcision and oath-taking
Believed to be linked to high-profile politicians
Control public transport routes, demanding levies
Blamed for revenge murders in the central region.

Profile: Mungiki sect

He has not been charged.
Our correspondent says the Mungiki gang has been blamed for the deaths of police officers and dozens of civilians during a killing spree earlier this year.
A subsequent police crackdown led to more than 100 people losing their lives.
Human rights groups accused the security forces of heavy handedness during the operation.
Mungiki followers have been demanding protection fees from public transport operators, slum dwellers and other businessmen in Nairobi.
Those who refuse are often brutally murdered.
The Mungiki are thought to be militants from Kenya's biggest ethnic group, the Kikuyu. The sect was banned in 2002.
Some commentators have linked them to politicians wanting to cause unrest and fear ahead of December elections.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

S. AFRICA ROW OVER 'MISSING FUNDS' !

A row has broken out between political allies of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) over a financial donation said to be missing.
The 500,000 rand (£35,000) donation was made by an ANC businessman to the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 2002.
The president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Willie Madisha, told journalists he passed the money to Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande.
But Mr Nzimande denies ever having received the sum.
The SACP chairman, Gwede Mantashe, said a task team had been set up to examine the "two contradicting statements".
Inquiry under way
Speaking at a news conference in Johannesburg after speaking to an internal SACP inquiry into the matter, Mr Madisha said he had received the funds and passed them on to Mr Nzimande.
The [SACP] party leadership had already tried, judged and sentenced me in the court of public opinion
Union leader Willie Madisha
"I'm willing to go to the courts because I respect the laws of the land. I'm willing to go and actually prove that, yes indeed, this did happen," he said.
However, Mr Nzimande earlier denied ever having received the donation, said to have been made by a businessman.
"I wish to place it on record that I've never received the alleged 500,000 rand from any person, as is alleged.
"This is part of a concerted smear campaign primarily directed at discrediting the image and reputation of the SACP and tarnishing my image and integrity," he said.
'Bordering on hypocrisy'
Mr Madisha has been publicly criticised by the SACP - of which he is also a member of the central committee - for implicating Mr Nzimande.

Mr Madisha said such attacks were unfair, adding that the party had "already tried, judged and sentenced me in the court of public opinion" before he told his side of the story.
But the SACP chairman dismissed his claims, saying that Mr Madisha had "sat on the information" for more than five years, failing to disclose he had received the money.
"He didn't come to the structures in his own party but went public - I think that is bordering on hypocrisy," said Gwede Mantashe.
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says the ANC is quiet about the ongoing dispute.
The relationship between the ANC, SACP and Cosatu dates back to apartheid days, when the parties worked together to dismantle white minority rule.
Our correspondent says the alliance is playing a crucial role in the country's politics as the ruling party prepares to elect a successor to President Thabo Mbeki.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHO WARNS OF GLOBAL EPIDEMIC RISK !

Sharing data is crucial to curb viruses like bird flu, the WHO says. Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the World Health Organization annual report says.
With about 2.1 billion airline passengers flying each year, there is a high risk of another major epidemic such as Aids, Sars or Ebola fever.
The WHO urges increased efforts to combat disease outbreaks, and sharing of virus data to help develop vaccines.
Without this, it says, there could be devastating impacts on the global economy and international security.
In the report, A Safer Future, the WHO says new diseases are emerging at the "historically unprecedented" rate of one per year.
International public health security is both a collective aspiration and a mutual responsibility
Margaret ChanWHO director-general
Since the 1970s, 39 new diseases have developed, and in the last five years alone, the WHO has identified more than 1,100 epidemics including cholera, polio and bird flu.
"It would be extremely naive and complacent to assume that there will not be another disease like Aids, another Ebola, or another Sars, sooner or later," the report says.
Sharing of medical data, skills and technology between rich and poor nations is "one of the most feasible routes" to health security, it says.
Openness needed
The WHO is embroiled in a dispute with Indonesia over its H5N1 bird flu virus samples.

WHO REPORT

Infectious diseases emerging at a rate of one or more a year since the 1970s
These include bird flu, Sars, also Ebola, Marburg and Nipah viruses
Flu pandemic could affect more than 1.5 billion people or 25% of world population
Comeback by cholera, yellow fever and epidemic meningococcal disease in the last quarter of the 20th Century
685 verified events of international public health concern from September 2003 to September 2006
Growth of anti-microbial resistance, notably drug-resistant TB.

Read the WHO report

Jakarta has refused to share its samples with the WHO amid fears that pharmaceutical companies will use them to make vaccines that are too expensive for Indonesia.
China only started sharing its H5N1 samples in June.
The WHO report also urges governments to be open about disease outbreaks, saying nearly half of all outbreak alerts it receives come from the media.
Drug resistance also poses a threat to disease control, the WHO says, blaming misuse of antibiotics and poor medical treatment, particularly in the case of tuberculosis.
In an introduction to the report, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says co-operation is crucial to combat outbreaks.
"Given today's universal vulnerability to these threats, better security calls for global solidarity," Dr Chan says.
"International public health security is both a collective aspiration and a mutual responsibility."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"IN SEEDTIME - LEARN,

IN HARVEST - TEACH,

IN WINTER - ENJOY" !

PAKISTAN'S EXTRAORDINARY PRISONER'!

By Syed Shoaib Hasan BBC News, Islamabad.

Mr Khan was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore in July 2004. News of Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan's release from custody in Pakistan has attracted a great deal of attention.But then Mr Khan was no ordinary prisoner. At the time of his arrest three years ago, he was accused of being a key link between al-Qaeda leaders and militants. "But now any charges against him are gone with the wind," said his lawyer, Babar Awan, after his client was released for lack of evidence.
The Pakistani president is believed to have celebrated Mr Khan's arrest.
All this is a far cry from July 2004, when Mr Khan was arrested amid much fanfare and widely labelled as the "information technology chief of al-Qaeda in Pakistan".
That same description was apparently used by none other than President Pervez Musharraf in his autobiography.
While the president never used Mr Khan's name, his choice of words tally with all that is known about Mr Khan.
The book says he was born in Karachi and graduated from a local engineering university with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering.
It goes on to say he was recruited into al-Qaeda by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, ran al-Qaeda's information technology wing after Mohammed's arrest, and was himself arrested in Lahore on 21 July, 2004.
'Vital breakthrough'
The arrest was hailed as a "vital breakthrough in the war against terror" at the time.
And it is true to say that today, questions still remain as to what exactly were Mr Khan's connections with al-Qaeda, if indeed he had any.
Intelligence officials are in no doubt. They say that a laptop recovered from Mr Khan at the time of his arrest contained information about several terror plots.
They say it also contained details of targets such as financial buildings, railway networks and airports in the UK and US.
Along with other information gleaned from the suspect's interrogations, security agencies said it helped them foil several terror plots.
They say the information also led them to arrest several alleged al-Qaeda operatives, including Ahmed Khalfan Gailani.
Mr Gailani, chief suspect in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in East Africa, was arrested in Gujarat in north-eastern Pakistan.
There has always been a cloud of controversy over his exact status
Information provided by Mr Khan also reputedly led to the arrests of 13 al-Qaeda suspects in the UK, in July 2004.
President Musharraf said in his autobiography that the arrest was one of the major hidden successes of the "war on terror".
With this background, it seemed that Mr Khan was destined to spend the rest of his life in a Pakistani or American secret prison.
At best, it seemed likely he would be sent to Guantanamo Bay.
But there has always been a cloud of controversy over his exact status.
The press has been full of conspiracy theories alleging Mr Khan's connections with foreign and domestic intelligence agencies.

Some argue al-Qaeda is no longer the force it was in Pakistan.
Amid the flurry of speculation, no-one is sure where he is now.
While the news of his release was made public on Monday, he was actually freed at least a month earlier, in mid-July.
Among the various theories about his whereabouts, the most popular is that he has moved abroad. Some analysts say that Mr Khan's release confirms that he was co-operating with Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and was kept in custody for his own safety.
'Pivotal role'
They say the old al-Qaeda network has now been all but broken in Sindh and Punjab provinces.
"In Karachi especially, the last major al-Qaeda operatives left were arrested in 2005," says an ex-intelligence official.
"In this regard many believe Mr Khan played a pivotal role.
But most analysts agree that there is now a new wave of militants, largely unknown to security agencies.
"It's a murky tale in which there are no clear answers to any of the key questions," said the official.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE INFLATION HITS NEW HIGH !

Zimbabwe has had to print new large-denomination notes to cope. Zimbabwe's annual rate of inflation jumped to 7,638% in July according to the first official figures to be published for three months.
The Central Statistical Office said inflation had more than doubled since May - the last official data released.
Since then the government has ordered shopkeepers to slash their prices and arrested anyone who has failed to obey.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund warned annual inflation could reach 100,000% by the end of the year.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has said the real year-on-year inflation is far higher than the official rate - claiming it was nearer 13,000% in June.
Empty shelves
Zimbabwe's economic crisis has led to an estimated three million people fleeing the country for South Africa.
Unemployment stands at about 80% and there are mass shortages of fuel and foodstuffs.
Businesses were forced to freeze prices in June as President Robert Mugabe's government tried to stem inflation.
But some producers, fearing making a loss, cut production, meaning the move exacerbated shortages, leaving shop shelves empty.
Last month a new 200,000 Zimbabwe dollar note was launched, in a bid to tackle the country's inflation, the highest in the world.
The country's government has created a commission to find a way to control soaring living costs.
But correspondents say that as long as Zimbabwe has a shortage of staple foods, including maize, food shortages are likely to continue.
Critics have blamed President Mugabe's policies, especially the seizure of farms, for ordinary Zimbabweans' hardship.
For his part, President Mugabe has accused foreign governments of trying to interfere in Zimbabwe's affairs - saying some businesses had raised prices without justification as part of a Western plot to oust him.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SOME 10,000 FLEE CONGO TO UGANDA !

The refugees say they are fleeing Gen Nkunda militia. The UN is investigating reports that some 10,000 Congolese refugees have fled insecurity fuelled by militia loyal to Gen Laurent Nkunda to Uganda.
The exodus began on Tuesday and many are being put up in schools and homes close to the border in Kisoro District.
Local authorities say some have crossed back into the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of water and materials and may return on Wednesday evening.
Uganda already hosts about 29,000 refugees from its troubled neighbour.
Eastern DR Congo remains unstable despite polls last year that marked the end of a civil war.
Fear
A joint team of UN and Uganda government officials has gone to investigate the situation along Uganda's south-west border with DR Congo.

Local authorities say they believe those who returned to DR Congo will go back to Kisoro by the evening as they left most of their belongings at a primary school in Bunagana town where many sought shelter.
According to the UN's refugee agency, the refugees say they fled from militia loyal to Gen Nkunda, the army officer who has been behind much of the instability in eastern DR Congo in recent years.
An ethnic Tutsi, he has in the past been supported by Rwanda.
Repeated attempts to dislodge him have failed and he has refused to fully integrate his forces into the national army, citing a need to protect the Tutsi population.
The UN has provided assistance to more than 15,000 Congolese who have fled from North Kivu to Uganda over the last two years.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

PROBE INTO RWANDAN DARFUR GENERAL !

The United Nations is investigating claims that a general set to head its force in Sudan's Darfur region, participated in the Rwandan genocide. UN spokesman Yves Sorokobi said human rights groups should submit evidence inking Rwandan General Karenzi Karake to any alleged crimes. The African Union approved General Karake to become the deputy commander of the AU-UN hybrid force in Darfur.

Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus died in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. A Belgium-based Rwandan exile group has accused General Karake of supervising the killings of civilians during the genocide in Rwanda and the DR Congo.

"We are taking the allegations very seriously and we have invited the groups to forward them so that we can do an independent background check," Mr Sorokobi told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

PROMISED PEACEKEEPERS

7,000 - existing AU force
1,000 - pledged by Senegal
800 - pledged by Malawi
Other pledges:
Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Egypt
Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh
26,000 - total planned

Africa's Darfur bombshell

Rwanda's Foreign Ministry has dismissed the claims as a mere fabrication and an attempt to tarnish Rwanda's image. "Major-General Karake is a well-trained and experienced senior officer who has ably served in various senior command staff roles in the Rwanda Defence Forces and rightly deserves the post," the statement said.

The UN Security council has approved a 26,000 strong joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to protect more than two million civilians displaced by the fighting in Darfur region. Rwanda sent 2,000 of the 7,000 AU troops currently in Darfur. At least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than two million have fled their homes in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003.

Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias, are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population - although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide. Sudan has always denied backing the Janjaweed militias and argued that the problems in Darfur were being exaggerated for political reasons.

Meanwhile the UN has asked the Sudanese government to investigate allegations of rape and sexual slavery committed during raids on nine villages in eastern Darfur last December. A report by the UN Human rights commission says 50 women were abducted and raped by members of the Sudanese Army and allied militia in Jebel Marra region. "The women were subjected to multiple rape and other forms of violence which constitute war crimes," the report from the office of Louise Arbour said.

The Sudanese government had pledged to investigate the allegations last April when the report first emerged but no action has been taken. During the attack 36 people were killed at Deribat, one of the nine villages raided by the soldiers. The UN says the force in question was loyal to a commander who was appointed governor of West Darfur in February this year. The accusations could increase Sudanese government fears that the planned UN peacekeeping force could arrest those allegedly involved, and take them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

US BACKED ZIMBABWE LAND REFORM !

By Martin Plaut BBC Africa analyst.

The key role played by the United States ahead of Zimbabwe's independence in resolving the sticky point of land redistribution has just come to light.
The land issue has always been emotive in Zimbabwe - as can be seen with the current crisis sparked off by the government seizure of mainly white-owned farms in 2000.
And it was important to all parties in 1980 that signed the Lancaster House Agreement that led to the transformation of Rhodesia into Zimbabwe.
The road to the agreement was not straight forward, and as an investigation by the BBC's The Westminster Hour programme has revealed, it was much bumpier than at first suspected.

When former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 the situation of Rhodesia had been a central concern of the British government for years.
A war had raged since the 1960s between the white government led by Ian Smith and liberation fighters led by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo.
Mrs Thatcher was persuaded - somewhat reluctantly - by her Foreign Secretary, Peter Carrington, to make one last push to try to resolve the issue.
"I didn't really think there was much prospect of success at Lancaster House because the sides were so far apart and in particular Smith had talked about it all for a thousand years and it was going to be a very difficult negotiation," Lord Carrington told the BBC.
"I didn't think it was going to work to be frank. I mean I thought it was going to end in tears."
But with the help of the then Commonwealth Secretary-General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, he managed to persuade all sides to attend.
Lengthy talks got under way in the splendour of Lancaster House, just opposite Buckingham Palace.
Gradually progress was made. Until the question of who would own the land.
It was the toughest of issues. Whites - 5% of the population - owned 80% of the arable land.
Millions of black people scratched a living on the rest.
For Mr Mugabe and Mr Nkomo this was critical.
Yet when Lord Carrington finally presented the draft constitution it contained no reference to the land.

