WEST 'EMBRACES SHAM DEMOCRACIES ' !

The US, EU and other democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections out of political expediency, Human Rights Watch says in its annual report. Allowing autocrats to pose as democrats without demanding they uphold civil and political rights risked undermining human rights worldwide, it warned. HRW said Pakistan, Thailand, Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Kenya and Russia had been falsely claiming to be democratic.

The World Report 2008 summarises human rights issues in more than 75 nations. In the report, HRW said established democracies such as the US and members of the European Union were increasingly tolerating autocrats "claiming the mantle of democracy". "In 2007 too many governments, including Bahrain, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia and Thailand, acted as if simply holding a vote is enough to prove a nation 'democratic', and Washington, Brussels and European capitals played along," it said.

"The Bush administration has spoken of its commitment to democracy abroad but often kept silent about the need for all governments to respect human rights." HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth said it had become too easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy "because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that".

ELECTORAL MANIPULATION
Outright fraud: Chad, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Uzbekistan
Control of electoral machinery: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Malaysia, Thailand, Zimbabwe
Interfering with opposition candidates: Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Libya, Turkmenistan, Uganda
Political violence: Cambodia, Congo, Ethiopia, Lebanon
Stifling the media and civil society: Russia, Tunisia
Undermining the law: China, Pakistan
Source: Human Rights Watch

"They don't press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function - a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power," he added. HRW said the West was often unwilling to criticise the autocrats for fear of losing access to resources or commercial opportunities, or because of the perceived requirements of fighting terrorism. "It seems Washington and European governments will accept even the most dubious election so long as the 'victor' is a strategic or commercial ally," Mr Roth said.

HRW highlighted Pakistan as an example. It said the US and UK, its largest aid donors, had refused to distance themselves from President Pervez Musharraf, despite his "tilting the electoral playing field" by rewriting the constitution and firing the independent judiciary ahead of February's election.

It also argued that Washington's acceptance of the result of the Nigerian election in February 2007, "despite widespread and credible accusations of poll-rigging and electoral violence", had encouraged the Kenyan government to believe that fraud would be tolerated in December's presidential poll.

And it said the US and some allies like Britain and France had made it harder to demand other countries uphold human rights by committing abuses themselves in the "war on terror".

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other European leaders were criticised for their reluctance to allow Turkey to join the EU, despite its improved human rights record. HRW said the EU "lost leverage itself and diminished the clout of those in Turkey who have cited the prospect of EU membership as a reason for reform".

Among the countries where the watchdog said human rights atrocities had been committed were Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Sudan.

Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam were criticised for severe repression and closed societies.

When asked about the claims made by HRW, US state department spokesman Sean McCormack said he had not seen the report, but insisted his country did not promote false democracy and condone human rights abuses. "In terms of the United States and this administration speaking up in defence of, and advocating for, and putting its effort behind its rhetoric, I don't think there's any question about where we stand in terms of promotion of democracy," he told reporters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

PIRATE BAY HIT WITH LEGAL ACTION!

Four men who run one of the most popular file-sharing sites in the world have been charged with conspiracy to break copyright law in Sweden. The Pirate Bay's servers do not store copyrighted material but offer links to the download location of films, TV programmes, albums and software. The website is said to have between 10 and 15 million users around the world and is supported by online advertising.

Police seized computers in May 2006, temporarily shutting down the website. According to the Pirate Bay website, its users are currently downloading close to a million files. "The operation of The Pirate Bay is financed through advertising revenues. In that way it commercially exploits copywrite-protected work and performances," prosecutor Hakan Roswall said in a statement.

In an interview with the BBC's technology programme Click last year Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde said: "I think it's okay to copy. The other three men facing charges are Carl Lundstrom, Frederik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg. If convicted, the four men could face a maximum of two years in prison.

The Swedish prosecutor listed dozens of works that had been downloaded through The Pirate Bay site, including The Beatles' Let It Be, Robbie Williams' Intensive Care and the movie Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire. Plaintiffs in the case include Warner, MGM, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox Films, Sony BMG, Universal and EMI.

John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of global music body, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries, said: "The operators of The Pirate Bay have always been interested in making money, not music.

"The Pirate Bay has managed to make Sweden, normally the most law abiding of EU countries, look like a piracy haven with intellectual property laws on a par with Russia."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

JAPANESE HUNTERS RESUME WHALING!

Japan's Antarctic fleet has resumed whaling after anti-hunt activists suspended their pursuit of the vessels in the Southern Ocean to refuel. Media reports say an Australian customs vessel saw five whales being harpooned and hauled on to a Japanese ship. The Japanese fleet had stopped hunting for three weeks while it was pursued in Antarctic waters by the campaigners.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith held talks with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo on the issue. A ministry spokesman said Mr Smith had "expressed disappointment that whaling had resumed in the Southern Ocean". He also "conveyed the Australian government's strongly held view that Japan's whaling programme should cease". But the two had "agreed to disagree" on whaling.

Before the meeting, Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters the issue would "inevitably" be raised. "Minister Smith may bring up the whaling issue or I may bring up the harassment issue," he told reporters.

Australia has declared a whale sanctuary in parts of the Southern Ocean where the Japanese fleet has been, but Japan does not accept Canberra's authority. As the protesters left the scene, a member of the Sea Shepherd group vowed to come back and continue harassing the whaling fleet. "This is a retreat for supplies only. We have not surrendered the sanctuary to the whale killers," Paul Watson said.

The Japanese fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme. Other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods, and call the programme a front for commercial whaling.
BBC NEWS REPORT

VOLVO CARS GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER !

Swedish carmaker Volvo has been found guilty of manslaughter after a French court ruled that faulty brakes were to blame for a fatal car crash in France. The driver, Catherine Kohtz, lost control of her Volvo 850 TDI vehicle and killed two children in 1999. Ms Kohtz received a six-month suspended jail term, a 300-euro ($446; £224) fine. Her licence was also suspended for a year.

Volvo was fined 200,000 euros, though it has denied the car was faulty. The accident occurred in June 1999, in the eastern French town of Wasselonne. "This is a tragic incident for everyone involved," a company spokesman said. "There was no problem with the brakes."

Volvo's lawyers rejected that the accident was the result of a mechanical defect and are expected to appeal the ruling. The car manufacturer, based in Gothenburg, is owned by US car giant Ford, which bought it in 1999.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ANALYSIS -HAMAS'S GAZA BREAK-OUT!

By Roger Hardy - BBC Middle East analyst.

The chaotic scenes at the border of Gaza and Egypt, as tens of thousands of Palestinians poured across to stock up on supplies, were an extraordinary human drama. But they were also an act of calculated defiance by Hamas, the Islamist movement which seized control of the territory in June last year.

"I think what Hamas has done," says Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution in Washington, "is remind everyone it's the spoiler." Mr Riedel recently retired from government after long service with the CIA and the National Security Council. "Hamas," he says, "has shown it cannot be ignored - and has the capacity to change the situation on the ground."

Palestinian academic Yezid Sayigh says Hamas is signalling that it will not play by Israel's rules. It is also openly challenging the legitimacy of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) of President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

According to Professor Sayigh, Hamas is telling the PA, "You have been totally ineffective. Look at what we've done - we've challenged the Israelis head-on and shown they can't impose a siege on us. "

Israel's immediate concern is border security. It wants to stop weapons coming into Gaza - and rockets coming out and striking Israeli cities. It is urging the Egyptian authorities to re-impose control of the border. Danny Yatom, former head of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, says Israel prizes its peace treaty with Egypt -but wants the Egyptians to do more to help. Some analysts say Israel will have to change tack and start talking. The Israelis argue that the two countries have a common interest in sealing the border and curbing Hamas.

The dilemma of the Egyptian authorities, however, is acute. They are under pressure from their own people to show solidarity with the long-suffering Palestinians of Gaza - and under pressure from Israel and the Americans to re-establish border security. Their great fear, according to Yezid Sayigh, is that Israel wants to dump Gaza in their lap.

Talking to Hamas?

At root, the Gaza problem is a political rather than a security issue. Danny Yatom sticks to the line of the current Israeli government: no talks with Hamas as long as it does not renounce violence and recognise Israel. But it is far from self-evident that Gaza's borders can be secured - or an eventual peace deal struck - without the co-operation of Hamas.

Bruce Riedel believes that sooner or later Washington's regional friends - Egypt, Mahmoud Abbas, even the Israelis - will reach this conclusion. Whether the Bush administration does so is a more open question.

Listen to Wednesday's edition of Analysis on this subject on the BBC World Service The Gaza Break-Out
BBC NEWS REPORT.

'POLICE' KILL KENYA OPPOSITION MP !

An opposition MP has been killed in Kenya, as violence continues over last month's disputed election. David Too was shot dead by a traffic policeman in the western town of Eldoret, said a spokesman for his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). He is the second ODM MP to be killed this week. The shooting of Mugabe Were in Nairobi sparked violent clashes in slums seen as opposition strongholds.