White farmers owned 80% of the land before independence.
Sir Shridath says the conference came close to collapse.
"From the British government's point of view the constitution was preserving the status quo for a minimum of 10 years," he says.
"When Nkomo and Mugabe saw it and understood the implications they blew up. They asked Carrington what he meant. The struggle was about land.
"Was he saying to them they must sign a constitution which says that they could not redistribute land because if that was the case they should go back to the bush and the conference broke up."
Sir Shridath believed the conference was doomed to failure and that Mr Mugabe and Mr Nkomo would walk out and the civil war would resume.
"I took an initiative of my own as secretary-general which isn't much known and talked about but can be now."
He secretly contacted the US ambassador in London, Kingman Brewster, and asked him to get the then US President, Jimmy Carter, to promise money to pay white farmers for their land.

Mr Mugabe was angered when the UK stopped land payments.
"Brewster was totally supportive. We were at a stage where Mugabe and Nkomo were packing their bags," he explains.
"He came back to me within 24 hours. They had got hold of Jimmy Carter and Carter authorised Brewster to say to me that the United States would contribute a substantial amount for a process of land redistribution and they would undertake to encourage the British government to give similar assurances.
"That of course saved the conference."
Nearly 30 years after the Lancaster Conference, Lord Carrington was surprised to learn of Shridath Ramphal's secret intervention.
"Maybe that is so. Why should he pretend if it isn't true? But I didn't know anything about it at the time," he said.
For eight years the unwritten deal worked.
White farmers were paid around $35m by the UK for their land, which was then redistributed.
But the UK government found that some of the farms were being given to President Mugabe's close associates, and refused to continue the payments.
Mr Mugabe was furious, claiming bad faith.
The path to the seizure of white farms was opened and thus began the long slide to today's economic chaos.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NZ PROBES CHINA CLOTHING SCARE !

New Zealand's government is investigating claims that clothes imported from China contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
The government acted after the Target TV programme claimed that fabrics in children's clothes contained 900 times the UN's safe level of the chemical.
Formaldehyde, used to stop mildew, can also cause skin irritations and cancer.
The discovery is the latest in a series of safety scares involving Chinese exports of goods such as toys and food.
"We are very concerned about this issue and if action needs to taken, we will act very quickly," said New Zealand's Ministry of Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Liz MacPherson.

Mattel recalled millions of toys over safety concerns. "We can recall products, we can ban them and we can establish mandatory safety standards and obviously we'll be considering all of those options," she told reporters.
Earlier this month toy maker Mattel recently recalled millions of Chinese-made toys because of concerns about the use of toxic lead paints and strong magnets.
Questions have also been asked about the safety of other products, such as tyres, toothpaste and various foodstuffs.
Chinese officials have said the world should have more faith in the Made in China label.
"Although recalls are necessary, it is unfair to decide that all products made in China are unqualified," Li Changjiang, director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is quoted as telling the Associated Press.
Mr Li said he believed there was a "new trend in trade protectionism".
That has been dismissed by European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CLASH OVER NIGERIA CROSS-DRESSING !

The men accused of dressing as women came from several states. Police in northern Nigeria have clashed with Muslim youths angry at a Sharia court's decision to grant bail to 18 men accused of dressing as women.
For about 30 minutes, the protesters held up traffic on Bauchi's main street chanting slogans saying the accused men had been let off lightly.
Riot police fired teargas to disperse them, a BBC reporter in the north-eastern city says.
Trial judge Tanimu Abubakar freed five of the 18 men who met bail conditions.
The other 13 have been sent back to prison.
The men all pleaded not guilty to charges of "indecent dressing" and "vagrancy" and were granted bail after they paid 20,000 Naira ($158) each.
But some young men who gathered outside the court premises felt the men did not deserve bail and began hurling stones at the court house.
The BBC's Shehu Saulawa in Bauchi says the trial is fast becoming "a celebrity case".
He says the court room was so crammed with people that many could not get in as the prosecution and defence presented their briefs.
The 18 men were arrested two weeks ago in a hotel room in Bauchi, which is governed by the Islamic Sharia legal system.
Although they were initially accused of sodomy, the charges have now been changed to "indecent dressing" or cross-dressing and "vagrancy".
"Any (male) person who dresses .. in the fashion of a woman in a public place... will be liable to a term of one year or 30 lashes" a spokesman for the local sharia police, Muhamad Muhamad Bununu, told AFP news agency.
The Sharia punishment for sodomy is death by stoning, but he said that was much harder to prove as four witnesses were needed.
More than a dozen Nigerian Muslims have been sentenced to death by stoning for sexual offences ranging such as adultery and homosexuality.
But none of these death sentences have actually been carried out - either being thrown out on appeal or commuted to prison terms as a result of pressure from human rights groups.
Many others have been sentenced to flogging by horsewhip for drinking.
There have been two amputations in north-western Zamfara State - which pioneered the introduction of the Islamic legal system in the country.
Nigeria, like many African countries, is a conservative society where homosexuality is considered a taboo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

PROFILE: SIERRA LEONE'S ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER !

By Umaru Fofana BBC News, Freetown

When Christiana Thorpe was appointed Sierra Leone's chief electoral commissioner two years ago, many doubted whether this petite woman could rise to a mammoth challenge.
She was after all the third choice for the unenviable job, but so far it appears she has, with the first round of elections passing off smoothly as the country chooses a new president.
Ms Thorpe, who celebrated her 49th birthday this week, was born a teacher, bred a disciplinarian, groomed an administrator and perhaps by divine intervention became a nun.
Her 20 years at a convent, she says, accounts for her extra energy in these challenging times.
She was born and grew up in Freetown's most deprived community, Kroo Bay and Kroo Town Road.
The area, known as the angle of poverty, inspired her to fight deprivation.
For this, she is grateful to her maternal grandmother who imbibed godliness in her, instilled discipline in her and preached compassion to her.

SIERRA LEONE KEY FACTS

1787: Set up as a freed slaves' settlement which became a British colony
1991:10-year civil war began
50,000 people killed in the conflict
Thousands more had limbs chopped off
2002: Post-war elections organised by United Nations
2005: 17,000 UN peacekeepers left.

This poll run by new electoral commission
2.6m voters
566 parliamentary candidates
112 parliamentary seats
Seven presidential contenders
Front-runners: - APC's Ernest Bai Koroma- PMDC's Charles Margai- SLPP's Solomon Berewa

Traffic light politics
In pictures: Freetown slum

"Grandma deprived me from playing so that I would not be deprived of a good life later on in life," she told me.
At age 12, she persuaded her peers at Kroo Town Road to join her for studies where she would teach them what she had learned in school.
Unsurprisingly she later became a headmistress, running St Joseph's Secondary School in Makeni, northern Sierra Leone, and later minister of education in the mid 1990s.
She also founded the Forum for African Women Educationalists and still sees teaching not only as her passion, but her first love.
In fact, she cannot wait for the election process to be over so she can return to teaching, she says.
"I have no political ambition and do not wish to become a minister again," she told me.
Integrity
Ms Thorpe left the convent after 20 years as she puts it "quite regretfully, to be able to achieve more".
She has no biological children but is proud of the many she has looked after over the years.
Her partner is an outgoing member of parliament for the ruling party though she insists he has never sought to influence her.
In fact, when the ruling party raised objections over constituency boundaries, she refused their overtures.
When the main opposition All People's Congress's radio station started broadcasting what many referred to as reckless propaganda, Christiana Thorpe hit them hard.
No wonder all the political parties respect her neutrality and integrity.
What is less known about her is an athletic prowess.
For three years running, she held the national record in the 300 metres.
A pace and energy she will need as the elections look set for a run-off.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

GREEK RIOTS OVER NIGERIAN'S DEATH !

The protesters blame the police for the man's death. Greek police have clashed with African immigrants protesting over the death of a Nigerian man in the western city of Thessaloniki at the weekend.
Police fired tear gas at a stone-throwing crowd who had gathered outside the police station on Monday holding up photographs of the dead man.
The Nigerian in his 20s died after he jumped from a building where he was selling pirated DVDs in a cafe.
He had fled when he believed police in the cafe were trying to arrest him.
Police say no officers had been in the cafe at the time.
Protests first took place on Sunday when angry migrants gathered outside the cafe and threw stones and chairs at police, AP news agency reports.
A local leader expressed solidarity with Thessaloniki's Nigerian community, Greece's English-language paper Kathimerini reports.
"The tragic death of the young man from Nigeria reminds us all of the difficult days we Greeks experienced a few decades ago when we emigrated to make a living," Prefect Panayiotis Psomiadis is quoted as saying.
"It is the duty of the Greek state, whose development was influenced by emigration, to show sensitivity and attribute blame where necessary."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

RUSSIAN CLINIC RELEASES ACTIVIST !

A Russian opposition activist, Larisa Arap, has been discharged from a psychiatric clinic where colleagues said she had been imprisoned.
Ms Arap, 48, was sent to the clinic in the northern region of Murmansk on 5 July. She later went on hunger strike.
Her case was taken up by human rights defenders, who saw in it echoes of the Soviet-era practice of locking up dissidents in psychiatric hospitals.
She is a member of the United Civil Front (UCF) group.
The group's leaders include the former chess world champion, Garry Kasparov.
"Her husband Dmitry phoned me from the car and said they were travelling home," said Yelena Vasilyeva of the UCF's Murmansk branch.
Ms Arap's release came after a Russian human rights ombudsman had looked into her case and found no reason for her to be kept in the clinic, in the town of Apatity, 300km (180 miles) from Murmansk.
Ms Arap had told the Western media and fellow activists she was being forcibly held at the clinic. She also claimed to have been injected with drugs against her will.
She saw it as punishment for having criticised health officials.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS "

"BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT" !

NIGERIA PROBES HIV GRADUATE TEST !

Authorities are investigating a church-owned Nigerian university which has imposed compulsory HIV testing for its graduates, officials say.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) says it has summoned the leadership of Covenant University to explain its controversial policy.
"We are trying to find out if it's true that students are being tested for HIV and pregnancy," an Nuc spokesman said.
Nigeria's AIDS control agency says the new policy is illegal.
But the Covenant University says its policy had been misunderstood by the media.
"We are not testing our students for HIV," Covenant University spokesman Emmanuel Igban told the BBC News website.
"What we do is a general medical test at the point of entry or admission and at graduation."
The university says it wants to produce "total graduates" which means in addition to passing all examinations, Covenant University graduates must be "morally upright" too.
The National Agency for the Control of Aids (Naca) calls the university's action "a breach of the fundamental human rights of the students".
Covenant University is owned by the Pentecostal Living Faith Church of Nigeria.
The university's academic year is made up two sessions called "Alpha" and "Omega".
The Anglican Church in Nigeria advises couples to take an HIV test before they can marry in church.
The church says the move is to enable parishioners to make "informed decisions" when choosing marriage partners.
Nigeria is a deeply religious country with her 140 million people almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.
Naca says 4.4 per cent of Nigeria's 140 million people live with HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ROW OVER S.A. MINISTER'S TRANSPLANT !

By Peter Biles BBC News, Johannesburg.

Doctors said the minister was suffering from hepatitis. South Africa's controversial Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is facing new calls for her resignation.
They follow newspaper allegations that she underwent a liver transplant while suffering from alcoholism.
The government says the reports are "false and speculative", and President Mbeki's office says he still has confidence in his health minister.
Dr Tshabalala-Msimang has - in the past - come under fire over her unorthodox approach to the HIV-Aids crisis.
Her emphasis on the use of garlic and beetroot for HIV sufferers brought her many critics.
But over the past fortnight, South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper has made startling allegations that the health minister was an alcoholic who jumped the queue to obtain a liver transplant earlier this year.
The paper has also said that as part of a five-month investigation, it discovered that Dr Tshabalala-Msimang was convicted of stealing from a patient when she worked as a medical superintendent at a hospital in Botswana 30 years ago.
The health ministry has dismissed the newspaper allegations as "false, speculative and bizarre".
It is now in the process of preparing a more detailed response.
President Thabo Mbeki's official spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, has called on anyone with firm evidence, to produce it.
President Mbeki and Dr Tshabalala-Msimang have an association that stretches back more than four decades.
They were part of the same group of students which fled South Africa to go into exile in 1962.
Ten days ago, Mr Mbeki fired his deputy health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, saying she had not been a team player and had made an unauthorised trip to an Aids conference in Spain.

BBC NEWS REPORT

UK TOURISTS BRACED FOR HURRICANE !

The Foreign Office is advising tourists to leave parts of Mexico. British tourists in the Cayman Islands and Mexico are bracing themselves for Hurricane Dean, which has already devastated parts of the Caribbean.
Forecasters say the storm may intensify into the highest category, five, by the time it hits Mexico later.
The Foreign Office is advising tourists in the Yucatan peninsula to leave while air and land links are still operating.
Meanwhile, airports in Jamaica remain closed and electricity supplies turned off after the storm hit on Sunday.
Dean wreaked havoc in the eastern Caribbean, claiming at least six lives. There have been no reports so far of casualties in Jamaica.

View path of Hurricane Dean in more detail -
Enlarge Map

The Federation of Tour Operators said about 3,000 British tourists had been evacuated from Cancun in recent days, ahead of the hurricane moving towards the Mexican coastal resort.
Extra flights were laid on to help transport tourists out, and the 5,500 UK holidaymakers still in the area are being advised to leave.
Hotels are being boarded up and makeshift shelters set up.
Robbie Black, of Llanelli, said he and his family are among 300 passengers stranded after their flight to Cardiff out of Cancun on Wednesday was cancelled.
"It is very scary because none of us from the UK have any experience of hurricanes, least of all a category five," he said.
"Everybody is casting their minds back to the pictures they have of the devastation of Katrina in New Orleans."
He said resort staff had taped up windows and light fittings were being taken down in preparation for the hurricane's arrival.
'No concerns'
British holidaymaker Tony Nicholl, of Market Weston, Suffolk, said staff at his hotel in Cancun had offered to move him to another hotel up the coast out of danger, but instead he will fly on to Mexico City.
"We are...determined to see out the rest of our holiday. The situation here is orderly and professional and we have no concerns whatsoever," he said.

FOREIGN OFFICE TRAVEL ADVICE -

Cayman Islands: All travel advised against
Jamaica: All travel advised against
Mexico: All but essential travel to the Yucatan peninsula advised against
Belize: All but essential travel to the coastal area advised against.