More than 850 people have been killed since the disputed presidential poll. Another 250,000 have fled their homes in what used to be one of East Africa's most stable countries.

ODM spokesman Henry Kosgie said Mr Too was killed at a roadblock as he drove from Nairobi to Eldoret in the Rift Valley. The Rift Valley has seen some of the worst violence since the 27 December election.

On Wednesday, the top US official for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said there had been "ethnic cleansing" in the region.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"BE HAPPY WHILE YOU ARE LIVING,

FOR YOU ARE A LONG TIME DEAD" !

MANN LOSES EXTRADITION APPEAL !

Mann was rearrested shortly after his release from prison last year.

Zimbabwe's High Court has ruled that Simon Mann can be extradited to Equatorial Guinea to face trial over a foiled coup in the West African nation.The British ex-SAS officer was jailed in Zimbabwe on arms charges in 2004, and rearrested shortly after his release last May. He had appealed against extradition on the basis that he might be tortured.

With his appeal turned down on Wednesday, Mann's lawyer will now file an appeal to Zimbabwe's Supreme Court. "We are appealing the first thing tomorrow (Thursday) but we have not had full sight of the whole judgment as it was only delivered this evening," said Jonathan Samkange.

Mann, 55, was arrested when his plane, loaded with 61 alleged mercenaries and military equipment, landed at Harare airport in March 2004. He was accused of trying to buy arms as part of a plot against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and sentenced to seven years in jail.

Most of his co-accused were released from a Zimbabwean prison in 2005, and Mann himself was briefly released last year after his sentence was reduced for good behaviour. But shortly after his release he was rearrested on an immigration warrant while awaiting deportation.

Last May, a Harare magistrate's court agreed to a request by Equatorial Guinea that Mann be extradited to stand trial there. His lawyers appealed against the decision on the basis Mann was likely to be tortured in Equatorial Guinea and his extradition would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was fined and received a suspended sentence in South Africa for his involvement in the affair.

President Obiang Nguema has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, since he seized power from his uncle in a 1979 coup.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

RIO POLICE CRISIS BEFORE CARNIVAL!

By Gary Duffy - BBC News, Rio de Janeiro.

The carnival will be in full swing this weekend.

The police force in Rio de Janeiro is facing a crisis after dozens of senior officers offered their resignations just days before the carnival. Forty-three officials signed a letter of resignation after their commander was sacked by the state governor. The head of the military police was dismissed after he allowed a mass protest by officers over their pay to go ahead last weekend. Security chiefs say they are confident the carnival will go ahead peacefully.

Carnival is the highest profile event of the year for the city of Rio de Janeiro and there could hardly be a more difficult moment for the city's police force to be confronted with such a crisis. The problems began last weekend when the commander of Rio's military police, Ubiratan Angelo, allowed officers to stage a mass protest to complain about low pay. He also voiced his support for their demands, and was then dismissed by Rio's governor Sergio Cabral who said permitting the demonstration to go ahead had been an act of insubordination.

That decision caused widespread anger among senior police officers. At least 43 officials have now offered to resign, 17 of them battalion commanders, Brazil's TV Globo reported. Security chiefs say they are confident that carnival, which is expected to attract more than 700,000 Brazilian and overseas visitors will go ahead peacefully this weekend.

A new police commander has already been appointed, and the governor has accused the rebels of trying to stir up trouble. In a separate development several alleged drug traffickers were killed when police backed by helicopters and armoured cars raided the favela or shanty town of Jacarezinho.

The operation was meant to seize drugs and stolen vehicles. Police say all those who died were involved in drug gangs in the area, but human rights organisations have frequently complained that large-scale operations such as this often result in indiscriminate killings.

More than 1,200 people died in clashes with the police in the state of Rio de Janeiro last year.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

COULD KENYA BECOME RWANDA?

Mwai Kibaki, an ethnic Kikuyu, was declared the winner of Kenya's disputed presidential poll in December to the anger of supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is from the Luo community.

The fallout has fuelled ethnic tensions in the country which has more than 40 ethnic groups - and up to 900 people have died in the post-election violence. Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society, spoke to the BBC about the parallels that some are drawing with what happened in Rwanda where such divisions ended in the 1994 genocide and the killing of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Is there anything in such comparisons?

I don't think so. The situation in Rwanda was completely different. First of all the Rwandan genocide was state-initiated. There were government militias - the army, the police took part it and organised it, and that is not happening in Kenya.

Secondly, [Rwanda's] Hutus and Tutsis are not separate ethnic groups - they're actually racially different and their roles in society were different - it's a unique situation. They have the same language, the same culture.

In Kenya, what we're seeing is different ethnic groups and what has happened there is that one particular ethnic group - the Kikuyus - are seen by the others as being richer, politically favoured and just generally better off.They're also in many places on the land of the Kalenjin and the Luo [communities] and that land issue is very, very important.


KENYA'S ETHINC GROUPS
Population: 37m, comprising more than 40 ethnic groups
Kikuyu: 22%
Luhya: 14%
Luo: 13%
Kalenjin: 12%
Kamba: 11%

It would have been originally Luo or Kalenjin land which was taken by the British in colonial times turned into white farms, a bit like Zimbabwe, and then at independence handed over to the Kikuyu.

So that's why the people in those areas [mainly the Rift Valley Province] are trying to drive the Kikuyu out and the Kikuyu are taking revenge on local Kalenjin and Luo communities in their areas. So it's a sort of ethnic-cleansing.

Think Bosnia, think Kosovo, don't think Rwanda.

Nonetheless, frightening?

Oh, yes and I think we haven't seen the worst of it yet. It's got a momentum of its own now where ethnicity is everything and the politics has slipped away. The election released these feelings of deep frustration which go back a long way.

So although we're seeing talks at a high level now, you're suggesting that may not have that much impact on people the ground? Well I think Kibaki's government could make a difference - if they said we'll have a coalition or a rerun of the election and made concessions - that could control their side.

But I don't think Raila Odinga is in control of these gangs of Kalenjin youth that are running around and I think he doesn't control his troops in the same way as the president does.

What do you think will happen?

I think it'll continue.

The government has hoped that they will just ride this out - they were quite prepared to sit it out even at the cost of a lot of violence. But I think it's become too big now and I think they will have to make some sort of concessions. The rest of the world is pressurising them very heavily.

But even if they do, will they do it in time? Will the concessions be big enough to prevent the people on the streets taking what's now become a sort of a very nasty local personal revenge?
BBC NEWS REPORT.

VOLGA ROAD TRIP: A DYING INDUSTRY !

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes is travelling in a Volga car along the Volga river to take a snapshot of life in Vladimir Putin's Russia, as the presidential election looms. This is his second piece, from the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Rupert waxed lyrical about Volgas - before actually driving one.

I am going to go out on a limb here and make a prediction. Russia's indigenous car industry is finished. It may take many more years to finally die, but die it will.
The reason is simple - Russian cars are awful. The worst car I have ever driven, by a long, long way, is a Lada I had the misfortune to try out shortly after arriving in Russia a year-and-a-half ago. I should have learned my lesson. But no.

Now I am preparing to depart on a 1,000-mile (1,609km) road journey, in the middle of the Russian winter, in another horror of Soviet engineering - the Volga. In my first diary entry I waxed lyrical about how the Volga was the Mercedes, Rover, or Buick of the Russian car industry. That was before I had driven one. Even the new production line is ancient, one car expert admits.

I have now taken delivery of an eight-year-old 1.5-tonne black monster. A day of driving it around the snowbound streets of Nizhny Novgorod, and I think I can safely say it has gone straight in at No.2 in my all time worst car list. The Volga was, possibly, an OK car when it first came out. But that was in 1970.

My Volga was made 30 years later, and it is essentially exactly the same car. And they are still making them today! Its the equivalent of Ford still building Cortinas, or Vauxhall still making Vivas!

I went to the Volga factory on Tuesday.It is suitably vast. The whole south-west district of Nizhny Novgorod is simply called "Car Factory" - mile after mile of ugly grey apartment buildings and hulking factory sheds. The factory gate is equally vast: five storeys of grey marble, topped off with a hammer and sickle and not one, but two, reliefs of Lenin.

You would never guess it from the gate furniture, but the Volga car plant is now a private company, part of the brave new world of Russian capitalism. It was bought in 2001 by one of Russia richest men - 40-year-old aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska. If there is one thing Russia's young oligarchs have learned fast from their Western brethren, it is the art of spin.

I was met at the gate by a young, slick, English-speaking team straight out of a Moscow PR agency. I was immediately dragged off for an interview with the equally young and also fluent English-speaking director of the car division. It was very clear the last thing Leonid wanted to talk about was Volgas. Instead, I was pummelled with the business school jargon of "just-in-time" production. "Toyota is our model," Leonid told me, with not even the slightest hint of irony. "Car making is a global industry, and we're going to have to learn to compete if we are to succeed."

Brave words, but how?

The answer is to go on a shopping spree, a very big shopping spree. I was taken to a vast hangar on the other side of the factory. Inside it was crammed with row upon row of bright orange robots, fresh out of their wooden crates from America. This whole robotic production line, hundreds of high tech machines, has been bought lock stock and barrel from Chrysler in the US.

Leonid and his PR team proudly showed me the attractive new model their robotic production line is about to start building. It is called the Siber and for the Russian car industry, it is a quantum leap forward in technology.

So what about my prediction of impending doom? Well, I hope I am wrong. But car making is a brutally relentless business. Market leaders like Toyota now change their model range every three to four years. Beneath its skin the shiny new Siber is actually an old Chrysler Sebring. It is what the British call "mutton dressed as lamb".

One of the Canadian engineers brought in to programme the robots told me quietly that, by North American standards, this production line is ancient. He described the robots as "dinosaurs". It reminded me of another former state-run car company that tried to compete by dressing up old technology in new clothes. That one was called British Leyland.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

PILOT 'BREAKDOWN' DIVERTS FLIGHT!

An Air Canada flight made an emergency landing in Ireland after a pilot apparently suffered a mental breakdown. A passenger said the pilot was carried from the plane shouting and swearing, saying he wanted to talk "to God".

The flight from Toronto to Heathrow landed at Shannon airport after its crew declared a medical emergency. Passengers flew on to London later. Air Canada has confirmed that a crew member was unwell, but did not confirm he was suffering mental problems. "At no time were the safety of the passengers or crew in question," said an Air Canada spokesman. "The flight was met by medical personnel and the individual is now in care."


One of the passengers, Sean Finucane, said he saw the co-pilot being carried into the cabin in restraints. "He was very, very distraught. He was yelling loudly at times," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "He was swearing and asking for God and very distressed. He basically said he wanted to talk to God."

Passengers were put up in hotels while another crew was found. They eventually arrived in London eight hours late.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

RARE SNOWFALL BLANKETS JERUSALEM!

By Martin Patience - BBC News, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's iconic Dome of the Rock - normally a resplendent gold - was turned half white on Wednesday morning. Snowfalls blanketed streets and buildings with an inch-thick of powder. Jerusalem's school, universities and court houses all closed for the day

In a city more used to high temperatures than snow, the wintry weather seemed to be appreciated by those residents braving the cold. "The snow brings people together," said Oded Goldberger, 19, wearing a hat and gloves. "It's something really special."

In some parts of Jerusalem, people were making snowmen while others were having snowball fights. The city's mayor is expected to judge a snowman competition on Wednesday afternoon. "Of course it's cold and wet," said Evyator Rubin, 13, making a snowball. "But because it snows so little here it's great when it does happen."

Many people took the day off leaving the streets deserted of traffic. "I don't need to go to school today and I had a science exam."

All Jerusalem's schools, universities and courthouses were closed for the day. The public transport system is working on a scaled-back timetable. Some of the offices in the city are shut but a number of shops and restaurants are open. Many Israeli commuters took the day off and the streets are largely empty of cars.

Inna Kanaan, 31, walked to work. The Russian-born architect says that the snow reminded her of her home before she emigrated to Israel. "There was more snow in Russia, but this is good. It breaks the routine of waking up and just going to work," she said, removing her earmuffs before speaking. "It's good to enjoy nature's simple pleasures."

The Jerusalem municipality made preparations for the snow which had been forecast for days. It had 100 snow-ploughs ready to clear the city's main streets. A ritual among a small section of the city's ultra-orthodox Jewish community is to purify themselves by rubbing snow on their foreheads. While snow in Jerusalem is unusual, other parts of the country regularly see snowfall. In the occupied Golan Heights in the north of the country there is a ski-resort.

By midday, the snow was still falling in Jerusalem. But some of the city's streets were turned into streams as the snow began to melt. A cold weather snap has hit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, causing several fatalities. Also on Wednesday the Winograd committee - a government appointed inquiry - is set a deliver a final report into the government's handling of the war against Hezbollah in 2006.

There were some rumours that the event might be cancelled because of the snow. But Israeli officials have commandeered a snow-plough - nicknamed Winograd - to make sure the committee members get to deliver the report.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

KENYA PARTIES TO BEGIN FULL TALKS !

Mr Annan opened formal mediation talks between the two on Tuesday. Kenya's government and opposition are due to begin full negotiations to try to end the crisis resulting from last month's disputed presidential election. President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have each appointed three-man teams to discuss proposals drawn up by former UN chief Kofi Annan.

At earlier preliminary talks, he urged both sides to help restore calm. Ahead of the talks, the top US envoy to Africa described recent violence in the Rift Valley as "ethnic cleansing". Up to 900 people have died as violence has spread since the 27December presidential poll, which the opposition claims was rigged. At least nine people were killed in outbreaks of violence throughout the country on Tuesday, following the killing of Mugabe Ware, an MP from Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Meanwhile, Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula has said Mr Kibaki will attend the African Union summit on Thursday, dismissing suggestions that there were more pressing issues for him to attend to at home. On Monday, ODM Secretary General Anyang Nyong'o called on member states not to recognise what he called the illegitimate and illegal government of Mr Kibaki.

But Mr Wetangula said there was no injunction against the president and so he had to discharge his function as a head of state. The three-man teams of representatives from Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity and the ODM were due to begin their deliberations in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday.

Negotiations will be based on a series of proposals drawn up by Mr Annan and his team, which includes former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and Graca Machel, the wife of ex-South African President Nelson Mandela. The former UN secretary general has given the two sides four weeks to resolve the "immediate political issues" and up to a year to sort out details.

KENYA MP NEGOTIATING TEAMS
Party of National Unity:
Justice Minister Martha Karua, Mutula Kilonzo, former Health Minister Prof Samson Ongeri
ODM:
William Ruto, former Kenyan UK High Commissioner Sally Kosgei, former Vice-President Musalia Mudavadi

Launching the formal mediation process on Tuesday, Mr Annan warned that the crisis was having a "profound and negative impact" and urged both sides to take the talks seriously or risk losing international aid.

The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says parts of the country, particularly the Rift Valley and western Kenya, are cauldrons of hatred as a result of inter-ethnic fighting during the past month. Even if the talks are successful, some of the wounds caused to Kenyan society may take many years to heal, our correspondent says.

Members of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have in recent days been launching attacks on Luos and Kalenjins, who largely backed Mr Odinga in the election. The initial violence was characterised by mob attacks mainly targeting Kikuyus. Earlier, Kenyan Internal Security Minister George Saitoti said the authorities would now "act tough" when dealing with those behind the ethnic and political violence.

"We do not want to have the criminals running around and disrupting the activities of this country and I would like to tell those... who have been used to taking laws into their hands... that they are going to face very, very, very serious consequences," he told NTV television.

Speaking in Ethiopia on the eve of the AU summit, US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, described recent violence in the Rift Valley as "clear ethnic cleansing". Ms Frazer said that what she had seen when she visited Kenya earlier this month was a clear effort to drive out Kikuyus. "The aim originally was not to kill, it was to cleanse, it was to push them out of the region," she said "The cycle of retaliation has gone too far and become more dangerous." Ms Frazer criticised leaders from all sides for making inflammatory remarks and said those guilty of inciting or carrying out the violence should be held to account.

The UN's special adviser for the prevention of genocide, Francis Deng, has said he is sending one of his members of staff to observe the situation in Kenya. "At the moment I would not use the word genocide," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "At the moment we are concerned about certain atrocities that could conceivably escalate if they're not stopped."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"NEIGHBOUR RAGE" CASE GRIPS ITALY !

By Mark Duff - BBC News, Milan.

The case has gripped Italians for the past year, and the wait is now over as the trial of a middle-aged couple accused of killing four of their neighbours in a row over noise gets under way. The sheer brutality of what became known as the "Massacre of Erba" transfixed Italy.

Late on the night of 11 December 2006, four people - including a two-year-old boy and his mother - were stabbed and bludgeoned to death at a flat in the town of Erba, not far from Lake Como. The killers tried to cover their tracks by setting fire to the apartment.

Within a month, though, the police had arrested a middle-aged husband and wife from a neighbouring flat. The two made a confession - which they later retracted. Prosecutors say the couple were driven to murder by the barrage of noise they'd faced from their neighbours' flat at all hours of the day and night. If they are right, the killings would be one of the most extreme examples of what's been dubbed "neighbour rage".

Every year some 850,000 arguments between neighbours end up in Italian courts. The vast majority of them are petty and consist of arguments over maintenance bills or noise between neighbours in the often cramped, poorly-designed apartment blocks built during Italy's post-war economic miracle.

Such was the appetite for a seat at the trial that people queued from crack of dawn to secure a place - and some tickets are reported to have changed hands for hundreds of euros.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"IF YOU SEE NO REASON FOR GIVING THANKS - THE FAULT LIES IN YOURSELF"!

SUU KYI 'NOT SATISFIED' BY TALKS !

Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is "not satisfied" by recent discussions with the country's military leaders, said her party. Ms Suu Kyi's comments followed her fifth meeting with the official appointed to liaise with her and the National League for Democracy (NLD). She also met NLD party members for the second time since last year's protests. Ms Suu Kyi's party said she was concerned that the meetings might raise false hopes of political reform.

Labour Minister Aung Kyi was appointed to negotiate with Ms Suu Kyi amid the global outrage which followed the deadly crackdown on political protestors in September 2000But NLD spokesman Nyan Win told reporters: "Aung San Suu Kyi is not satisfied with her meetings with the relations minister, mainly because there is no timeframe." The junta has said it is drawing up a roadmap to democracy, but the plan has been widely dismissed as a sham by observers.

Mr Win read out a statement from Ms Suu Kyi in which she told her party to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," reported Reuters news agency. She said she had not received any clear messages from the government, but urged party members to remain united. "We have to be patient, as we have sacrificed for many years," said the statement. "I don't want to give false hopes to the people. I will tell the people more when the time comes."

Ms Suu Kyi also repeated her insistence that talks about political reform must involve pro-democracy groups and representatives of Burma's ethnic groups. The NLD won elections in 1990 but has never been allowed to take power. Ms Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest in Burma's commercial capital, Rangoon.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

KENYANS 'FORCIBLY RECRUITED TO FIGHT' !

A Kenyan (who wishes to remain anonymous) in the Rift Valley town of Naivasha describes how members of an outlawed sect - the Mungiki - are forcibly recruiting members of their Kikuyu ethnic group to kill non-Kikuyus - allied to the opposition.

Law and order has broken down in the Rift Valley area since the disputed 27 December presidential election. Kenyan politics is polarised and because of this, when a community feels threatened, groupings or gangs arise in their defence. It is really disgusting. People are being killed and burnt in their houses, even one person was buried alive... buried alive?

And other people are just watching.

There are gangs of Kikuyu coming knocking from door-to-door. But I really don't think they are from Naivasha - people know that Naivasha is usually a safe place, a place where people like peace. But these people are coming and forcing people here to fight. So that's why they are going house-to-house making sure that if you are a Kikuyu, you have to come out and fight.

If you are not a Kikuyu, they just kill you immediately. Not long ago they came into our estate and demanded the keys to the gate. They used a petrol bomb to frighten us, telling us if we don't come out, they'll burn us. Luckily, I managed to hide under the bed.

Where they are targeting right now is Naivasha prison. Homes belonging to Luos are being ransacked and set alight The Kikuyus are going to the prison and they want to get the Luos and the Namdis who have gone there to seek refuge. Gangs of Kikuyus are outside the prison and burning houses nearby but the police - there are many of them there - but it is like they are relaxed.

They are not doing anything, just shooting, shooting, shooting [up in the air] but not stopping these people from getting closer to the prison. These Kikuyus that are doing all this - it is a kind of revenge. In Naivasha it is revenge for what has been happening in other areas where Kikuyus have been killed.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

FRENCH BANK 'HAD TRADER WARNING'!

French stock market officials warned Societe Generale about alleged rogue trader Jerome Kerviel late last year, a Paris prosecutor has said. With Mr Kerviel now released on bail, the prosecutor's comments increase the pressure on the bank to explain why his trades were not discovered earlier. Mr Kerviel is being investigated for breach of trust, falsifying documents and breaching computer security.

Societe Generale says his actions cost it 4.9bn euros ($7bn; £3.7bn). The bank, which says it only discovered Mr Kerviel's unauthorised trades 10 days ago, had been pressing for Mr Kerviel to face the more serious charge of fraud. His lawyer, Elisabeth Meyer, on Monday called the judges' decision not to press for fraud charges a "great victory".

Mr Kerviel's other lawyer, Christian Charriere-Bournazel, said his client had committed no fraud, adding that Societe General's chief executive Daniel Bouton had no evidence to back up his allegations. "The word fraud was used by Mr Bouton numerous times," he said. "Mr Bouton held this unfortunate man up for public vilification, threw him to the dogs... and there was no substance to it."

Societe Generale says Mr Kerviel had a position, or a bet, worth about 50bn euros on the future direction of European shares.

SOCIETE GENERALE IN FIGURES
Founded in 1864
467bn euros in assets under management (as of June 2007)
22.5 million customers worldwide
120,000 employees in 77 countries

That was more than the bank's value - about 35bn euros - and about the size of France's entire annual budget deficit. To avoid that potentially catastrophic loss the bank had to unwind Mr Kerviel's trades, but that still cost it 4.9bn euros. Societe Generale said Mr Kerviel's background in handling the administration of trades enabled him to fool those monitoring traders' activities.

It says Mr Kerviel invented deals that, on paper, balanced out his bets. Under French law breach of trust carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of 370,000 euros ($546,637; £186,562). While a formal investigation has started into Mr Kerviel's actions, this does not automatically guarantee that a trial will follow.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that Societe Generale's senior managers would have to accept their share of responsibility for the scandal. "When there is an event of this nature, it cannot remain without consequences as far as responsibilities [of senior managers] are concerned," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ASTEROID TO MAKE CLOSE APPROACH!

An asteroid some 250m (600ft) across is about to sweep past the Earth. There is no chance of it hitting the planet, but astronomers will train telescopes and radar on the object to learn as much about it as they can. The asteroid - which carries the rather dull designation 2007 TU24 - will pass by at a distance of 538,000km (334,000 miles), just outside Moon's orbit.

Scientists who study so called near-Earth objects say similar-sized rocks come by every few years. The moment of closest approach for 2007 TU24 is 0833 GMT. The asteroid is only expected to be visible through amateur telescopes that are three inches (7.6cm) or larger.

Detailed observations of 2007 TU24 could reveal whether the asteroid is a solid object or simply a loose pile of space rubble. Knowledge of how asteroids are put together will be key to working out how we might defend ourselves against future, more threatening rocks.

An explosive attack - so popular with Hollywood scriptwriters - may not be the most effective approach. Many scientists believe that giving a hostile object a gentle nudge over a long period of time may in fact be our best strategy.

Given the estimated number of near-Earth asteroids of this size (about 7,000 discovered and undiscovered objects, says the US pace agency), an object similar to 2007 TU24 would be expected to pass this close to Earth, on average, about every five years or so.

The average interval between actual Earth impacts for an object of this size would be about 37,000 years, Nasa adds. A little over a year-and-a-half ago, a 600m-wide (2,000ft) asteroid known as 2004 XP14 flew past the Earth at just about the Earth-Moon distance. The asteroids' names include the year in which they were first identified.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

GUNMEN KILL KENYAN OPPOSITION MP !

The national death toll since the elections is now about 800.

A Kenyan opposition MP has been shot dead in Nairobi, police say, adding they could not rule out a connection to disputed presidential elections. Mugabe Were, a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of the defeated candidate, Raila Odinga, was attacked outside his home, police said. An ODM spokesman called for calm and restraint following the MP's death.

Meanwhile the parties will begin formal talks on Tuesday to resolve the crisis, mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan. A UN spokesman said the dialogue process would start at 1600 local time (1300 GMT) at a neutral location.

Mr Were is the first leading politician to have died amid violence that has gripped Kenya since December's poll. Two gunmen shot Mr Were as he drove up to the gate of his house in the capital just after midnight, Kenya police spokesman Eric Kiraithe was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying. "We are treating it as a murder but we are not ruling out anything, including political motives. We are urging everyone to remain calm," he said.

Mr Were, who represented Nairobi's Embakasai district, won a seat in the 27 December legislative election, which was held at the same time as the presidential vote. ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka said: "The current situation makes one suspicious. All fingers will point at the government, and the government will have to show it is not involved."

Another ODM spokesman, Salim Lome, called on people "to be peaceful and to only respond to this kind of violence by shunning violence". The appeal came amid reports of opposition supporters pouring onto the streets in several cities. In the Kibera slum in Nairobi, eyewitnesses spoke of clashes between rival ethnic groups. Members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have been fighting with Luos and Kalenjins who backed his rival, Mr Odinga, in last month's election.

Police fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse a crowd of about 100 opposition supporters who had gathered in the western city of Kisumu in a show of anger at Mr Were's killing, AFP news agency reported.

"First they started killing the ordinary people like us, now they are killing our leaders, we won't accept it," demonstrator Justus Othieno told AFP news agency. The protest followed bloodshed in Kisumu and also in Eldoret. Riots have also been ongoing in the towns of Naivasha and Nakuru in the Rift Valley, where dozens of people have been killed in five days of ethnic violence. Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the lakeside at Naivasha, as crowds apparently looted the homes of people fleeing the violence.

Mr Odinga accuses Mr Kibaki of stealing the vote and has refused to recognise the result. Analysts warn a cycle of violence is emerging amid the political impasse, where the pattern of attacks is followed by reprisals. The former UN secretary general Kofi Annan has been trying to mediate a solution between the two sides. He set Tuesday as a target for Kenya's government and opposition to name negotiators, in the hope that engaging in formal talks might make it possible to quell the violence.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

VOLGA ROADTRIP - A SOVIET ICON!