Caribbean visitors hit by Dean

In the Cayman Islands a curfew has been imposed and tourists evacuated.
Andy Alexander, a British ex-pat living in George Town, Grand Cayman, said it took a couple of years to get life back to normal after Hurricane Ivan struck in 2004.
"The tension is mounting as so many people know what to expect this time around.
"Everyone is trying to make their homes safe since it is next to impossible to get flights off the island."
British Airways said any UK tourists due to go to the Cayman Islands were being given the option to rebook or take their holidays in the Bahamas instead.

HAVE YOUR SAY
My daughter and her husband are in the second week of their holiday in Cancun -
Ian, Nottingham
Send us your comments

The Foreign Office is now advising against all non-essential travel to the coastal areas of Belize. Those already there are being told to move inland.
Meanwhile, an estimated 5,000 holidaymakers in Jamaica will wake up to find trees uprooted and roofs torn apart after the south coast of the island was battered overnight by winds of up to 230km/h (145mph). Some hotels were evacuated, curfews were imposed and the national grid was shut down.
A month-long state of emergency has now been declared, widening the powers of security forces.

ADVICE LINE FOR UK NATIONALS
(00 1 876) 510 0700
The Foreign Office is advising British people against all travel to Jamaica until further notice.

The British High Commission in Jamaica has set up a 24-hour phone line for UK nationals seeking advice.

In the meantime, two Royal Navy ships are heading to the region to offer assistance.

Hurricane Dean: Readers' updates
In pictures

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said HMS Portland and RFA Wave Ruler would track the hurricane and be able to react immediately.
The vessels are part of the Royal Navy's Atlantic Patrol (North) which supports British dependent territories in the Caribbean during the hurricane season.
Victoria Malbon, a holidaymaker from Northern Ireland, was in a hotel in Ocho Rios, a town on the northern coast of Jamaica, when the hurricane hit.
"Luckily enough, me and the rest of my family are safe," she said.
She said hotel staff had done what they could to make guests feel safe, but she had concerns about the lack of information from airlines.
"Me and my family are due to depart the island tomorrow... and we have no idea if we will be able to do so," she said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

FRANCE MULLS NEW PAEDOPHILE CURBS !

Mr Sarkozy is meeting his justice, health and interior ministers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to hold talks with his cabinet ministers about measures to prevent paedophiles from re-offending.
There has been outrage in France over a paedophile who allegedly raped a five-year-old boy weeks after being released from a long prison sentence.
The man told police that tablets of the anti-impotence drug, Viagra, found on him were prescribed by a prison doctor.
The man was found with the boy with the help of a new nationwide alert system.
Mr Sarkozy is meeting his prime minister and the justice, health and interior ministers.
The health ministry is investigating the claims of Francis Evrard, 61, that a prison doctor prescribed Viagra to him.
Police discovered him with the five-year-old boy hours after he had been abducted, in a garage in the northern town of Roubaix on 15 August.
The government is expected to consider measures such as electronic tagging and hospital detention, says the BBC's Alasdair Sandford in Paris.
But magistrates and health professionals complain that a lack of resources means medical treatment and monitoring procedures for released offenders are not carried out effectively, says our correspondent.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LEONE OPPOSITION UNITE FOR RERUN !

Two leading opposition candidates in Sierra Leone have formed an alliance, as a second round looks increasingly likely after presidential elections.
With more than 80% of the votes counted so far, the opposition All People's Congress leader Ernest Bai Koroma is in the lead with about 44% of the vote.
Charles Margai of the PMDC who so far has 14% of the ballots has announced he is now backing Mr Koroma.
The poll is the second since the end of a civil war that killed thousands.
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms. The ruling party's candidate, Solomon Berewa, is in second place with about 38%.
The BBC's Umaru Fofana in Freetown says the alliance is bad news for Mr Berewa with a run-off election on 6 September now looking certain as no single candidate is likely to secure 55% of the vote.
However, he says members of the PMDC's executive say that Mr Margai took the decision by himself and he does not speak for the party.

SIERRA LEONE KEY FACTS
1787: Set up as a freed slaves' settlement which became a British colony
1991:10-year civil war began
50,000 people killed in the conflict
Thousands more had limbs chopped off
2002: Post-war elections organised by United Nations
2005: 17,000 UN peacekeepers left

This poll run bynew electoral commission
2.6m voters
566 parliamentary candidates
112 parliamentary seats
Seven presidential contenders
Front-runners: - APC's Ernest Bai Koroma- PMDC's Charles Margai- SLPP's Solomon Berewa

Traffic light politics
In pictures: Freetown slum

The elections were the first to be organised by Sierra Leoneans since the end of the war there five years ago.
There was a high turnout and the polls were widely praised by observers with fears of violence largely failing to materialise.
During the campaigns thousands of supporters of the main candidates painted the country in their political party colours in what was a carnival like atmosphere.
Civil society organisations played an important role touring the country, often dressed in white, promoting non violence.
The previous poll in 2002 was organised by the United Nations, which still had peacekeepers on the ground then.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

UGANDA CONSIDERS WAR CRIMES COURT !

Mr Rugunda is looking at a system based on traditional values. Uganda has begun consultations on how to deal with rebels and others responsible for atrocities during the insurgency in the north of the country.
Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said they are seeking views from victims and legal experts on setting up war crime courts.
The government and Lord's Resistance Army rebels are engaged in peace talks in Sudan aimed at ending the conflict.
Some 1.7m people are living in camps in the north as a result of the fighting.
LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti are among the five rebel commanders who have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Peace talks bring change

"The victims are the primary people concerning in this peace process, they are the ones who suffered and their views are critical in ensuring there is accountability and reconciliation," Mr Rugunda told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Victims consulted
Mr Rugunda, who is also the government's chief negotiator at the peace talks, also hinted that there is a possibility of forming a unique legal system based on traditional values to set up local war crimes courts.
Government officials will seek views from people living in 10 towns in the north of the country where most atrocities were committed.
They will ask victims of the violence how they believe the perpetrators should be punished, not only for the killings but for the brutal mutilations and abductions carried out by Lord's Resistance Army rebels, who cut the lips and tongues from civilians and took their children off to fight or serve as sex slaves.
LRA rebels have said they may accept the idea of setting up local courts but warned the government not to take unilateral decisions.
The rebels have vowed not to sign a final peace deal unless the ICC in The Hague withdraws arrest warrants for its leaders.
The peace talks in Juba were suspended last month to allow both sides to consult with the victims on the process of reconciliation and punishing those responsible for the atrocities.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"WE NEVER DO ANYTHING WELL TILL WE CEASE

TO THINK ABOUT THE MANNER OF DOING IT" !

ETHIOPIA OPPOSITION MEMBERS FREED !

Ethiopian authorities say nearly 200 died in the disorder after the polls. The Ethiopian authorities have pardoned at least 31 opposition members detained after post-election violence in 2005.
They were jailed along with 38 senior figures - who were freed last month - from the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).
All the freed CUD members and supporters signed a letter of pardon acknowledging a role in the disorder after the polls two years ago.
Ethiopia provoked an international outcry after it jailed the CUD figures.
Two senior CUD leaders, Hailu Shawel and Berhanu Nega, were sentenced to life in jail and then released last month.
The CUD accused the government of electoral fraud following the 2005 polls, which saw the opposition party claim its biggest ever gains.
Bereket Simon, an advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told the Associated Press news agency: "(The freed CUD members) can run for office, they can run their political organisations.
"It is good for Ethiopia because it indicates that the rule of law is respected in Ethiopia."
The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Ethiopia says things moved quickly after the government said there would be no pardons until the judicial process was over.
Hoping for a quick release, defendants began to change their plea to guilty and all those who have signed the pardon letter have now been freed, our correspondent says.
The Ethiopian authorities say nearly 200 people were killed in the violence that erupted after the elections two years ago.

LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA !

Friday 17th August 2007

Dear Friends,

'Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe was greeted with thunderous applause by delegates as he arrived at a meeting of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) at which his country's crisis tops the agenda.'So writes Chris McGreal in The Guardian today Friday August 17th 2007.

All week long we in the UK diaspora have been hearing and reading comment and analysis of the likely outcome of this meeting in Lusaka. Just this morning the BBC's Today programme carried an interview with the MDC man in London and one George Shiri, a British based academic - or that's how he's described - on the prospects for the talks. Shiri has been in this country for close on twenty years, he is in effect the ruling party's spokesperson in London and can always be relied on to parrot the party line.

For anyone who knows anything at all about the situation in Zimbabwe it was a shoddy piece of journalism. The BBC presenter clearly had not done his homework; he asked innocuous questions and completely failed to respond when Shiri, questioned about the violence in the country and the attack on the MDC leaders, replied with the usual unproven allegations that it was all caused by the MDC themselves. They were mounting a violent attack on a police station at the time of the attack, Shiri claimed. And he was allowed to get away with that preposterous allegation. No one, not the BBC man nor, I'm sorry to say, the MDC representative had the wit to challenge Shiri or to remind him of Mugabe's own words at the time, 'We will bash them…they deserve it.' which would have pinpointed for the listener exactly where the violence is coming from and who is directly responsible for it all.

And this is the same man who receives 'thunderous applause' from the SADC leaders as they gather in Lusaka. Maybe Zanu PF bussed in a whole lot of cheer-leaders, I wondered? How else could grown men, leaders of their countries, cheer for a man like Mugabe who permits no opposition, muzzles the press and beats his own people . Have these leaders lost all decency and humanity that they continue to back the man who has time and again shown his utter contempt for the people's suffering? With literally thousands, of refugees flooding over their borders, SADC leaders continue to applaud the man who has brought about his country's downfall and reduced the population to starvation, misery and desperation so great that they will risk everything to get out of Zimbabwe.

Mugabe will fly back to Harare once again, his ego undiminished, to claim that he has the full support of his African brothers and the state-owned media will trumpet his success on the front page and shout it aloud on every news broadcast. And once again the Zimbabwean people, those that are left in the fast-shrinking population, will hear the same old lie: that it is the British who are responsible for the whole mess. I wish that someone would explain to me how sanctions against named individuals have caused the total collapse of Zimbabwe's economy. Sanctions! scream the Zanu PF apologists. UK led sanctions have destroyed the economy and the SADCC leaders believe –or choose to believe - the lie. Even while they benefit from British aid and trade they swallow the lie because they must not be seen to attack a 'liberation leader' and break so-called African unity.

Today's article in The Guardian reports that The Zambian president who in March this year described Zimbabwe as a 'sinking titanic' heaped praise on Africa's liberation leaders, including Robert Mugabe and urged all Zimbabweans to ' maintain peace and stability.' What kind of nonsense is this? Morality is turned on its head and Mugabe's blood-soaked present is overlooked on the grounds that twenty-seven years ago he was a great liberation leader. In the twisted logic of the SADC leaders' thinking the past liberation history excuses all present crimes against his own people. There is something terribly wrong with that logic; rather like telling oneself that one great, heroic deed in the past excuses all present crimes.

Winning freedom from colonial rule was a great achievement but the liberation leaders would do well to remember that they would never have won that battle without the support of millions of ordinary men and women who gave their lives for freedom. But that was then and this is now, the twenty-first century. Thousands of young Zimbabweans have no memory of the liberation struggle. The only struggle they know is the struggle to survive in Mugabe's Zimbabwe. He will be long gone while the born-free generation will live on with his dreadful legacy.There was one tiny ray of hope - and unintended humour - in The Guardian report. The Zambian information minister, speaking to Associated Press commented' Zambia cannot impose its will on Zimbabwe just as Zimbabwe cannot impose its will on Zambia. But we can quietly whisper to each other our concerns.'So now we know! A combination of Mbeki's quiet diplomacy and Zambia's quiet whispers seems to be all that will come out of this SADC extravaganza. Will the softly-softly approach be loud enough to awaken the collective conscience of the SADC leaders? Maybe even Mugabe himself might hear a distant murmur of disquiet from his neighbours and change his ways. Somehow I doubt it - but miracles do sometimes happen!

Ndini shamwari yenyu. PH.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

All for Sugar.

Saturday 17th August 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

A month ago I received an email from one of the last few commercial sugar farmers still hanging on in Chiredzi. She described how in April a convoy had arrived at the farm and announced that the government were taking over their property and that the family had until September to wind up their business, give up their livelihood, get out of their home and off the land. The government delegation then proceeded to enter the family home and list all the things which were not to be removed as these were also being acquired by the State. These included fans and kitchen units and from the house the delegation moved out to the farm yard. Here they took details of tractors, machinery and farm implements and said these too were now the property of the State. The delegation said compensation for the listed items would be made "One Day" in the future at a price to be decided by State valuators when finances were available. The farming family are now, as I write, closing down their affairs and preparing to leave their home and property which grows sugar cane, citrus fruit and produces milk. In her email describing these last weeks, the farmer wrote that her children are well but very upset with these events and that they have so many questions about it all but there are not many answers.

This farming family are leaving to make way, not for a landless Zimbabwean peasant, but for the daughter of a high up political figure in the district. This story of what is happening to one farm and one family in Chiredzi has been repeated hundreds of times over in the last eight years. The continuing seizure of farms in Zimbabwe by the State makes less sense now than ever before in our hungry land which has the lowest life expectancy and highest inflation in the world. The story of the seizure of this sugar farm is particularly poignant this week as tragic news has emerged of how three people died when a sugar queue in Bulawayo turned into a deadly stampede.

Just a fortnight ago I described being in a supermarket with my fifteen year old son and witnessing a stampede for cooking oil. The sight and sound of the rush, the pushing and shoving and the frantic snatching is still clear in my mind. These events are being repeated every day all over the country as there is virtually no food to buy in our shops as the government continues to insist on price controls. The deadly stampede happened in Bulawayo where many hundreds of people were queuing for sugar. A supermarket Security Guard opened the gates, people surged forward and then a wall collapsed. The Security Guard died instantly. Another man died later of head injuries and broken limbs. A 15 year old school boy was trampled in the stampede, his limbs were broken and he too died later in hospital.

As a farmer who suffered the indignity and outrage of the seizure of home, business and farm by the State in 2000 and who was also given the unfulfilled promise of compensation, I understand exactly the agonies of the sugar farming family in Chiredzi. As a mother of a 15 year school boy my heart goes out particularly to the family of the teenager trampled to death in a sugar queue in Bulawayo. Like my son, this teenager would have been just a year away from writing his 'O' Levels, about to embark on his life and perhaps go on to do great things for his country.

In a week so many lives and families have been broken - and all for sugar but all because of politics. Knowing this and then hearing of the standing ovation at the SADC summit in Lusaka makes the events on the ground at home all the more tragic. Do the SADC leaders know? Do they care?

Until next week, thanks for reading.

Love cathy.

'ELVIS' CROWNED AS TRIBUTES END !

Shawn Klush beat contestants from around the world. Managers of Elvis Presley's Graceland have chosen a man from Pennsylvania to be their first official "Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist". Shawn Klush, from Pittston, beat nine other contestants in the Memphis final of a worldwide competition.
Mr Klush's victory came as 30th anniversary celebrations of Presley's death drew to a close on Friday night.
"It's an overwhelming experience and it couldn't be in a better place," he said.
Mr Klush, 38, won with his versions of Viva Las Vegas, My Way, Bridge Over Troubled Water and You Gave Me A Mountain, dressed in a replica of Presley's 1970s-era white jumpsuit .
He won $5,000 (£2,500), a $5,000 shopping trip to Graceland's souvenir shops, $3,000 (£1,500) toward a new jumpsuit and other prizes.
Only one winner was chosen, but Mr Klush and two other contestants, Trent Carlini, 37, of Henderson, Nevada, and Donny Edwards, 32, of Las Vegas were called back to perform a third song each.
The others, including British hopeful Paul Larcombe, were limited to two songs.
This first official contest marked a significant shift in attitude by the managers of Presley's estate, who previously had shown little regard for the many impersonators of the rock 'n' roll icon.
The 10 finalists were also officially endorsed by Elvis Presley Enterprises and signed contracts that could bring them a lot of lucrative work in the future.

Carefully-edited footage gave the impression Elvis was leading the band.

Elvis Presley clips

The contest was part of a week of celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of Presley's death, which culminated in a live concert featuring footage of the singer.
With many of his former band members on stage, Presley "performed" hits like Burning Love and Suspicious Minds.
Earlier, thousands of visitors had filed past the singer's grave at his Memphis home, Graceland. Presley died of a heart attack in 1977, aged 42.
Large floral displays sent by fans around the world surrounded a walkway leading to the garden where he is buried.
Teddy bears, single red roses and other small offerings covered the grave.
One visitor, Katie Brown, said: "I can't describe how I feel about him because I've loved him since I was a teenager.
Carol Norman said she saved up all year so she could attend the vigil at Graceland.
"I'm married and have children but my husband just thinks that it's a really nice thing to do because we're paying back what he gave us, and that's all we can do," she said.
Fans began lining up for the candlelit vigil early on Wednesday.
Thousands of British fans flew in for the anniversary. Debbie Quinn-Booth was one of them. "I love Elvis," she said.
"He's my hero. He's the love of my life. I can't explain it, it's just something about him," she said.
The singer's former wife, Priscilla Presley, said the singer was still a powerful figure.
"To see the fans from all over the world, it's mind-boggling," she said.
An estimated 75,000 Elvis enthusiasts made the journey to Memphis - where temperatures topped 100F (38C) - to attend events celebrating the superstar's life and music.
Paramedics had to treat several fans for heat exhaustion.
Elvis fans who were unable to travel to Memphis held their own vigils around the world.
Israeli fans gathered at The Elvis Inn - a petrol station on the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv highway.
In Japan, mourners gathered at Tokyo's Love Me Tender fan shop, laying bouquets at the foot of an Elvis statue.
Graceland, where Elvis died as a result of heart disease exacerbated by drug abuse, is now a major tourist attraction visited by almost 600,000 people every year.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SCORES TRAPPED IN CHINA COAL MINE !

Continuing rain has frustrated rescuers' efforts at the mine.
Rescue teams

Chinese emergency teams are searching for 172 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine, state media has reported. Officials told Xinhua news agency the workers have only a slim chance of survival in the mine, in Xintai city 450km (280 miles) south of Beijing.
The agency reported that hundreds of troops and police were at the scene helping rescue teams.
China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with more than 5,000 deaths reported annually.
Hopes were also fading for the survival of nine other miners, trapped in another mine nearby.
Banks burst
Describing the Xintai flood, local official Zhang Dekuan said: "There were 756 miners working under the ground when the accident occurred."
Of these, 584 managed to escape from the pit, he said.
Xinhua reported that the mine, in eastern China's Shandong province, was overrun with surface water at about 1430 local time (0630 GMT) on Friday.
The area was hit with about 205mm of rain, triggering flash floods and bursting the banks of the nearby Wen river.
Floodwater from the river swamped the coal mine via an old shaft, Xinhua said.
About 2,000 Chinese army troops, armed police and miners are trying to shore up the river's banks.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"WE SELDOM ATTRIBUTE COMMON SENCE

EXCEPT TO THOSE WHO AGREE WITH US "!

HURRICANE CHURNS UP THE CARIBBEAN !

Most people in Martinique sat out the storm on Friday. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are braced for potential flooding as Hurricane Dean passes to the south after gathering force in the Caribbean.
Winds have hit 233km/h (145mph) and the storm may achieve the highest category, Five, with speeds of about 250km/h, by the time it reaches Mexico on Monday.
Dean has claimed three lives on islands in its path, and there are now fears it will directly pass over Jamaica.
Forecasters warn this could be an unusually active Atlantic storm season.
We are just getting ready. Filling up the bath with water, unplugging all the computers at work and covering them with polythene bags. Taping the windows.
John Townend, Kingston, Jamaica BBC News website reader

Hurricane Dean: Readers' updates
In pictures

In the US, Louisiana has declared a state of emergency, though the chances of the storm hitting are slim. Governor Kathleen Blanco took the decision amid heightened sensitivity to hurricanes since Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005. The neighbouring state of Texas has categorised Dean as an imminent threat.

See a detailed map of the region

The hurricane is due to pass to the south of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, on Saturday.
Haiti has issued an alert for coastal communities and ordered fishing boats to stay ashore until after the weekend.
Jamaica, which fears a direct hit on Sunday, has ordered emergency shelters to be opened and Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller called for a halt to campaigning for the elections on 27 August.
"Let us band together and unite in the threat of this hurricane," the prime minister said.
US hurricane monitors have also urged the Cayman Islands to be vigilant.
The hurricane is due to reach the Gulf of Mexico, where the US has much of its domestic oil and gas supplies, on Monday.
Some companies have already begun shutting down production platforms and evacuating workers to the mainland.
"This storm is moving faster than the average storm," Rebecca Waddington of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami told the BBC's World Service.
"It is forecast to have a direct hit on Jamaica at a Category Four strength, which is an extremely dangerous storm [and is forecast to come] very close to the Mexican coast, near the Texas-Mexico border."
Dean earlier visited destruction on the islands of St Lucia, Martinique and Dominica.
Roofs were ripped from homes and from a hospital, banana plantations were flattened and power lines torn down, while roads were flooded by torrential rain.
In Dominica, a landslide crushed a woman and her seven-year-old son while they slept in their home.
In St Lucia, a 62-year-old man was swept away and drowned when he tried to retrieve a cow from a rain-swollen river.
The threat posed by Hurricane Dean may affect the scheduled return next week of the US space shuttle Endeavour, which is currently due to land on Wednesday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUTHOR KING 'MISTAKEN FOR VANDAL' !

Author Stephen King was mistaken for a vandal when he started signing books during an unannounced visit to a shop in Australia, according to local media.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said staff at the Alice Springs book store did not initially realise the writer was autographing his own novels.
Bookshop manager Bev Ellis said: "When you see someone writing in one of your books you get a bit toey [nervous].
"We immediately ran to the books and lo and behold, there was the signature."
Ms Ellis later approached the author at a nearby supermarket and said he was "very nice, charming".
"Well, if we knew you were coming we would have baked you a cake," she told the writer.
'Embarrassing'
The prolific author, best known for works such as Carrie, The Shining and Misery, signed six books including his most recent novel, Lisey's Story.
Most of the books will be given to local charities, though one was purchased by a customer who was in the store with King.
Ms Ellis added that it was common for authors to visit the shop, check if their books are on the shelves and sign some copies.
"If they're not on the shelves, they'll ask about them. It's embarrassing if we haven't got their work," she said.
King's representative in Australia told the media he was unaware the author was in the country.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BOTSWANA PILOTS ANGER AT HIV MOVE !

By Letlhogile Lucas BBC News, Gaborone.

Pilots in Botswana have reacted angrily to new regulations that mean they could face the sack if they have HIV.
The country's Civil Aviation Department says pilots and air traffic controllers must be tested regularly for HIV, diabetes and high blood pressure.
If found to be HIV-positive and to have developed another complaint, their licence will be withdrawn.
The authorities say the move is meant to guarantee passenger safety, but rights groups say it is discriminatory.
Botswana has one of the world's highest rates of HIV infection, but also has one of Africa's most advanced Aids treatment programmes and readily available anti-retroviral drugs.
According to the government's own HIV/Aids policy, an employee should not lose their job because they have HIV.

The new regulations require that a young pilot, for example, is tested at least once a year - and more often the older he or she gets.
If an employee is found to have conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, they will not be able to practise.
"There's suddenly a growing feeling of uneasiness amongst controllers and pilots," said Moetapele Motale of the Botswana Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The director of the country's Civil Aviation Department says the move is not intended to be unfair and the rules are unavoidable.
"All we're saying is that there are certain medical conditions that if people are diagnosed to have, then it may impair their judgement in the respective professions that they are rendering," said Olefile Moakofi.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Uncollected council tax totals £760m.
More details

2. Some otters don't like swimming.

3. The Rubik’s Cube can be done in 26 moves.
More details

4. Crows can use tools.
More details

5. CDs were nearly called mini-racks.
More details

6. CDs have 74 minutes' audio capacity, originally to accommodate Beethoven's 9th Symphony – before that they were just an hour.
More details

7. Attractive people are, on average, less selfish than moderately attractive people.

8. The name Hells Angels was coined by a squadron of World War I fighter pilots.

9. Seven double espressos can land you in hospital, with caffeine intoxication.
More details

10. Left-handed people are called sinistral.

BBC MAGAZINE.

SOUTH AFRICA REOPENS OLD WOUNDS !

By Martin Plaut BBC Africa analyst.

While many South Africans will rejoice that justice is now, at last, being done to former Police Minister Adriaan Vlok and four other former "securocrats" - as they were called during the apartheid era - there is a real danger of reopening old wounds.

Under a plea bargain, all five have received suspended sentences for admitting to attempting to kill prominent black activist Frank Chikane in 1989 by lacing his underwear with a nerve toxin. But the prosecution could undermine the stability of the country's post-apartheid settlement. This settlement was, in reality, a compromise.

Vlok was in charge of security in South Africa during the late 1980s.White rule in South Africa, Namibia or even Zimbabwe was never defeated on the battlefield. The fighters of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), Namibia's Swapo and Zimbabwe's Zanu or Zapu did not win the long-predicted and much hoped for military victory. Their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma and Robert Mugabe respectively, agreed on a simple but unspoken compromise: political power would pass into the hands of the majority black population, but whites would be allowed to retain most of their wealth.

And all sides would put the atrocities of the past behind them. In this they learnt from Angola and Mozambique, where the Portuguese left taking everything they could carry - including any light bulbs that could be unscrewed.

In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to try to ease the pain. Past wrongs could be confessed to and forgiven. Some want to see justice before reconciliation. Many refused to attend, including the last white President FW de Klerk. But he was not alone. Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party refused to testify before the TRC, which concluded its work in 2003. So did the ANC and Pan Africanist Congress, which did not discuss the killings they ordered inside South Africa, or the murder of their own members while in exile.

With Vlok having faced the courts, others are calling for the prosecution of ANC leaders who ordered killings inside and outside South Africa. Afriforum, a right-wing human rights organisation, is supporting Dirk Van Eck, who has asked for the prosecution of those who ordered the laying of a landmine that killed his wife, Kobie, and their two children during a game drive near the border with Zimbabwe in 1985.
Zimbabwe alternative
In Namibia, the policy of national reconciliation is also under threat, with the National Society for Human Rights attempting to take former President Sam Nujoma and three other Swapo leaders to the International Criminal Court for the killings they are alleged to have ordered during the wars of liberation.
So far both Namibia and South Africa have benefited from not raking up the past and accepting that whites have a legitimate, if economically privileged, role in their societies.
Their economies have flourished and there is peace.
Land is gradually being redistributed, even if some argue the process is too slow.
The alternative can be seen in Zimbabwe.
President Robert Mugabe's decision to seize white farms in 2000 has driven the country into an economic and political crisis.
It would not be impossible for either South Africa or Namibia to go down the same road, with terrible consequences for all of their peoples, black and white.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NO PRESSURE ON MUGABE FROM SUMMIT !

Southern African leaders are putting no public pressure on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to solve his country's dire political and economic crises.
After a two-day conference in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, delegates said only that they welcomed "progress" in talks between Zimbabwe's rival politicians.
The US called on the region's leaders to "press vigorously" for an end to the country's "man-made crisis".
Inflation stands at about 4,500% in Zimbabwe and food shortages are common.
Peace plea
Increasing numbers of Zimbabweans are fleeing to neighbouring countries, leading some analysts to suggest that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit would put pressure on Mr Mugabe.
But the communique issued at the end of the conference made no mention of the country's economic problems.
Political reform is not necessary in my country
Patrick ChinamasaZimbabwe justice minister
Instead, the declaration welcomed efforts by South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
It called on both sides to "expedite the process of negotiations and conclude the work as soon as possible" so that Zimbabwe's elections, planned for March next year, could be "held in an atmosphere of peace".
But MDC officials, who were lobbying in Lusaka, said Mr Mbeki was moving too slowly.
Problems 'exaggerated'
After the conference Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa, who has previously compared Zimbabwe to a "sinking Titanic", played down the crisis facing the country.
We deplore the Mugabe regime's continued acts of oppression against all segments of society
Sean McCormackUS state department
"We also feel that the problems in Zimbabwe have been exaggerated. We feel they will solve their economic problems," he said.
He added that Zimbabwe's current voting laws were "valid to enable free and fair elections".
Earlier, Zimbabwe's justice minister had told the summit that no political reforms were needed in Zimbabwe.
"Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world," Patrick Chinamasa said, Reuters news agency reports.
But the US state department said Mr Mugabe's government had not shown any commitment to a democratic, prosperous Zimbabwe.
"Its obstructive actions, such as lack of participation in scheduled talks and statements arguing against the need for mediation, have undermined this important initiative," spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"Moreover, we deplore the Mugabe regime's continued acts of oppression against all segments of society."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SOUTHERN AFRICA GETS PEACE FORCE !

The brigade is intended to serve in peace-building efforts. Southern African leaders have inaugurated a military standby force to help with peace and security.
It is the first of a number of regional forces on the continent which will act in support of the African Union.
The launch took place at a ceremony in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, the venue for the leaders' summit which is discussing the crisis in Zimbabwe.
South Africa's leader is expected to report on efforts to mediate between Zimbabwe's government and opposition.
President Thabo Mbeki has been trying to facilitate talks between the ruling Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Another report is also to be presented in a closed session on how to turn round Zimbabwe's ailing economy and prevent it affecting the rest of the region.
It is not known whether the reports will be made public after the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit's closing session.
'Victory'
The BBC's Peter Biles in Lusaka says the leaders of all 14 southern African countries watched as members of the newly formed brigade put on their first public display.