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes is travelling in a Volga car along the Volga river to take a snapshot of life in Vladimir Putin's Russia, as the presidential election looms. This is his first piece, from the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Rupert plans to drive 2,000km of the Volga's length.

I am sitting in a spartan hotel room in a grim industrial suburb of Nizhny Novgorod. During the Soviet era, this city of two million people on the banks of the Volga river was renamed Gorky, in honour of one of Russia's most famous 20th-Century writers. Maxim Gorky ended his days as a, perhaps reluctant, apologist for Joseph Stalin's genocidal regime. In return, Stalin named a city after him.

Fifty years later, the city of Gorky once again briefly attained world fame. Russian Nobel prize winner Andrei Sakharov and his wife were sent into internal exile here, as the old men in the Kremlin fought a losing battle to muzzle the Sakharovs' eloquent condemnation of their corrupt and decaying regime.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and released the Sakharovs. Six years later the Soviet Union was gone. Gorky returned to being Nizhny Novgorod, and slipped quietly back into obscurity.

So what, you may ask, has brought me here?

Two things. The Volga, and a Volga. The first is the river. The second, a once-loved icon of Soviet engineering. It all stems from a rather mad scheme cooked up by one of my colleagues in the BBC Moscow bureau - that we should buy a Volga car and drive it along the Volga river. The Volga car was, and to some still is, a Soviet icon. It was the car everyone aspired to own, but few would ever get to drive.

Russians never had much love for their Ladas. But the Volga was different. It was the Soviet Mercedes Benz, Rover or Buick. It was the car driven by the KGB men in their black leather coats, or the Kremlin bureaucrats in their grey homburgs. For 60 years they have been building Volgas in a sprawling factory in this grim suburb of Nizhny Novgorod. That is why I am here, to pick up my Volga, and begin my journey down the river it is named after.

For those who think that this sounds like a good lark, I should explain there is a serious point to all of this. The Volga is to Russia what the Mississippi is to America, or the Rhine to Western Europe. Rising near the Baltic, the Volga winds its way some 3,000km (1,864 miles) south-east until it empties into the Caspian Sea amid the salt marshes south of Astrakhan.

Along its banks are dotted cities with names like Kazan and Samara, Ulyanovsk and Saratov. I am going to drive 2,000km (1,243 miles) of its length, from Nizhny Novgorod to Volgograd, once more famously known as Stalingrad. The aim is to try and find out what Russia is like in the vast area beyond the Moscow ring road. To take a snapshot of life in Russia after eight years of President Vladimir Putin.

How is Russia really doing economically? What do ordinary provincial Russians think about life after Mr Putin? Is there renewed hostility here to America and Britain? If so, why? Along the way I plan to visit car factories, military bases, war veterans and the birthplace of another Vladimir - Lenin.

One thing is already clear. Life in this provincial city is very far removed from the days when the Sakharovs were exiled here 30 years ago. This morning I got into my car in Moscow and drove here, no special documents, no permission forms, no KGB men following me (at least I do not think so). Even in this suburb of endless grey apartments, there is now a brightly-lit shopping mall with coffee shops, pizzerias and the unmistakable signature of capitalism - a drive-in McDonald's.

On my hotel television the cable stations are showing American pulp, MTV and even porn. On the surface at least Russia has changed enormously. But what about below the surface?
BBC NEWS REPORT.

LIMAVADY ROW CAUSES KIWI STORM!

By Greg McKevitt - BBC News.

A statue in Limavady town centre has caused a media storm 14,000 miles away on the other side of the world. The monument pays tribute to William Ferguson Massey, who was born in the town in 1856 but emigrated to New Zealand when he was 14. Massey grew up to become prime minister of his adopted country from 1912-25, and was one of the world leaders to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

New Zealand's second-longest serving prime minister landed back in the news 83 years after his death when police were called to Limavady Borough Council's offices on Tuesday night. Councillors had been discussing how to create a neutral environment in council spaces, with Sinn Fein proposing to remove unionist-associated flags and emblems. With feelings running high in the area, two Sinn Fein councillors said they were abused by a crowd of loyalist protesters as they left the building.

The news story has reached New Zealand because one of the items which Sinn Fein suggests should be removed is a statue of the country's former leader. Massey was also an Orangeman, who kept up his interest in the Protestant-based movement as a lodge member in Auckland.

Under the headline 'Irish target NZ PM's statue', Auckland historian Dr Michael Bassett told the New Zealand Herald: "You'd have thought a little town in [Northern] Ireland would be rather proud that one of their people went off to New Zealand and became prime minister. "If multicultural politics involves destroying the history of a place, well then it has no future."

Dr Bassett said any move to remove Massey's statue because of his Orange Order connections would be over the top as he was not an extremist. However, Paddy Butcher, the leader of the Sinn Fein grouping on Limavady Borough Council, told BBC News that the Massey statue "could not be taken in isolation". "There was an inventory of 10 items, one of them a republican dedication to hunger striker Kevin Lynch, which may cause offence to the republican side of the community if it was removed," he said.

"William Massey was a prominent Orangeman, he was the grand master of the Orange Lodge in New Zealand which folded two years after he died. "His track-record was substantially representative of just one side of the community, you cannot cherry-pick neutrality - it's either neutral or not."

Former DUP mayor George Robinson said unionists would not back down over the Massey statue. "There's widespread outrage - he's a man held in very high esteem, there's streets in Limavady and Belfast named after him," he said.

"He's a big tourist attraction as well - I have met relatives of Mr Massey who have visited Limavady just to see the statue. During the tourist season we get quite a few people who come along to see him."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

S. AFRICA COAL MINES RESUME WORK!

Some of South Africa's coal mines have resumed production after being shut down on Friday because of power cuts. Coal is used to generate about 90% of electricity supplies at state power company Eskom. But the main gold, diamond and platinum mines remain closed. South Africa is one of the world's biggest producers of platinum and gold.

On Friday, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said the power cuts should be treated as a "national emergency". Eskom increased supplies over the weekend but not by enough for production to resume. The mines were closed in case miners were trapped underground by power cuts. "The power we are having is not enough for us to take people underground," Reidwaan Wookay, a spokesman for mining company Gold Fields, told AFP news agency. "We are using it to maintain the mines and keep them safe. It doesn't allow us to excavate or engage in any kind of production."

Further talks between the mining companies and Eskom are expected later in the week. The halt in production has led to fears of possible closures and job losses. "It is very stressful, as our members are not sure what are the consequences of this shutdown," general secretary of South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers Frans Baleni told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

The government has admitted it was wrong to refuse to invest in electricity generation several years ago, when asked by Eskom. South Africa's three biggest gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony have suspended production, along with the world's biggest platinum miner, Anglo Platinum, and diamond firm De Beers.

This has led to sharp rises in the price of gold and other precious metals. South Africa has already reduced electricity supplies to its neighbours, affecting countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

BANNED BEATLES GET ISRAEL INVITE !

Israel is inviting the surviving members of The Beatles to celebrate the country's anniversary, 43 years after it banned the group. The Israeli ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, is meeting John Lennon's sister, Julia Baird, in Liverpool. He will invite Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and relatives of Lennon and George Harrison to come to Israel in May for the 60th anniversary.

Israel banned the Beatles in 1965, fearing they would corrupt young fans. But the ambassador - who is in Liverpool after marking Holocaust Memorial Day there - is a big fan of the Beatles and would like them to be part of the planned birthday celebrations.

The invitation is being passed to the director of the city's Beatles Story museum, Jerry Goldman. Mr Goldman said: "I've got close ties to Israel, so I'm thrilled. It would be fantastic if they did visit."

Liverpool is trying to develop cultural links with Israel, including the possibility of building a new museum dedicated to Jewish music.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA UNVEILS 'WATER CUBE' VENUE!

The building has an eco-friendly translucent shell. Beijing Olympic officials have officially unveiled the bubble-wrapped National Aquatics Centre. Nicknamed the "Water Cube", the imposing £72m venue is clad in a honeycomb of transparent cushions and was funded by overseas donations. Li Aiqing, president of the company behind construction, said: "The whole project is complex and unique. "After five years of effort, we are very, very happy. It is one of the biggest swimming centres in the world."

The cushions in the outer layer of the building comprise over 100,000 square metres of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene), a plastic with a melting-point of 275C. No fewer than 6,700 tonnes of steel and 1,300 tonnes of welding rods were also used in the construction.

A total of 42 gold medals will be won at the venue in swimming, diving and synchronised swimming. After the Olympics and Paralympics, a quarter of the venue will be retained for competition with the rest used for leisure purposes. The centre will host its first test event with the China Open swimming competition, which starts on Thursday.

The second showpiece venue of the Games, the neighbouring 91,000-seater National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest", is scheduled for completion by the end of March.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

POLICE FACE RIOTS IN WEST KENYA!

Police are struggling to restore order in western Kenya, amid a recent wave of violence linked to disputed elections. Riots were continuing in the towns of Naivasha and Nakuru, where dozens of people have been killed in five days of ethnic violence. Police arrested 150 people in the towns, accused of murder and arson.

Meanwhile former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who is trying to mediate in the crisis, has called for the army to be deployed. The national death toll since December's polls is now nearly 800. Members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have been fighting with Luos and Kalenjins who backed his rival Raila Odinga in the election a month ago.

Mr Odinga accuses Mr Kibaki of stealing the vote and has refused to recognise the result. Much of the weekend's violence centred on Nakuru, Kenya's fourth largest city, and Naivasha, some 60km (37 miles) south.

The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says Naivasha, which witnessed scenes of depraved brutality on Sunday, is once again a battle ground between rival ethnic communities.
However, police have managed to prevent the situation from getting completely out of control, by firing live rounds over the heads of rioters.

But heavily armed youths are continuing to threaten each other. Red Cross workers had been bracing themselves for the grim task of counting the dead from the weekend's violence. They said they could not establish a proper toll until they had searched the charred remains of burnt houses after a day on which at least 19 people died.

Earlier there were riots in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, where two people were reported killed. Members of the Luo and Luhya tribes have been targeting Kikuyus in what looks like revenge for what happened in the Rift Valley over the weekend. "We want to show our anger at the killing of our people," Fred Onyango, a demonstrator, told news agency AFP.

But the protests turned violent, with reports of shops and vehicles set ablaze and barricades set up in the streets. There has also been violence and houses have been burned in Kakamega in western Kenya and Eldoret in the Rift Valley.

In Eldoret, which experienced some of the worst violence immediately after the election result, there are reports that all the major roads leading out of the town have been blocked by protesters. Separately, two Germans were hacked to death with machetes at a resort south of Mombasa, in an incident involving a robbery and apparently unconnected with the ethnic violence.

Mr Annan is due to meet Mr Kibaki again. While Kenya's leader says he is open to talks, he has refused to countenance Mr Odinga's demand for fresh elections. Mr Annan - who on Saturday travelled to the Rift Valley to meet victims of the violence - has been working to try to overcome the political deadlock. He met Mr Odinga on Sunday, and afterwards opposition spokesman Salim Lone said each side had been asked to name three negotiators to participate in talks, which he said would hopefully start "within a week", according to Associated Press.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

WISE MEN SPEAK BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY;

FOOLS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING" !

VAN HOOGSTRATEN'S LIFE OF CONTROVERSY!

Nicholas Van Hoogstraten was jailed for manslaughter but later released. As the millionaire property developer Nicholas van Hoogstraten is arrested in Zimbabwe, BBC News looks at his business practices and private life. Once heralded as Britain's youngest millionaire, Nicholas van Hoogstraten has never made any secret of his robust approach to business. During one of his many court appearances a judge described the tycoon as a "self-styled emissary of Beelzebub".

From an early age he aspired to be what he calls a "quality person" and was a great fan of Margaret Thatcher because she made him "proud to be English". He left school at 16, joined the Navy and travelled the world. Just a year later he sold his astutely acquired stamp collection for £1,000 and embarked on a business career, buying property in the Bahamas.

Now he is believed to have homes in Barbados, St Lucia, Florida, Cannes and Zimbabwe. He has spoken warmly of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, whom he once described as "100% decent and incorruptible". He holds vast fortunes in the African country and once said: "I don't believe in democracy, I believe in rule by the fittest."

Nicholas van Hoogstraten, 62, is no stranger to controversy and his list of previous convictions includes ordering a grenade attack on the home of a business associate, a Jewish clergyman who he claimed owed him money. For that he spent four years in Wormwood Scrubs in the 1960s, but he would later face much more serious charges.

In 1999, Mohammed Raja, 62, was shot dead by two men identified as Mr van Hoogstraten's henchmen, but the tycoon's conviction for manslaughter was quashed by the Court of Appeal in July 2003 and he was freed five months later.

Following his release from prison Mr Raja's family brought a £6m civil action against him. In December 2005 the civil courts - where the standard of proof required is much lower than the criminal courts - ruled that on the balance of probability, Mr van Hoogstraten was involved in the murder. High Court judges ordered him to pay £500,000 interim costs but the businessman was typically defiant and stated that Mr Raja's family would "never get a penny". Mohammed Raja was stabbed and shot by two 'career criminals'.

Mr van Hoogstraten also hit the headlines during an ugly spat with ramblers over a public footpath through the grounds of the enormous mansion he built near Uckfield in East Sussex. Called Hamilton Palace, after Bermuda's capital, it is neo-classical, with a copper dome.

It was estimated to have cost about £40m and was reportedly the most expensive private house built in Britain for a century. It is bigger than Buckingham Palace and has a 600ft art gallery and a mausoleum designed to hold Mr van Hoogstraten's body for 5,000 years. The mausoleum's walls are three feet thick because he said he wanted to "make the building last for ever".

Never afraid of a fight, the tycoon has described taking on a nun at school. She "tried to whack me with a chair-leg once - I grabbed it and hit her and she never tried again".

He was born in 1946 in Shoreham, East Sussex, as Nicholas Marcel Hoogstraten - the "van" was added later. His father was a shipping agent and his mother a housewife. With the profits he made from his Bahama property deals, he moved on to the British housing market, buying six properties in Notting Hill, London, before moving on to Brighton.

By the time he was 22, he was reputed to have had 350 properties in Sussex alone and to have become Britain's youngest millionaire. But he also gained a sinister reputation and was accused of using strong-arm tactics against tenants of slum properties which he bought cheaply for redevelopment.

In the 1980s, as the housing market boomed, he prospered, acquiring more than 2,000 properties. By the 1990s he had sold 90% of them, making massive profits and investing in other areas, including global mining. When a fire broke out at one of his properties in the early 1990s in Brighton, he described the five people who died in the blaze as "scum". He once said: "The only purpose in creating great wealth like mine is to separate oneself from the riffraff."

He has also said he believes that "the whole purpose of having money is to put yourself on a pedestal". He has five children - four sons and a daughter - by three different mothers. He said he is preparing his eldest son, Rhett, to take over his empire - which he says is worth £800m.

In a BBC interview in 2002 the property baron said he had no plans to retire, but wanted his son to be groomed to eventually take over. He said: "I'm still young and fit and I've got a long time to go. I'd like him to shadow me and find out everything that's going on. "But it's a difficult task because I keep everything close to my chest, nothing's in writing, there are no records of anything."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

TRADE MINISTERS PROMISE DOHA PUSH!

By Tim Weber - Business editor, BBC News website, Davos.

Trade ministers from rich and poor countries have agreed to meet this Easter to make one more attempt to negotiate a global trade deal. EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson warned the trade round could fail if a deal was not struck this year. The talks are stuck over high farm subsidies in Western countries, and the refusal of developing nations to open up to services and manufactured goods. The trade ministers were meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Mr Mandelson said any incoming US president would "find it difficult to put trade on top of their to-do list". He said a failure to agree a free trade deal this year would put the text that had been agreed so far "in deep freeze... and it will have turned to mash by 2010" when talks could continue. Rich and poor nations say a deal is close.

His Brazilian colleague Celso Amorim said if last year had been a "window of opportunity" to reach a trade deal, then 2008 would be the "window of necessity". The meeting of trade ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos has tradition, but past years have seen similar agreements to strike a deal to a tight deadline, and they have always failed.

Pascal Lamy, the director general of the World Trade Organisation said that he was "not 100% confident" that a deal could be achieved now, but thought it would be "do-able".

US trade representative Susan Schwab said the administration of President George W Bush had made "a very clear commitment to achieve a trade deal in 2008". However, Mr Bush's "fast-track authority" to push through a trade deal in Congress ended last year, and the US elections are expected to persuade many US lawmakers to take a more protectionist stance on trade.

Ms Schwab called on companies to lobby lawmakers to ensure they would understand the huge economic benefits that this trade deal would bring.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

PRESS DESPAIR AS KENYA CRISIS CONTINUES!

The press in Kenya and neighbouring countries expresses deep dismay that the post-election violence has continued despite talks being held between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to find a way out of the crisis.

Several Kenyan commentators doubt that the talks mediated by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan will succeed unless political leaders acknowledge the full extent of the crisis and its underlying causes.

In neighbouring Uganda, one writer calls on the Kenyan government to engage with the opposition, while another urges the Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, to speak out on the crisis.


KENYA'S INDEPENDENT SUNDAY STANDARD

The spiral of post-election violence, the killings, displacement and wanton destruction of property have reached catastrophic levels. It is time we stopped burying our heads in the sand as government officials claim life is returning to normal.


GITAU WARIGI IN KENYA'S SUNDAY NATION

Mr Annan cannot avoid looking at the way the ethnic card has been played at different times by different politicians and to what ends? I agree with people who subscribe to the fact that power-sharing is good in principle. But I don't see it working when each side believes it won the election fair and square.