The idea of a permanent African standby force made up of regional components was first mooted more than three years ago.
The Southern Africa Brigade has undergone training and is now ready to be deployed.
"This is a victory to the region. We are the first to officially do this. Sadc is ready to be committed in any peace mission," a brigadier general from Namibia said.
Officiating at the ceremony, Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa said the brigade would serve in peace-building efforts including post-conflict disarmament and demobilisation.
It would also provide humanitarian assistance in conflict areas or as a result of natural disasters.
The launch came as East African military chiefs met in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to finalise plans to set up a similar force in their region
'Zimbabwe democratic'
After the ceremony, the leaders were to be briefed behind closed doors by South Africa's President Mbeki.
Zimbabwe's justice minister told the summit on Thursday that no political reforms were needed in Zimbabwe.
"Political reform is not necessary in my country because we are a democracy like any other democracy in the world," Patrick Chinamasa said, Reuters news agency reports.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe received the loudest applause of all delegates at the meeting as he sat down next to his South African counterpart, Mr Mbeki.
Earlier, Mr Mwanawasa called on the people of Zimbabwe to maintain peace at all costs.
Correspondents say Mr Mugabe used to be able to rely on the full support of his fellow leaders in southern Africa.
But the fall-out from Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis is now having a huge impact on the entire region, with increasing numbers of economic migrants fleeing Zimbabwe and settling in neighbouring countries.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE MARKET TURMOIL?

Analysis : By Evan Davis Economics editor, BBC News.

Analysts say markets will remain volatile in the near future. It's taken for granted in most of the coverage of the current market troubles that sub-prime problems in the US mortgage market are causing declines in world share prices. But why are they having such a widespread effect?
The best guess is that there are a potential $100bn (£50bn) worth of sub-prime mortgage defaults, from less than credit-worthy borrowers, mainly in the US.
So why was $120bn (£60bn) wiped off shares in London alone on Thursday?
The reason must be that there are deeper links between sub-prime lending and equities.
Banking sector losses
First, there are some sub-prime losses among banks (or the people to whom they've lent), and banks are listed on the stock markets.
So banks may be worth less than we thought last year.
And it only adds to the problem that we don't know which banks have sub-prime losses, and the banks themselves may not even be sure.
But the second and more important problem for shares is not caused by banks, but hedge funds.
Hedge fund calls
They have typically borrowed money to invest (and they've often borrowed shares and other securities too).
But terms and conditions apply to their loans: lenders tell the hedge funds the debt must not rise above a specified proportion of the total fund.
It would be like your bank telling you that your mortgage can't rise above 90% of the value of your house.
Now what would happen if the value of your house fell?
You would have to find some cash to repay some of the mortgage to ensure it was still not above 90% of the new lower value.
Hedge funds are in that predicament now.

Predicting whether tougher times are ahead is a tricky business.
The losses they've endured on some investments trigger the need to repay cash to prevent their loans breaching their terms.
One way for hedge funds to find cash is to sell shares.
Note that this does not mean the hedge funds are insolvent - they just need cash, and the easiest way to find it is to sell shares, pushing down the prices.
This potentially could be a bit perverse, with the market getting into a vicious circle of falling prices, cash requirements and more falling prices.
If this was the only reason shares were falling, it would probably mean it was a good time to buy them.
But our list of reasons for shares to fall is by no means complete yet.
Lending dries up
The third link is that all kinds of bank lending have been affected by the failure of the sub-prime market.
This is because the whole market in second-hand debt has been paralysed by the sub-prime problems, with traders barely able to value the IOUs in which they have stakes.
This affects the banks, who are sitting on debt they'd like to sell on, but can't. And it affects corporate borrowers, particularly the kind of borrowers who have been using debt to finance highly-leveraged takeovers.
Those takeovers have helped prop up the stock market, and if they now evaporate, the stock market will probably fall.
Finally, the tightening of credit conditions in the US housing market and beyond may have real economic effects that depress corporate profits.
The pace of takeovers using borrowed money may slow.
The world has been very dependent on US consumer spending.
If that diminishes as the housing market and stock markets dive, then companies are in a pickle, the world over.
It explains why the mining stocks have been among the biggest fallers - if the world economy slows, we won't be needing so much of the stuff they get out of the ground.
The end of the cycle
That's the list of connections between sub-prime and equities.
But there are other things going on in equities too.
Most notably, corporate profits are at a high level; and that might be a sign we are at the peak of a cycle and tougher times are ahead.
We could have surmised this some weeks ago, but other market events might have concentrated minds on it.

Will equities fall further?
Well, I'm afraid the one thing lacking from the arguments here are any numbers.
We might identify the broad issue, but what the traders have to do is to calibrate them and put a price on them all.
What stock markets are going through at the moment means they are struggling to do just that.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MALARIA DRUGS RECALLED IN KENYA !

An estimated 35,000 people die of malaria in Kenya each year. A Chinese pharmaceutical firm plans to recall thousands of anti-malarial drugs supplied to Kenya after discovering a counterfeit syndicate.
The vice-president of Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals said 20,000 doses of Duo-cotecxin will be removed from sale.
He told the BBC an analysis of the counterfeit product showed it had very low active ingredients and patients taking it would not be cured.
An estimated 35,000 people die of malaria in Kenya each year.
Duo-cotecxin is one of the artemisinin-based combination therapy drugs highly recommended by World Health Organization to treat malaria and is widely supplied in government and private hospitals in Kenya.
A full dose of Duo-cotecxin costs about $5 in Kenya, the counterfeited drug is being sold for less than $1.
New technology
The Ministry of Health has been spearheading a campaign to crack down on counterfeit drugs that are readily available in the Kenyan market.
Dr Willy Akwale, who heads the government anti-malaria control unit, said this is the first case of a counterfeit supply of artemisinin combination therapy drugs.
"There have been many counterfeits on the sulphur-based anti-malaria drugs before, forcing us to have difficulties in countering the disease," Dr Akwale told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Eric Law, Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals' vice-president, said they are yet to locate the source of the counterfeits, but there is strong evidence linking the supplies to Asia.
"We are now going to introduce a new technology to tamper-proof the doses that will be supplied to replace the withdrawn drugs," Mr Law told the BBC News Website.
Health officials warn of a global health catastrophe if a growing trade in fake anti-malarial drugs leads to widespread resistance.
Sophisticated trans-national gangs are thought to be behind the counterfeit drugs, a fast-growing multibillion dollar business.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan government said on Thursday that there has been a dramatic rise in the number of children sleeping under insecticide treated mosquito nets.
It said that a two-year campaign to provide nets at subsidised prices has resulted in more than two-thirds of under five-year-olds sleeping under them.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HIV TEST BEFORE NIGERIAN MARRIAGE !

Nigeria is a deeply religious country Couples must first take an HIV test before they will be allowed to marry, the Anglican Church in Nigeria says.
The church says the move is to help parishioners make "informed choices" when choosing marriage partners.
The BBC News website learnt that many Christian churches in Nigeria impose similar tests on their members as a condition for marriage.
The policy is being implemented in all Anglican dioceses across Nigeria, the church's spokesman said.
'Unacceptable'
"The aim is to help intending couples to make informed decisions because we don't want anyone to be kept in the dark about their partner," spokesman for the church Rev Akintunde Popoola told the BBC News website.
He said the church will not stop people from getting married if they test positive to HIV, the virus that causes Aids.
"The whole point is for couples to know their HIV status before getting married," he said.
"If they find out their status and still want to go ahead, we cannot object. Instead, we offer them care and support."
But the authorities are already challenging the new policy by the church, saying it is unacceptable.
"We cannot accept what the church is proposing. Every Nigerian must be allowed to decide on their own whether they want to be tested or not," Prof Tunde Oshotimehin, who heads Nigeria's state HIV control agency, told the BBC.
"HIV testing and counselling must be voluntary. What the church is trying to do will encourage denial."
The Catholic Church in Nigeria says it is not imposing such a policy on its members because it wants HIV testing to be voluntary and personal.
"We know that some people do it, but we are not making it church policy," spokesman of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja Rev Fr Ralph Madu told the BBC News website.
Recently, a church-owned college - Covenant University, Nigeria - announced that its graduates should take HIV and pregnancy tests as conditions for graduation.
But the university suspended the policy after widespread condemnation and criticisms from government agencies and rights groups.
Nigeria is a deeply religious country with her 140 million people almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.
According to Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of AIDS (Naca), some 4.4% of Nigerians live with HIV.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUSTRALIA BANS 'MUGABE STUDENTS' !

The students' parents are members of Robert Mugabe's government. Australia says it will deport eight Zimbabwean university students whose parents are senior members of the government of President Robert Mugabe.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the move was an extension of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
It was aimed at preventing those behind human rights abuses from giving their children the education their policies denied ordinary Zimbabweans, he said.
The Australian government is a vocal critic of Mr Mugabe.
Earlier this year, it banned its cricketers from going on a planned tour to Zimbabwe.
Mr Downer said the visa measure was necessary because of the continuing disregard for democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's government has accused Australia of funding violence by aiding civic groups in the country.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NIGERIA ILLEGAL TOOTHPASTE ALERT !

Shops that fail to destroy the toothpaste will be prosecuted. Nigerian authorities are cracking down on all foreign-manufactured toothpaste following the discovery of a harmful agent in a Chinese-made brand.
National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control says it has found anti-freezing agent diethylene glycol (DEG) in Chinese-made Colgate.
All retailers are to destroy all foreign-manufactured toothpastes on their shelves, Nafdac says.
Retailers who fail to destroy the illegal toothpaste will be prosecuted.
'No guarantee'
DEG can cause abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, damage to kidneys and liver and, if ingested in large amounts, can be fatal, head of Nafdac Dora Akunyili told the BBC News website.

Nafdac warned Nigerians not to patronise any foreign-manufactured toothpaste as it cannot guarantee their safety.
"No foreign toothpaste is registered for use in Nigeria," Mrs Akunyili said.
"Only made in Nigeria toothpastes are safe for public use."
There are no known cases of people falling sick after using foreign-made toothpastes in Nigeria.
But Mrs Akunyili said the growing cases of kidney and liver damage "may not be unconnected with these illegal toothpastes even though we have no proof of a direct connection at the moment".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWEANS URGED TO KEEP PEACE !

Mr Mugabe used to be able to rely on support from his counterparts. Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has called on the people of Zimbabwe to maintain peace at all costs.
He was speaking at the opening of a summit of southern African leaders at which Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis is expected to be discussed.
Countries in the region had all gone through difficult times, but had not resorted to violence, he said.
Observers say the remarks are highly unusual as African leaders are careful not to criticise one another openly.
The BBC's Peter Biles in the Zambian, capital, Lusaka, says Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe received a loud round of applause when he was introduced at the start of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit.
But behind the scenes there is now clearly disquiet about the impact the Zimbabwe crisis could have on the economies of the neighbouring countries, he says.
Other nations taking part in the summit include Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.
'Help'
"My advice to my brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe is: Maintain peace and stability at all costs," Mr Mwanawasa said, AFP news agency reports.
Mr Mwanawasa said leaders must be mindful of Zimbabwe's difficulties.
"In the meantime, Sadc is there for you. This organisation is always ready to assist where it can to resolve the problems affecting member countries."
He said southern African leaders must be mindful of the difficulties that Zimbabweans were currently experiencing.
In March, Mr Mwanawasa likened the crisis in Zimbabwe to the sinking of the Titanic.
At the summit, South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to report behind closed doors on his efforts to mediate between the Zimbabwean government and opposition.
Earlier, Tomaz Salomao, executive secretary of Sadc, told a news conference that the grouping had a range of options for Zimbabwe, including a "hard line", "quiet diplomacy" or a "different" method.
A senior Zambian official said Sadc had grown tired of the deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe but he did not have a resolution, saying Mr Mbeki's progress report would determine a course of action.
Old support
But the BBC's Africa editor, Martin Plaut, says confronting Mr Mugabe goes against the grain of everything Sadc leaders hold dear.
All the leaders were given a warm welcome in Lusaka.
The policy of apartheid drove South Africans into exile in the 1960's.
Then, under Ian Smith, Rhodesia declared independence in 1965.
The liberation movements found natural homes in Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania - countries that formed the backbone of what were called the "frontline states."
Their armed wings fought shoulder-to-shoulder against the white regimes.
Rhodesian troops and South African special forces ranged across the region, killing their opponents as they went.
None of the region's leaders have forgotten this, and correspondents say Mr Mugabe used to be able to rely on the full support of his fellow leaders in southern Africa.
But the fall-out from Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis is now having a huge impact on the entire region, with increasing numbers of economic migrants fleeing Zimbabwe and settling in neighbouring countries.
Observers say there is a new mood of realism developing in the region, with Zimbabwe now seen as more than just a domestic problem.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"LOVE IS LIKE THE MEASLES,

WE ALL HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT " !

KENYA'S MEDIA IN GAGGED PROTEST !

Journalists say anonymous sources have helped expose major scandals. Kenyan journalists have staged a silent protest through the streets of the capital against a media law that would compel them to disclose their sources.
Hundreds of journalists taped their mouths and carried placards asking President Mwai Kibaki to reject it.
Kenya's attorney-general on Tuesday pledged to advise the president not to assent the proposed law passed by MPs.
Last year, a newspaper and TV station were raided in a move described as an attack on press freedom.
Armed masked policemen stormed the Standard newspaper's printing press and switched off KTN for allegedly inciting ethnic hatred.
'Harassed'
Civil society leaders and politicians have been urging the president to reject the bill which critics say plans to frustrate the media's independence.
Mr Kibaki has had an uneasy media relationship since last year's raid.
Journalists say they have in the past used their anonymous sources to expose some of the country's major scandals.
"For years journalists in Kenya have been harassed by the government and today were out to prove that those days are gone and the president has got the message," Frank Ojiambo, an editor with the Daily Nation newspaper told the BBC News website.
Some 300 journalists marched to the attorney-general's office in Nairobi's central business district and presented a memorandum to Amos Wako's representative.
They also presented a memorandum to Assistant Information Minister Koigi Wamwere in parliament.
Critics claim that the bill is not representative of parliament, as it was passed by only 29 out of 222 MPs.
The law also proposes an independent media council to arbitrate complaints against the press.
But just before the National Assembly's final vote more than a week ago, a lawmaker added a clause giving courts powers to force journalists to reveal their sources or unnamed individuals quoted in a story.
The MP, Muriuki Karue, argued that journalists often defame prominent people and the clause is ideal to protect the individuals, but has since retracted his decision.
The government is trying to push through a series of bills through the house before it dissolves in the next few weeks
On Wednesday, the parliament rejected a bill that aims to reserve 50 seats for women in the legislature.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TURKEY'S GUL VOWS SECULAR AGENDA !

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has pledged to protect and strengthen the country's secular principles if he succeeds in a fresh presidential bid.
The former Islamist sparked huge controversy and protests in a failed bid for the post earlier this year.
Critics, including the army, feared an erosion of secular values despite Mr Gul's reassurances to the contrary.
Mr Gul's AK Party dominates the Turkish parliament, which chooses the president in a run of votes starting on Monday.
"Protection of secularism is one of my basic principles," Mr Gul told a news conference on Tuesday after submitting his application to parliament.
"Nobody should worry about this."
Mr Gul said Turkey was a "democratic, secular and social state based on the rule of law", and he vowed to protect and strengthen these principles as his first priority.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says Mr Gul's comments were a clear attempt to reassure those who see him as a threat to the system.

ABDULLAH GUL
Became MP for Islamist Welfare Party in 1991
Founding member of AKP in 2001
Foreign minister since 2003, steered EU accession talks

Profile: Abdullah Gul
Press hesitant over Gul

Mr Gul's previous presidential bid triggered protests in May because of his Islamist roots.
Opponents dislike the fact that his wife wears the Muslim headscarf, which is banned in state institutions.
The failure of the bid led to an early general election, in which Mr Gul's party won a convincing victory.
Parliamentary support
Mr Gul has been meeting opposition party leaders in an attempt to gather support for his fresh bid.

PARTIES IN PARLIAMENT

AKP 341 seats
CHP 99 seats
MHP 70 seats
Kurdish MPs (DTP) 22 seats
Democratic Left Party 13 seats
Independents 4 seats
Total 550 seats

One of the main opposition parties, the MHP, has previously said it would not boycott the latest election, a move likely to ensure a quorum of two-thirds of MPs.
Mr Gul's previous bid for the presidency failed because opposition parties boycotted the two votes in April and May.
In the first and second round of voting a candidate must win a two-thirds majority to be elected - 367 votes out of the total of 550 deputies.
But in the third and fourth round only an absolute majority of 276 is required.
The AKP has 341 MPs, so its candidate would be highly likely to win any contest in a third or fourth round.
The largest opposition party, the secular centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP), confirmed after Mr Gul's announcement that it would oppose his candidacy and boycott parliament during the voting process.
The decision will not be enough to halt Mr Gul's progress unless other groups follow suit.

HAVE YOUR SAY
I believe he will be a good President as the AKP did a lot for the economy and the people of Turkey.
Mohammad Javad Malayeri, Tehran
Send us your comments

CHP leader Deniz Baykal told CNN Turk television earlier this week that Mr Gul was a "conscious member of an ideological circle" who would lead the country in a new direction.
"Turkey would become a country in which the political balances were changing very fast, in which the Middle East identity would become more pronounced," he said.
The job of president is largely ceremonial, but the incumbent has the power to veto legislative bills and government appointments.
The current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, often frustrated the government by blocking its initiatives.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUSTRALIAN TAKEN HOSTAGE IN MALI !

By Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney

Des Gregor said his kidnappers threatened him with a machete.

Farmer's ordeal

A south Australian farmer has warned of the perils of falling in love over the internet, after an online bride scam almost cost him his life.
Des Gregor, 56, has arrived back in Adelaide after being held hostage in the African nation of Mali for 12 days.
He had gone there expecting to marry a woman he had met over the internet, and pick up a US$86,000 (£43,000) dowry.
But instead he was held hostage, with his kidnappers demanding US$86,000 from him in ransom.
'Blinded by love'
Mr Gregor, a sheep farmer, set off to Mali on what he hoped would be an exotic adventure, during which he would not only meet his African bride but pocket a huge dowry in gold.
The target of his affections was a woman purportedly called Natacha, a Liberian refugee in her twenties whom he had met and fallen in love with over the internet.

Mr Gregor was picked up at the airport by men claiming to be Natacha's relatives but who turned out to be gangsters.
After taking him to a flat in the capital, Bamako, they stripped him naked, held a gun to his head and threatened to chop off his limbs with machetes.
They also demanded $86,000 as a ransom, or else he would be killed.
His relatives sounded the alarm when they started receiving strange e-mails asking for money.
At that point the Australian authorities decided to lay a trap of their own.
They managed to persuade the kidnappers that Mr Gregor could pick up the ransom money at the Canadian embassy.
It was there that he was rescued by the Australian federal police after being held for 12 days.
West African internet scams are not uncommon and many of his fellow Australians have wondered why the farmer was so easily duped.
His relatives say he was blinded by internet love.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"A FOOL ALWAYS FINDS A GREATER FOOL TO ADMIRE HIM "!

DEADLINE TO END MALAWI DEADLOCK !

Mr Mutharika's row with his former party could paralyse the country. Malawi's president has given parliament two days to agree a budget or he says he will close it down.
Bingu wa Mutharika said opposition MPs were playing "games with the lives of the people" by not meeting to seriously discuss the long-delayed budget.
President Mutharika leads a minority government after he left the party on whose ticket he was elected in 2004.
Opposition MPs are refusing to discuss the budget unless MPs who switched to the president's party are expelled.
Earlier, the finance minister told the BBC that closed-door talks between the government and opposition may be the only way to end the row over the budget.
'Irresponsible'
The government says key state services and international aid contributions are at risk if the budget is not approved.
They are the ones who are not democratic because they want to deny the whole country of development
President Bingu wa Mutharika
"I am giving them two days, and if today and tomorrow they do not start discussing seriously the budget, I am closing down parliament," Mr Mutharika said in a speech on national radio.
"I don't want anybody to say this is undemocratic. They are the ones who are not democratic because they want to deny the whole country of development," he continued.
The president reminded his listeners that the budget session had started on 21 April.
"Nearly four months discussing the budget - there's no parliament on this earth that will discuss the budget for four months. So I'm saying the opposition is irresponsible," he said.
The speaker ordered parliament to start debating the budget again on Tuesday afternoon, but only pro-government MPs have been speaking.
Analysts say the row could topple the government, which has so far insisted that the budget is approved before the question of expelling MPs is addressed.
The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Malawi says the deadlock is likely to be a cause for concern to international donors who contribute 40% of the country's budget.
'Political impasse'
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe had earlier hinted at possible talks.

"We realise as a government that there's a political impasse," he said about the six-week dispute. "Probably it would not be discussed and resolved in the chamber, it may need to be done behind doors," Mr Gondwe told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Prominent religious leaders and civil society activists have also been urging talks, our reporter says.
The political impasse began in June, when the Supreme Court ruled that the speaker of parliament can expel MPs who switch parties.
Most members of President wa Mutharika's party were elected on the ticket of the former ruling party, the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Mr Mutharika also won elections for the UDF, but left to set up the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) - accusing UDF officials of blocking his anti-corruption drive.
Analysts say should the speaker expel the floor-crossing MPs, it could take six months to organise all the by-elections which would ensue.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ALGERIA BOMB TARGETS EX-MILITANT !

A former Algerian militant leader Mustapha Kertali has been seriously wounded by a car bomb in Larba, 25km south of the capital, Algiers.
His car exploded after he had attended morning prayers at his local mosque.
Mr Kertali, who is in intensive care, worked with various armed groups during Algeria's civil insurgency until a 1999 peace accord, after which he disarmed.
He became a backer of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who granted former Islamist militants amnesty.
The BBC's Mohamed Areski Himeur in Algiers says it is not known who planted the bomb.
It may have been the work of active Islamists who consider him a traitor for giving up the fight, he says.
It could also be committed by relatives of victims of those killed during the time when he headed an armed group.
Parallel mayor
Mr Kertali became mayor of Larba in 1990 for the banned Islamic Salvation Front (Fis), which was later disbanded when the party looked set to win general elections.
Mr Kertali was a member of the Armed Islamist Group (GIA) and then went on to join the armed wing of Fis.
Our correspondent says Mr Kertali has become a well-known personality in Larba after returning to civilian life, acting as a kind of parallel mayor.
An estimated 150,000 people died in a decade of civil unrest after the elections were cancelled.
Insecurity has been increasing in Algeria, and across North Africa, since the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) re-launched itself as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb at the beginning of this year.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

RUSSIAN TRAIN DERAILED BY 'BOMB' !

Russian authorities say they are treating the derailment of a Moscow-St Petersburg express train as terrorism.
Prosecutors say an improvised explosive device caused the accident, which injured at least 60 people. More than 30 were taken to hospital.
A crater was found at the scene, in the Novgorod region. The train was on one of Russia's busiest routes.
Railway officials say 800m (yards) of track was damaged. Some people were pulled out through broken windows.
Witnesses say several carriages overturned and fallen power lines crackled overhead.
Criminal probe
The crater was 1.5m in diameter and 2kg (4.5 pounds) of explosive was used, investigators said.
It is not clear who planted the device. Chechen rebels have carried out no violent attacks outside southern Russia for at least a year.
Investigators from the Federal Security Service (FSB), as well as the prosecutor's office, are at the scene.
The driver reportedly heard a loud bang before the train derailed, at 2143 (1743 GMT) on Monday.
"A criminal case has been opened under article 205, clause 3, that is terrorism," said Sergei Bednichenko, chief prosecutor for Russia's north-west district.
The engine and 12 carriages of the train came off the rails just as it was about to cross a river bridge, Russian Railways said on its website.
The incident occurred near the village of Malaya Vishera, about 500km (310 miles) north of Moscow.
Officials say 231 tickets had been sold for the express service - meaning it was only about half-full - and there were 20 railway staff on board.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

PERILS OF A NEW PACIFIC ARMS RACE !

By Paul Burnell and Andy Denwood BBC Radio 4.

China's defence budget far exceeds official figures say US sources. From the Emperor Ming to Mao Zedong, China's military prowess has been based on large land armies.
This year China is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Peoples' Liberation Army.
But its traditional strategic thinking is undergoing a huge shift, prompting fears in the United States that China might pose a threat to American diplomatic and military power with a naval arms race in the Pacific.
The capitulation of Sadam Hussein's army in the face of a hi-tech American onslaught in Desert Storm, with land, air and sea forces enabling a rapid US advance across large areas of land, gave a fresh impetus to military modernisation, according to Christian Lemiere, China expert at Jane's Country Risk.
"China had always relied upon the idea that if attacked it had large areas of land. It could fall back with these areas but if one power is able to take that and very quickly, it rapidly negates any advantage."

China's armed forces are over two million strong.
China has been looking to match US military technology and launched an anti-satellite missile as part of this process.
Joseph Lin, a military affairs analyst with the Jamestown Foundation in Washington said this development has unnerved the Pentagon.
"The United States is heavily dependent upon satellites for all matters of communications, especially the military, which would be crippled and completely ineffectual without any sort of satellite coverage either for imaging, navigation or for communications."
At the same time, China's naval build-up has alerted American military officials to the previously unthinkable possibility that they might face competition in the Pacific Ocean, where the US has enjoyed naval dominance since the World War Two.
Richard Lawless, Deputy Undersecretary of Defence for Asia and Pacific Security Affairs, believes it is the biggest shift in the region's power balance for more than 60 years.
And he is especially concerned with the development of new classes of submarine, including two of them nuclear: one an attack submarine class, the other a ballistic missile submarine. Since 2000 China's official military budget has leaped from $15bn to $45bn.
Some US estimates say these figures exclude a range of defence-related outlays such as arms purchases from abroad and put the true figure for China's annual military spending at up to $122bn.
Deterrence tactic
Professor Yan Xuetong, director of the International Studies Institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and an analyst whose voice is heard by Chinese and American decision makers, said China needs submarines to deter the US Navy.
"Every major power when they increase the military budget will bring about this kind of suspicion," he added.
China's official pronouncements stress a commitment to "peaceful development".
Prof Ne Lex Yong, of Shanghai Normal University is an influential advocate of building up China's navy for economic security.

More than 80% of the imported oil which fuels China's economy has to pass through the narrow Straits of Malacca.
"A country that depends on sea-trading faces the greatest threat to its survival in areas outside its own borders. Because of this, we need to have a stronger navy to protect our trading interests."
Some Chinese observers feel their vulnerability is most clearly demonstrated by "the Malacca Dilemma."
More than 80% of the imported oil which fuels China's expanding economy has to pass through the narrow Straits of Malacca which link the Indian and Pacific oceans.
One school of thought in Beijing worries that if relations with the US were to break down, Washington might block the Straits and cut off its oil.
Others warn that developing a much more powerful Chinese navy capable of keeping the oil flowing might unnecessarily provoke America.
Professor Zha Daojiong, director of the Centre for International Energy Security at Renmin University, concedes that opinion is divided.
But he is not convinced by the blockade threat, pointing out that this would also hit supplies to American regional allies like Japan and Korea.
Nonetheless, China's navy is growing, with the acquisition of new missile destroyers and submarines.
This process is sparking a new arms race in the Pacific, according to naval expert Paul Kennedy, Professor of History at Yale University.
"When I was in South Korea recently I quizzed the Naval Ministry about the construction of some very large, 7000 ton missile guided destroyers. They said: 'Well look at how many destroyers Japan is building', and if you ask the Japanese Navy they would say: 'Well look how many destroyers China is building.'"
Dr John Chipman, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Japan - China's historic enemy - is also quietly strengthening its navy, which will soon be larger than Britain's Royal Navy.
This naval build-up is fuelling the debate in Washington about how the US should respond to China.
One side, seizing on Pentagon warnings, argues that the United States needs to act decisively to halt the rise of the "China threat."
Rick Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Centre, said: "The United States has a period in which it can expand upon its current military technical superiority and form a kind of hard basis for deterring conflict, but that requires that the United States understands that we're now in an arms race.

China says its navy is needed to protect trade interests.
"The United States must invest especially in the technologies and in the science that will allow us to maintain the superiority that will impress the communist leadership in Beijing that wars are futile."
But others, like Congressman Adam Smith from Washington state, argue the danger is that the United States will create an enemy and talk itself into another Cold War. "I see no reason that we need to view them as a military threat and to get involved in an arms race build up."
A concerned Pentagon, however, made its anxieties clear to the US Congress this spring in its latest report on China's military capabilities.

The US still has overwhelming naval superiority.
No official Chinese government spokesman accepted the BBC's invitation for an interview.
However, earlier this summer, Lieutenant General Zhang Qinsheng, a senior general in the Peoples' Liberation Army responded to American anxieties at an international conference in Singapore.
He said the Pentagon report was unreliable, a product of "the Cold War mindset" and detrimental to China-US relations.
IISS director John Chipman, who chaired the conference said: "I think the majority of people in the conference were reassured by his attempt to demonstrate that Chinese defence expenditure was uniquely for self-defence, but the same majority were also certain that increased Chinese force projection capabilities ... would help China to confront - if it ever came to that - larger navies around the region which would include the United States."