KENYA'S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SUNDAY NATION

It is now recognised that women and children are bearing the brunt of the raging conflict. Sexual abuse has been thrown into the equation, and these two vulnerable groups are suffering double jeopardy... the increase in sexual attacks is a direct offshoot of the breakdown of law and order and the consequent collapse of social mechanisms. In our situation, there is no substitute for peace in ensuring women and girls are safe from sexual depredation.


KENYAN PRIVATELY-OWNED NEWSPAPER DAILY NATION

In this situation it is pointless for any group to crow that they are properly elected and fully in charge of government. The reality is that the instruments of governance have been overwhelmed with the protests that followed the disputed presidential election.


UGANDA'S INDEPENDENT SUNDAY MONITOR

Kibaki's camp cannot pretend that there is no crisis in Kenya when killings are continuing. As a way forward, Mr Odinga has floated three options: Kibaki's resignation, a vote re-run, or power-sharing then a new election. Disagreeable as these suggestions maybe for Mr Kibaki's side, they should surely form the basis of dialogue.


SAM AKAKI IN UGANDA'S SUNDAY MONITOR

Uganda-born Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu has not uttered a word on the events in Kenya where the people have been drowning in blood for almost 30 days. Has the bishop got a selective sense of injustice, only noticing and condemning human rights abuses in the Middle East and Zimbabwe, or is he too busy praying for Mr Mugabe's immediate demise to care about the evolving genocide in Kenya?

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

TO THE DIASPORA !

Dear Family and Friends,

Only once in the last seven days has there been electricity, water and
telephone services at the same time and that was for less than two hours
one afternoon. In the past week electricity has been off for 18 hours a
day, every day, and water cuts last for days at a time. This is now the
norm of life as everything is approaching, or has already reached, a state
of complete collapse. All attempts at normal day to day functioning are
virtually impossible.

This week I had a first hand encounter with the precarious state of
Zimbabwe's health delivery system and it made me very aware of why we have
the lowest life expectancy in the world. My body had been aching for two
days and I was racked with fever: dripping with sweat one minute and
shaking with uncontrollable cold the next. I knew I needed help and was
fortunate to be able to see a doctor - this is a luxury most Zimbabweans
rarely have. The first sign of abnormality came after the blood test when
the doctor apologised for not providing a plaster - something so simple but
now unobtainable. It was an insignificant inconvenience. Far worse lay
ahead. There are four pharmacies in the town and none had the common drug
that had been prescribed to treat malaria. An alternative drug was proposed
but none of the chemists had this one either. Malaria: so common, so
deadly, no drugs for treatment - this was chilling.

My next stop was the hospital, by now I was weak and disorientated and had
only got this far thanks to the help of a friend with a car - another rare
luxury unavailable to most. Only four patients occupied beds: few can
afford the hundreds of millions of dollars needed per night. The hospital
also didn't have the prescribed malaria drug, or the alternative that I
needed. Finally a course of injections was made available but only if I
could pay cash upfront for the vials so the hospital could immediately try
and replace them. How many others before me had been down this road and not
been so lucky?

Over the next five days I visited the hospital every morning for another
precious injection. For three days and nights the hospital had no running
water at all. When the doctor did his rounds, nurses trickled water from a
jug over his hands after he had examined each patient. A local farmer had
helped and provided a bowser of water but this was being carried in, by the
bucket load, to flush toilets, clean human waste, wash dishes and equipment
and sponge down patients. The hospital, like the rest of the town, was only
getting electricity in the middle of the night; water was being boiled
outside on open wood fires. A generator was dealing with emergencies, the
cost of running it phenomenal.

Every day I felt so privileged to be receiving treatment from nurses
working under such appalling conditions. They have left home without a hot
meal or cup of tea in the morning. They will return home to carry water
from wells, cook outside on open fires and prepare for another day of much
the same. And yet always they were polite, professional, helpful and
gentle. On my last day I asked the nurse when she would have time off - I
seemed to have seen her there every day. She told me they were short
staffed because so many nurses had gone. "Gone to the Diaspora," she said.
"To Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, South Africa, Botswana -
anywhere." I asked the nurse what made her stay and she said it was very
hard to go. As hard as it to stay.

Until next time, thanks for reading,
love cathy.

Copyright cathy buckle 26 January 2008 www.cathybuckle.com My books:
"African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available in South Africa from:
books@clarkesbooks.co.za and in the UK from: orders@africabookcentre.com

EU FAR-RIGHT GROUPS TO FORM PARTY !

The four leaders said they already were in talks with other EU parties. Far-right political leaders from four EU nations have unveiled plans to form a pan-European "patriotic" party. The heads of far-right parties from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and France said their aim was to defend Europe against "Islamisation" and immigrants. At a news conference in Vienna, they said they expected to launch the party by 15 November.

The move comes several months after the collapse of a far-right bloc in the European Parliament. The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) bloc disbanded itself in November after a row between its Italian and Romanian members over race.

In Vienna, the heads of Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang, Bulgaria's Ataka and the French National Front said the new party would be a counter-balance to other political forces in Europe. "We say: Patriots of all the countries of Europe, unite! Because only together will we solve our problems," Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache said. "Irresponsible mass immigration to Europe from outside Europe due to irresponsible politicians... is the problem," he said.

Asked about the chances of success of the new party, French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was also present in Vienna, said: "It's not necessary to hope in order to try."

The far-right leaders need support from seven EU parties to launch the group, but Mr Strache said that the goal was to have "more than 10 parties as members and ideally one party from each EU country".

The new party has no name yet, but Mr Strache said European Patriotic Party or European Freedom Party were working titles. The plan for the new party drew a rebuke from Austria's governing Social Democrats who said the proposed political force was absurd and contradictory.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DILEMA FOR DONORS OVER KENYA AID !

By Adam Mynott - BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya's biggest donors have warned the country explicitly or implicitly that aid to the country may be cut or ended unless there is a satisfactory outcome to the post-election crisis that has killed around 700 people and driven 250,000 from their homes.

The US, the biggest donor, and the UK, the second biggest donor, have both said that under the current circumstances, where there is doubt over the outcome of the presidential election on 27 December 2007, that it is not "business as usual" with the Kenyan government.

Britain has given $2m (£1m) to help with the humanitarian crisis resulting from the violence which followed the election, but both countries are said to be watching and waiting before pressing ahead with their full aid programmes.

The other big donor, the European Union, is already under pressure to cut its funding; the European Parliament has voted for a freeze on donor aid to Kenya. It is not their decision - that lies with the European Commission - but the threat is real and it is hanging in the air.

When the European Development Commissioner, Louis Michel, was in Nairobi at the weekend I understand he made it clear to President Mwai Kibaki that unless moves were made to find a negotiated settlement to the crisis, then donor aid from the EU would be cut. Kenya is not one of Africa's "most indebted nations" but it is a very poor country.

The UN estimates that 250,000 Kenyans have been displaced Around 60% of Kenya's population of 37m lives on less than a dollar a day and although Kenya's GDP has been growing for the past three or four years, many of the other economic and social indicators have dropped.

Kenya slipped five places in the 2005 Human Development Report, life expectancy has fallen (WHO) and Kenya is seen as one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world (Transparency International). The impression is given in some quarters, perhaps encouraged by the Kenyan government, that it does not need international aid and that it can stand on its own feet.

This is not the case. The US gives $600-700m dollars in aid. This is all targeted spending, none of it is given directly to the government as budget support. Much of this comes through the US PEPFAR fund and goes towards health care, education, HIV/Aids prevention etc. In addition another $300-400m is given through private funding or other means.

So the total aid injection from the US amounts to about $1bn. A spokesman at the US Embassy in Nairobi said that on top of this, investment, tourist spending and remissions by Kenyans living in the US amount to approximately another $1bn going into the Kenyan economy.

The UK was committed to giving Kenya $100 million in the coming year and since 2001 the Department For International Development has spent over $330m in Kenya. Like the US, none of that money goes directly to the government in budget support but is aimed at specific projects or areas of spending. Donors hope their pressure will end the post-election violence. A large chunk of the UK aid goes to education and the former Kenyan government under President Kibaki was able to fulfil its election promise of free primary education in part because of UK funding.

One of the big election promises made by Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) at this election was to move to free secondary education. Realistically, this cannot be achieved without substantial help from donors. The EU provided $425m between 2002 and 2007 to Kenya and has promised a further $560m between 2008 and 2013. A third of this money does go straight to the Kenyan treasury as budget support. Euro MPs want this to be cancelled.

The dilemma for donors is that cuts in aid inevitably first hit those they're intended to help: the poor and sick and disadvantaged in Kenya; and so often in the past, threats of donor aid reduction have ended up being just that, threats.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

NEW ZEALAND WARNS JAPAN'S WHALERS!

Japanese whaling ships have been warned not to enter New Zealand's Antarctic waters by Prime Minister Helen Clark. Military planes were patrolling areas of the Southern Ocean for which New Zealand is responsible and would take photos if they see the fleet, she said. Ms Clark added that the surveillance pictures would be published - but not the exact co-ordinates of the fleet, because of security concerns.