BBC NEWS REPORT.
You can find out more by listening to The Shadow Of The Dragon - China And The New Arms Race: Tuesday 14 August 2007 2000 BST, BBC Radio 4, repeated Sunday 19 August 2007 1700 BST.

WHAT NEXT FOR CHAOTIC ZIMBABWE?

By Grant Ferrett BBC News, South Africa.

The gaping holes in the security fence between Zimbabwe and South Africa give a hint of the determination of many Zimbabweans to leave their country.
Many observers think that Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, has too much power.
During a late-night drive I spotted 12 holes along one 10-metre stretch alone.
As fast as the South Africans repair the fence, new holes are cut.
One estimate suggests that three million Zimbabweans have fled across the border in recent years.
One illegal Zimbabwean migrant, Christopher, explained to me how so many people manage to breach border security.
When he decided to leave several years ago, he phoned a contact in South Africa who cut the fence to order for a fee of 50 rand (about US$7) and provided transport for an extra fee.
He said those who are caught by the South African authorities and deported often try to cross the border illegally again on the same day.
"The government of Zimbabwe is not looking after people. It's beating people, it's shooting people," says Christopher.
"There's no law in Zimbabwe. The law is for the president only."
New constitution
In the space of just seven years, Zimbabwe has managed to transform itself from one of Africa's most stable and prosperous countries to one of its poorest and most chaotic.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Those who call themselves super powers must be ashamed -Mututa Jammy, Kampala.
Send us your comments

Inflation is the highest in the world (the government has stopped publishing the figures) and millions are expected to need food aid in the coming year.
How might the trend be reversed?
The root of the problem is, according to many observers, the concentration of too much power in the hands of President Mugabe.
Repeated constitutional amendments since Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980 have had the effect, in the words of the opposition faction leader, Arthur Mutambara, of allowing Mr Mugabe and his party to "get away with murder."
The solution, in theory at least, is equally clear. Zimbabwe needs a new constitution.
It should, according to Trevor Ncube, a Zimbabwean newspaper publisher now based in Johannesburg, envisage "a Zimbabwe that gives all its citizens a stake in society, rather than one which is dominated by a clique that is pillaging the country."
The apparently simple solution also requires free and fair elections (voting is due to take place by March next year), the formation of a government which reflects the views of the majority and the replacement of 83-year-old Mr Mugabe.

More Zimbabweans are fleeing illegally in search of better lives.
Zimbabwe's former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who is now a strident critic of the government, says this last point is not sufficient to end Zimbabwe's crisis, but is absolutely necessary.
"Obviously there'll be no solution as long as Robert Mugabe remains in power," he said.
"For most Zimbabweans, the situation is a living hell, and he is the biggest part of the problem."
Only once the political problems have been resolved will Zimbabwe's economy be brought back under control.
Economists say Zimbabwe either has to kick its habit of printing money, or should abandon its own currency altogether in favour of the South African rand or the US dollar.
At the same time, several billion dollars in international aid would be needed to stabilise the economy.
And many of those millions of Zimbabweans who have fled abroad could play a key role in rebuilding if they were to return.
In denial
Even so, it could take many years for the country to return to its previous position of relative prosperity.
Sultan Barakat of the Centre for Post-War Reconstruction and Development at York University says the trick is to capture as much international attention and resources as possible within the first three or four years of any transition, before the rest of the world loses interest.

With inflation the highest in the world, Zimbabwe will require millions in food aid this year
What remains frustratingly unclear, though, is how to reach the point at which this advice can be implemented.
The opposition is weak and divided. Mr Mugabe's determination to remain in office appears undiminished.
His party has become factionalised and has failed to coalesce around a single, alternative candidate.
Nor does the government even acknowledge, in public at least, the scale of the current problems.
Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the BBC: "Really, the Zimbabwean people are a happy lot, and that's why you don't see any demonstrations.
"Zimbabwe is opening up and the people are responding positively. They see opportunities. Zimbabwe is on course to become the Singapore of Africa."
Zimbabwe's crisis could continue for a considerable time yet, according to some observers, as more and more people are driven from the cash economy back to subsistence.
Daniel Makina, a Zimbabwean finance professor at the University of South Africa, laments the tendency of his compatriots to "normalise the abnormal."
He believes they have become so wrapped up in the struggle for daily survival that they have lost the long-term view necessary to help rebuild their country.
If he is right, Zimbabwe could be drifting ever further from resolving its problems.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CALL TO DEPLOY ZIMBABWE MONITORS !

By Peter Biles BBC News, Johannesburg.

Mr Mugabe has accused the opposition of provoking violence. A leading human rights group has urged southern African countries to deploy monitors in Zimbabwe.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Zimbabwe's government of state brutality in a new report.
Southern African leaders will meet in Zambia this week for a summit expected to discuss the continuing political and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe.
HRW says the leaders must take strong and effective action to deal with one of the region's gravest crises.
Torture claims
It says leaders should insist on tangible improvements in the human rights situation, and it warns that the credibility of the regional grouping - the Southern African Development Community - is on the line.
HRW recommends that as a first step, human rights monitors should be deployed in Zimbabwe.
Human Rights Watch says the government of Zimbabwe has used physical attacks and torture against its critics, but at the last meeting of Southern African leaders in March, there was a failure to mention the arrest and beating of opposition and civil society members.
In the past, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has accused the opposition of launching a campaign of violence and of attacking the police.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HUNT FOR KENYA MUDSLIDE VICTIMS !

District officials are searching for survivors and bodies buried in mud by a number of landslides in a village in western Kenya.
Police say 13 people are believed to have been buried and killed in Saturday's slides, but residents say the real figure may be more than 20.
Some of the victims were swept away by a second mudslide, while digging to try to find those buried by the first.
Officials evacuated the village on Sunday, fearing it might happen again.
"We have evacuated people from the area because there is a risk of another landslide," said Peter Kavila, a western provincial police officer.
"We advise people to stay away from the area and let experts embark on search and rescue," he said, according to the Associated Press.
A Red Cross spokesman said 39 people were injured and several homes destroyed in Saturday's landslides near Malava, about 600km (375 miles) from the capital, Nairobi.
The spokesman said there was little chance of finding any survivors.
A local man described how the first landslide struck while people slept.
"We heard screaming last night, we rushed here and we started to look for the people who were missing, they were three we knew of, but we have only found one," he said.
"The people who were helping with the rescue also got covered in the landslide at around 1230 pm," he added.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WORKERS 'STRESSED OUT' BY E-MAILS !

More than a third of workers say they feel "stressed out" by the number of e-mails they receive in the office and the pressure to respond promptly.
Scottish research found some workers are viewing their inbox up to 40 times each hour, leaving them tired and frustrated - as well as unproductive.
According to the survey, females felt particularly hard-hit by the deluge.
Internet psychologists said people should relax, and not take their work quite so seriously.
"If you think about the e-mails you receive, how many of them need a reply instantly?" said Graham Jones.
"How many of those e-mails that you send need to go exactly right now? Probably very, very few indeed."
Check less
Only 38% of workers were apparently relaxed enough to wait a day or longer before replying to an e-mail, according to the study of 200 people carried out at Glasgow and Paisley universities.
E-mail is the thing that now causes the most problems in our working lives
Karen RenaudGlasgow University
"E-mail is the thing that now causes the most problems in our working lives," said lead researcher Karen Renaud, a computer scientist.
"It's an amazing tool but it's got out of hand."
Experts suggest a simple stress-beating strategy: check your e-mail less often.
The advice is to set aside two or three dedicated e-mail reading times each day.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WAR CRIMES 'RAMPANT' IN SOMALIA "

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991. All sides have committed war crimes in Somalia's conflict this year, according to lobby group Human Rights Watch.
It says the worst abuses have been by Ethiopian soldiers, who are supporting the government against insurgents.
Ethiopians have often indiscriminately attacked civilian areas and looted hospitals, its report says.
While insurgents have fired mortars into residential areas and executed civilians, since Islamists were driven from power in Mogadishu last December.
Both Ethiopia and the Somali government have denied the claims, reports Reuters news agency.
In the latest violence, at least five people have been killed in two separate incidents in the Somali capital.
More than 1,000 people were killed this year in the heaviest fighting since 1991, as Ethiopian and government troops tried to drive the insurgents out of Mogadishu.
"The insurgency placed civilians at grave risk by deploying among them," said Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth.
"But that is no justification for Ethiopia's calculated shelling and rocketing of whole neighborhoods."
The UN Security council's indifference to this crisis has only added to the tragedy
Ken Roth, HRW"Commanders who knowingly or recklessly order indiscriminate attacks are responsible for war crimes," the report said.
But these charges were denied by Ethiopia.
"As usual, Human Rights Watch is engaged in its now well-known fabrication, and in misinforming the world in unsubstantiated fairy-tales," Bereket Simon, special adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told Reuters.
Somali government troops played a "secondary" role, backing up the Ethiopians but failed to help civilians, said the report - Shell-Shocked: Civilians Under Siege in Mogadishu.
Somali government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon told Reuters the government's only goal was "to restore sanity" not "massacre its own people".
A bomb apparently intended for a military convoy hit a public minibus, killing at least three people in Mogadishu's southern K4 district.
In the north-eastern Huriwaa area, a hand grenade was thrown at police, who responded with gunfire, leaving at least two dead.

Civilians are often caught in the crossfire. The UN says some 400,000 people have fled the violence in Mogadishu in the past four months.
HRW says the international community has ignored the suffering in Somalia.
"The UN Security council's indifference to this crisis has only added to the tragedy," said Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth.
Mr Roth urged the Security Council to make strong provisions to protect civilians when it discusses proposals to turn the 1,500 strong African Union force into a UN peacekeeping mission.
Since the end of the April offensive, insurgents have continued to stage deadly attacks on an almost daily basis.
Over the weekend, two prominent journalists were killed.
Some 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers are in Somalia but they have failed to end the violence.
A reconciliation conference is under way in Mogadishu but Islamists and the city's clan elders have refused to attend unless the Ethiopians leave the country.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME

ARE NOT MADE BY SITTING DOWN " !

DARFUR FORCE 'TO BE ALL-AFRICAN' !

African Union soldiers already in Darfur will be joined by new troops. Africa will provide all of the 26,000 peacekeepers to be sent to Sudan's Darfur region, the head of the African Union (AU) has said.
AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said enough African troops had been promised for no outside help to be needed but he did not give details.
The UN had expected to call on Asian troops. Critics say Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force.
Sudan's government has long opposed the involvement of non-African soldiers.
It only agreed to a joint United Nations-AU force after months of negotiations.
The UN Security Council resolution setting up the force said the troops would be mostly African but they would be under UN command.
Viable plan?
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that while there may be enough AU troops for the force, it was important to get the right mix of abilities on the ground.
"It's not simply a question of raw numbers of troops - we¿re trying to find a good mix of skills," he told the BBC News website.
"We're looking to make sure this force is robust, it's mobile, it's well-armed and equipped, so that it can carry out the full mandate that it needs to perform."
Speaking after talks in Khartoum with the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Mr Konare said: "I can confirm today that we have received sufficient commitments from African countries that we will not have to resort to non-African forces."
He added that the "ball is now in the court of the UN" to provide funding for the force.
PROMISED PEACEKEEPERS

7,000 - existing AU force
1,000 - pledged by Senegal
800 - pledged by Malawi
Other pledges:
Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Egypt
Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh
26,000 - total planned

Africa's Darfur bombshell

Mr Bashir, who has long argued that a UN-backed force would be a violation of Sudan's sovereignty and could worsen the situation there, backed Mr Konare's plan.
"[We] support the AU force, which consolidates the efforts of the Sudanese government to ensure security, peace and stability in Darfur," he said after their meeting.
Mr Konare did not give a breakdown of the countries offering to supply more personnel, leading correspondents to question the viability of an all-African force.
BBC Africa analyst David Bamford said it was unclear where so many African troops would come from.
Senegal and Malawi have promised to send peacekeepers to Darfur, while the AU has said that Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria have also promised to contribute.
Hafiz Mohamed from lobby group Justice Africa said Sudan would be able to manipulate AU troops - as he said they had been doing with the 7,000 AU troops already in Darfur.
"This will affect the whole credibility of the new resolution," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Deadline looming
Mr Konare's announcement came just days after the UN published a list of Asian countries it said had already committed troops and police officers to a Darfur force.

Some two million people have fled their homes to displacement campsUN officials said the joint AU-UN force would be "predominantly African", but confirmed that countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh had pledged personnel.
According to a UN resolution, the composition of the force must be decided by 30 August.
At least 200,000 people are believed to have died and more than two million have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003.
Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias, are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population - although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
Sudan has always denied backing the Janjaweed militias and argued that the problems in Darfur were being exaggerated for political reasons.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Russian and American pilots exchange smiles when encroaching on each others' territories.
More details

2. Mahjong can trigger epileptic seizures.
More details

3. Dr Debby Reynolds, chief vet, is a vegetarian.

4. President George W Bush has fitness levels in the top 3% of the US population.

5. There are dogs with two noses.
More details

6. There have been at least two children given the name "Superman" in the UK since 1984.
More details

7. The world's tallest man is 8ft 5in Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk
.More details

8. The clock faces on Big Ben/the Palace of Westminster clock tower are cleaned every five years by abseilers
.More details

9. Bill Murray's sister Nancy is a nun who acts.

10. When bits of glaciers break off, it is know as "calving".

BBC MAGAZINE

AWARD FOR ANTI-MUTILATION CHARITY !

By David Bamford - BBC News Africa editor.

Female circumcision is widespread in many parts of Africa. An West African aid group campaigning to abolish female genital mutilation has been awarded the world's biggest prize for humanitarian work.
The Tostan organisation, based in Senegal, has been chosen for the Hilton Prize, worth $1.5m (£740,000)
The organisation uses traditional song, poetry, theatre and dance to educate people in West African villages about the dangers of genital mutilation.
Prize judges said Tostan had nurtured new ways of dealing with the issue.
Tostan's 400 staff are mostly African workers.
Their grassroots approach has been key to dealing sensitively with an issue that involves convincing traditional communities they should move away from a long-maintained yet cruel cultural practice.
The Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, one of the Hilton prize jurors, said that Tostan's founder in Senegal, American-born Molly Melching, had nurtured a fresh approach by persuading a critical proportion of the population to agree with you and then act in unison.
The name Tostan is from the local Wolof language, meaning "breakthrough".
The prize is awarded annually by a foundation set up by the hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

IRAQI PM CALLS FOR CRISIS SUMMIT !

Nouri Maliki has been severely weakened as ministers have quit. Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, has called for a summit of the nation's main political factions in an attempt to break Iraq's political paralysis.
In recent weeks almost all Sunni members of the cabinet have quit. Others are boycotting meetings, leaving at least 17 cabinet seats empty.
Many of them have accused Mr Maliki of sidelining them.
A BBC correspondent says the crisis is worrying for the US, which wants to see progress before withdrawing troops.
"I have called the political leaders for a meeting to discuss the main issues in the political process. The first meeting may happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," Mr Maliki announced on Sunday.
A senior Kurdish leader, Massoud Barzani, has already arrived in Baghdad for the talks.
It is expected he will play a key role in the negotiations, says the BBC's Richard Galpin in Baghdad.
In particular he will try to get the Sunni parties to decide whether to rejoin the government or go into opposition.
Coalition weakened
Many Iraqi MPs are not in the Iraqi capital at present because parliament is in its summer recess, which does not end until next month.
Mr Maliki has been unable to push forward with his plans for national reconciliation without the support of the country's various factions.
His shaky coalition has been weakened by the withdrawal of the main Sunni bloc, the Accordance Front, and Shia followers of cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Last week another five ministers, loyal to former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, began a boycott.
The United Nations Security Council last week approved an expansion of the UN's role in Iraq.
The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he hoped international mediators could play a positive role in facilitating dialogue between rival factions in Iraq.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

APARTHEID CRIMES DILEMMA HAUNTS S.A.

By Peter Biles BBC News, Pretoria.

In the 1990s, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, granted amnesties to some of the perpetrators of violence and human rights abuses in apartheid-era South Africa. Years later some of those involved may finally face prosecution. Amnesties were given to Mr Vlok and other apartheid-era ministers.

The Union Buildings in Pretoria are, without doubt, an architectural gem. I adore the light sandstone, the terracotta roof tiles and the cool passageways of this elegant structure which has been the seat of government since 1910. This was where Nelson Mandela stood on the day of his presidential inauguration in 1994. More recently, the Union Buildings were the setting for one of the most extraordinary acts of contrition which South Africa has seen.

Last year, a man called Adriaan Vlok - who had been South Africa's law and order minister in the late 1980s - came to the Union Buildings to offer an apology to the Reverend Frank Chikane, the director-general of the presidency. Mr Vlok climbed the steps of the West Wing and made his way to the Rev Chikane's office at the far end of the ground floor. Once inside, he produced an inscribed bible, handed it to Frank Chikane and pleaded for forgiveness. Then Adriaan Vlok opened his bag again, took out a bowl and two towels and insisted on washing Mr Chikane's feet.

In 1989, the Rev Chikane had been head of the South African Council of Churches and a leading anti-apartheid activist. He had also been the victim of a bizarre assassination attempt by the apartheid state, in which his underwear was impregnated with poison, causing him to become violently ill. Adriaan Vlok and Frank Chikane have made peace with one another. Mr Vlok has even been to preach in the Rev Chikane's church in Soweto.

Frank Chikane comes across as a gentle and honest man and in that same office at the Union Buildings, he told me he bore no vengeance or bitterness towards anyone - the politicians, the police or the scientists who might have been involved in the plot to kill him 18 years ago. But Frank Chikane says he is powerless to protect Adriaan Vlok from prosecution. The former minister is about to appear in court, along with a former police chief, Johann Van Der Merwe, charged with Mr Chikane's attempted murder. Frank Chikane says the "prosecution" of Mr Vlok and others should not be interpreted as "persecution". It is for their own good, he insists, to ensure that the matter is dealt with by the courts once and for all and not resurrected in 20 years' time.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was supposed to have investigated all these matters a decade ago. Adriaan Vlok was, in fact, the highest-ranking member of the old regime to apply for amnesty for crimes committed by the state. But he only sought amnesty, and was granted it, for ordering the 1988 bombing of Khotso House - the offices of the Council of Churches. The issue of poisoning Frank Chikane did not arise when Mr Vlok appeared before the Truth Commission.

Of course, many secrets of the apartheid era remain hidden and much evidence was shredded and destroyed in the early 1990s when South Africa was undergoing its political transition. Plenty of people never sought amnesty for their crimes and senior figures - notably the former President, the late P W Botha - wanted nothing to do with the Truth Commission. The move all these years later by the National Prosecuting Authority to charge people is seen by some as a witch hunt. The government is adamant that it is not. But South Africa's last white president, FW De Klerk, is clearly uneasy that he could be implicated in some way. He says if prosecutions go ahead then they should be even-handed. That means he wants to see senior figures in the ruling African National Congress prosecuted, if they did not apply for amnesty.

So too does Dirk Van Eck who lost his wife and two children in an ANC landmine attack near the country's northern border in 1985. If there are to be prosecutions, he says, then ANC leaders must face them as well. So what are we to make of reconciliation in South Africa in this second decade of the post-apartheid era? Ex president F W De Klerk began dismantling apartheid in 1990Mr De Klerk believes reconciliation is more developed than is generally acknowledged.

My overall sense is that there is little stomach for digging over the past. People do want to move on. But for those who were victims of apartheid-era atrocities, or knew people who were, then there is a natural desire to find out the truth about all that happened. A former Truth Commission investigator says he is surprised that there is relatively little interest from South African students and researchers about the recent past. By contrast, he says, overseas post-graduate scholars come here in droves on a quest to learn more.

Perhaps the next generation of South Africans - in 20 or 30 years' time - will finally confront the apartheid era, but by then, it is unlikely the principal characters will still be around.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday 11 August, 2007 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

Message sending failed!

Saturday 11th August 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

At the beginning of August the Interception of Communications Act was signed into law and the government of Zimbabwe can now legally intercept emails and faxes, listen to telephone conversations and open and read letters. At a time when there is no fuel to buy at petrol stations and almost no public transport on the roads, just getting to the local Post Office has become a major outing for most people. Sending a simple fax has become a joke and it often takes thirty or forty attempts to connect to a telephone number and even then success is not guaranteed. Sending SMS/text messages is a mission of major proportions and requires the patience of a Saint as scores of times in a row the words flick up:" Message sending failed" until eventually you give up in disgust. Then we get to the aspects of communications that require electricity and the joke of the Interception Act gets even funnier. This week the electricity cuts in my home town have been so bad that they've lasted for 18 hours a day, starting at 4 am in the morning and going on until 10 pm at night. And so, all things considered,you have to wonder just exactly what it is our government thinks we are saying to each other and how we are finding the time or means to say it.

Most people I've met this week are walking around like zombies. We are utterly exhausted as the simplest of daily chores require great ingenuity, considerable amounts of time and vast amounts of energy. People everywhere relate the absurd, upside down routine that has become life here. Cooking outside on open fires. Doing washing in the middle of the night if you're lucky enough to have both water and electricity on at the same time. Ironing clothes at midnight after frantically rushing around plugging in and recharging batteries, torches, cell phones, fridges and deep freezes and hoping the power stays on long enough to store energy for another 24 hours. In the rare times when the electricity is on people are doing things to physically survive and frankly communication is not one of them. Everyone knows this is a completely unsustainable situation that now prevails in the country with no food to buy, no fuel for transport, very little water and even less electricity and it has become a question of remaining alert and focused and trying to stay positive.

This week, tired as we are, the sheer beauty of spring in Zimbabwe, is reason enough to be positive. The Msasa trees have begun displaying their new leaves and the crowns of red and their promise of new life are a real delight. The Mahobohobo trees are crowded with golden fruits and the wild orange trees are weighted down with their great green cricket balls, soon to ripen and at least give food to people who have nothing. Conducting an errand by bicycle this week I came across five young children dragging tree branches across a dirt road back to their homes in a high density suburb. The kids paused from the heavy chore for a minute and stared open mouthed as I passed. "How are you?" I called out and as always this standard greeting led to a chorus of echoes from them and then great gleeful giggling. Later when I got home and was tending a pot of soup over a smoky fire I looked up and saw my latest distraction. A red headed weaver is building a nest on the telephone line against the wall of my house. I can't help but wonder what this will do to the intercepting of my communications and watched in amazement as the female weaver arrived. After just three days the skeleton of the nest is built and is obviously strong enough to hold her. The female weaver sat herself down in the sticks and leaf midribs as the red headed male spent the next hour going backwards and forwards busily constructing the house around her. Zimbabwe is a country so rich and yet so poor but surely soon we will turn the corner.

Until next week, love cathy.

ISLAMISTS URGE CALIPHATE REVIVAL !

Some 80,000 Islamists have met in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to press for the re-establishment of a caliphate across the Muslim world.
The Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir - which organised the conference - said it had been the largest gathering of Muslim activists from around the world.
However, the group is illegal in many countries and key speakers have been stopped from entering Indonesia.
A caliphate - or single state for Muslims - last existed in 1924.
Hizb ut-Tahrir regards this as the ideal form of government, because it follows what it believes are the laws of God as set out in the Koran, rather than laws designed by man.
The groups says it seeks to set up a caliphate by non-violent means - but many experts see it as ideologically close to jihadist groups.
It is banned in most of the Middle East and parts of Europe.

HIZB UT-TAHRIR
Founded in the 1950s by Palestinian jurist Taqiuddin an-Nabhani
Active across the Middle East, central and south-east Asia and, increasingly, Europe
Seeks a caliphate, or single state, across the Muslim world
Banned in most Middle-Eastern countries

Q&A: Hizb ut-Tahrir

The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta says that of the estimated 80,000 people packing the stadium hired for the event, the overwhelming majority were women, who have travelled from across Indonesia to attend.
If the audience turnout was impressive, not so the speakers lined up to address the crowd, our correspondent adds.
One by one, over the past few days, seven of the delegates invited to speak have dropped out.
Barred
Hizb ut-Tahrir says at least two of its foreign activists - one from Britain and another from Australia - were barred by the Indonesian government.

Key speakers were barred from travelling to Indonesia. The group's spokesman Muhammad Ismail Yusanto said: "The organising committee deplores the deportation because they came to Indonesia... to give their good advice for the progress of Islam, for the progress of this country."
Controversial Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was also scheduled to address the conference, but organisers asked him not to attend after police raised security concerns.
Hizb ut-Tahrir - or Liberation Party - was founded in Jerusalem in the 1950s by Palestinian religious scholar Taqiuddin an-Nabhani.
Today it has a mainly clandestine following in the Middle East, a large presence in Central Asia - where hundreds of its members have been jailed - and active supporters in the West, including London, which is believed to be one of its main bases.
Many experts see it as ideologically close to jihadist groups, and suspect its commitment to peaceful means is purely tactical.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

" SAYINGS "

"TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS,

WE MUST LIVE AS THOUGH

WE WERE NEVER GOING TO DIE" !

ARCTIC NEIGHBOURS DRAW UP BATTLE LINES!

By Lee Carter BBC News, Toronto

The Russians hope their submarines will prove their claim. The Arctic is one of the world's most remote, pristine and for most people, inhospitable parts of the world. But in recent years, there has been intense interest in the region from the countries that border it.
No-one knows for certain, but it is strongly suspected that the seabed below the Arctic Ocean contains vast deposits of oil, minerals and natural gas.
Last week crews aboard Russian submarines, explored and mapped out part of the Lomonosov Ridge which Moscow says extends from Russia's continental shelf.
For good measure one crew took a diversion below the North Pole and in a gesture that made headlines across the world, dropped a Russian flag on the ocean floor.

See a detailed map of the region

The Canadian government was not amused by the Russian action, prompting the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay to comment.
"You can't go around the world these days dropping flags somewhere. This isn't the 14th or 15th Century. They're fooling themselves." Mr Mackay said, adding that there was "no question" that the waters belonged to Canada.
The tit-for-tat also gave Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent three day visit to the Arctic, a new sense of urgency.
Politicians in Russia or Canada can never lose domestically by standing up for sovereignty in the Arctic
Professor Michael Byers, University of British Columbia
"Canada has taken its sovereignty too lightly for too long. This government has put a big emphasis on reinforcing and strengthening our sovereignty in the Arctic," Mr Harper declared as he toured the region.
The rhetoric may be bullish, but Canada's claims to Arctic sovereignty are by no means clear cut.
UN control
Jurisdiction over the seabed of the Arctic Ocean is regulated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ratified by Russia, Canada and Denmark. It is widely expected that the United States will ratify within the next year.
The future status of the region's ocean floor will be determined on the basis of scientific evidence that demonstrates whether or not the seabed is an extension of a claiming country's continental shelf.
Michael Byers is a professor of international law at the University of British Columbia. He says that the Russian submarine mission was a legitimate research project to collect seismic data to bolster their claim to an area off the Lomonosov Ridge.

The Arctic Ocean is believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves.

Danish North Pole mission

"The Russians are fully committed, at a political and scientific level, to filing a comprehensive scientific claim, with the United Nations. They're perfectly entitled to do so, in fact I think we should celebrate that they're working within the framework of international law," he said.
Professor Byers acknowledges that the Russian crew's diversionary flag-planting incident was little more than a publicity stunt, but says that Canadian politicians are also guilty of posturing for domestic consumption.
"Politicians in Russia or Canada can never lose domestically by standing up for sovereignty in the Arctic. But underlying all of the rhetoric is the very important fact that all of the Arctic countries are working within a legal framework."
Vital strait
Experts believe that no one country will gain control over the disputed region of the Arctic near the North Pole and that any future agreement will simply set boundaries, especially in areas where there is some overlap in claims.
But the North Pole is not the only region of the Arctic where Canada has a fight on its hands. Melting ice, has led to the gradual opening up of the fabled Northwest Passage which may one day link up the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Canada has always assumed that the passage is theirs but the United States says it regards the waterway as an international strait.
The dispute is one of the only recent sources of tension between the normally close allies. Most of Mr Harper's tour of the Arctic was focussed on the strait, in particular his announcement that a winter warfare military school for Canada's armed forces will be built at a point about mid-way along the passage.
Missing from this debate has been the question of how environmentally desirable exploiting the Arctic and its resources will be.
The irony that global warming may have created the melting ice along the Northwest Passage has not been lost on some observers, especially the indigenous groups living in Canada's north .
But with Denmark the latest country to announce that it is sending its own team of scientists to the region, there seems no end to the international scramble for one of the last relatively untouched parts of the world.

RUSSIA'S ARCTIC CLAIM

1) North Pole: Russia leaves its flag on the seabed, 4,000m (13,100ft) beneath the surface, as part of its claims for oil and gas reserves.

2) Lomonosov Ridge: Russia argues that this underwater feature is an extension of its continental territory and is looking for evidence.

3) 200-nautical mile (370km) line: Shows how far countries' agreed economic area extends beyond their coastline. Often set from outlying islands.

4) Russian-claimed territory: The bid to claim a vast area is being closely watched by other countries. Some could follow suit.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

BOMB KILLS SOUTHERN IRAQ GOVERNOR !

A powerful roadside bomb has killed t