Protesters have temporarily halted the Japanese ships' hunting activities. Tokyo officials say they want to shake off the activists - some of whom boarded a Japanese vessel last week - before they resume the hunt. New Zealand has search-and-rescue responsibilities over parts of the Southern Ocean, but does not have territorial waters. "It's an area that's very difficult to access. If there are problems it's difficult to render assistance," Ms Clark said. She added: "We won't release co-ordinates for obvious safety-related reasons but we will put information out to the world where we see the fleet."

The Japanese fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme. Other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WORLDWIDE SHARE JITTERS CONTINUE!

Global stocks finished down on Friday, as concerns returned about the state of the worldwide financial sector. With analysts saying some investors were also profit taking after two days of solid rises, Wall Street's main Dow Jones index lost 171 points to 12,207. The Nasdaq ended 35 points lower, while London's FTSE fell 6.8 points to 5,869, and Frankfurt's Dax lost 4.3 points.

Analysts said sentiment was hit by rumours of more big losses to be reported in the global banking sector. Dutch banks ING and Fortis were mentioned in some reports. Both said they declined to comment on market speculation. There was also rumours that one of the main US hedge funds was in financial difficulty.

Global stocks had risen earlier on Friday as investors welcomed the previous day's announcement of a US government plan to spend $150bn (£76bn) reviving the country's economy. Strong earnings from Microsoft and building equipment firm Caterpillar had also helped to lift the mood, with Japan's main Nikkei index closing up 4%.

On Monday, stock markets from Japan to the UK were heavily sold on growing fears that the US would fall into a recession and drag down other key economies too. In many markets, the falls were the worst since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. The resulting turmoil prompted the Fed, the US central bank, to cut US rates to 3.5% from 4.25%.

Analysts now expect more volatility in the short term. "We expect sharp gains and losses in the next few days and weeks," said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, a strategist at Postbank in Germany. "The US has done many things to stabilise the market, but all the bad news is not yet out there.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

EGYPT WATCHES GAZA TRAFFIC GO ON!

For a fourth day, Egypt is grappling with the problem of what to do about the thousands of Palestinians spilling over its border with the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, heavy traffic continued across the border in both directions, AP news agency reported, after a bid by Egypt to reseal it failed on Friday.

AP also reported that for the first time many Palestinians were using cars to cross, rather than going on foot. The Palestinians are defying a blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel. Israel has said the blockade was necessary to try to halt rocket fire into Israel from Gaza. But it had faced accusations of imposing illegal "collective punishment" on residents of Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.

On Friday, Egyptian police withdrew from the border area after violent skirmishes with Gazans, some of whom used a bulldozer to tear down parts of the border fence.

EGYPT-GAZA BORDER

12km (7.4 miles) long
Egyptian side patrolled by 750 soldiers under 2005 agreement with Israel
Border crossing terminal south of town of Rafah
PA control of terminal under EU supervision collapsed after Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007
Border closed almost continuously since

There appeared to be no attempt to halt the stream of cross-border traffic on Saturday, with AP reporting only two guards present at the main crossing. It said as well as Palestinians travelling into Egypt to stock up, and even to visit an Egyptian resort, some Egyptian vehicles were seen transporting supplies into Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of people have surged into Egypt to buy supplies since the first breaches in the border wall were made on Wednesday. The UN has estimated that as much as half of Gaza's 1.5 million population has crossed the border in defiance of Israel's blockade, which was recently tightened leading to acute shortages.

Israel, alarmed at the ongoing breakdown in security on the Egypt-Gaza border, has closed the main road running along the border. Tourism sites and hiking trails have been closed. Security measures have been increased, according to the Israeli military, on fears that Israeli citizens could be vulnerable to attacks by Palestinians now free to travel in the area.

But Friday's failed bid by Egyptian riot police to plug gaps in the border was a humiliating setback for Cairo, which must now decide how to respond, say correspondents. Hamas said it respected Egypt's decision to close the border but it did nothing to assist the Egyptians on the ground.

Late on Friday, the United Nations Security Council failed to reach agreement on a state of "deep concern" about the situation.

GAZA BLOCKADE

17 January: Israel seals border following rise in rocket attacks
20 January: Gaza's only power plant shuts down
22 January: Israel eases restrictions
22 January: Egyptian border guards disperse Palestinian protest against closure
23 January: Border wall breached

A statement calling for talks had been in the council all week, but was finally blocked by Libya, which currently chairs the Security Council. Meanwhile, confusion surrounds reports that Egypt's president offered to host talks for rival Palestinian groups.

Hamas's leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, told Reuters news agency his group would seek to make the dialogue a success. But the Egyptian foreign ministry told the BBC by text message that reports that Hosni Mubarak had invited Hamas and Fatah to Cairo for discussions were "not accurate".

Correspondents say the incursions by hundreds of thousands of Gazans are forcing Egypt, Israel and the international community to rethink their policy of trying to weaken the Hamas leadership by keeping the territory sealed.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

INTER-ETHNIC BATTLES IN KENYA!

By Adam Mynott - BBC News, Nakuru.

Some of the latest violence seems to be revenge attacks by Kikuyus. Terrifying mobs of young men armed with panga (machetes), rungus (wooden clubs) and bows and arrows stormed through the streets of Nakuru on Friday.

The market town, the capital of Kenya's Rift Valley, has not witnessed scenes like this for many years, if ever. It is about two and half hour's drive from Nairobi to Nakuru and as we came into the town on the main road we were confronted by a mob advancing down the tarmac.

A stone smashed a back-door window of our car, crashing against the head of my colleague Nawaz Shah, showering him with broken glass. He was not badly hurt and our troubles were nothing compared to those of hundreds of people in the town who had been attacked or forced to abandon their homes.

Ezekiel, a security guard watching over a petrol station, said he had left his wife and child in their home that morning and he had no idea whether they were safe. "They are crouching there in the room all alone. I told them not to move and it is now too dangerous for me to get near them," he told me.

Businesses have closed and Nakuru has been turned into a ghost town All around us people were hurrying away from a junction where another petrol station had been set on fire. More than a dozen people have been killed in a frenzy of violence in the town, and dozens of properties have been torched and destroyed.

Nakuru is 90% populated by Kikuyus, and many other Kikuyus, driven from their homes in other parts of the Rift Valley, have come to Nakuru in the past three weeks seeking shelter. They accuse mobs of Kalenjins, another tribal group, of launching attacks on them in the north of the town - trying to drive them out.

Attacks three weeks ago were sparked by the disputed election, but the fighting has now taken on a different complexion. Old inter-ethnic scores, some going back generations are being settled. Many relate to disputes over land which different communities claim was stolen from them.

In the centre of the town shops and businesses started to close down and by the middle of the afternoon, nothing was left open. Fear is etched deep into everyone's faces. Groups of terrified residents were suddenly running headlong out of the parts of town they live in, because they heard that houses were being attacked and set on fire.

Many people have abandoned their homes altogether. The road leading south out of Nakuru towards Nairobi was dotted with vehicles piled high with belongings: chairs, sofas, tables, pots and pans, chests of drawers and in one truck we saw, a cow. Many do not know where they are going - they simply know they must get away. The town of Nakuru is no stranger to inter-ethnic strife. For many years it has been eased and contained, but now it has erupted in sickening acts of murder and brutality.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYING"

"QUARRELS WOULD NOT LAST LONG IF
THE FAULT WAS ONLY ON ONE SIDE" !

ZIMBABWE SETS MARCH DATE FOR POLL!

President Mugabe is trying to extend his 27 years in office. Zimbabwe is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on 29 March, the government has announced.
President Robert Mugabe has been confirmed as his party's candidate.

The opposition is threatening to boycott the elections unless it gets guarantees they will be free and fair at talks with Mr Mugabe's party. Recent elections have been characterised by violence against the opposition and accusations of rigging - charges denied by Mr Mugabe.

On Wednesday, police used tear gas to disperse a banned march staged by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In December, the government promised to relax tough security laws, which have been used to hinder MDC campaigning.

The MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF are holding talks mediated by South Africa in an effort to end the political impasse. The opposition wants constitutional changes to be enacted before the elections are held. They had been expected in March.

Zimbabwe is suffering from an acute economic crisis, which Mr Mugabe's critics blame on his seizure of white-owned farms. He says he is the victim of an international plot intended to bring him down.

Earlier this month, the BBC was told that former Finance Minister Simba Makoni would challenge Mr Mugabe, either from within Zanu-PF and be launching a breakaway party.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

S.A. HOSPITALS HIT BY POWER CUTS!

Staff at two hospitals in the South African city of Durban tell the BBC's Alice Lander how the current power cut and shortages - known as load shedding - are affecting them.

NICKY, ANAESTHETIC CONSULTANT

When the lights go out in the theatres it really is black. Once or twice when the generators haven't kicked in, we have had to get nurses to shine torches - down into a patient's abdomen for example - to try help the surgeon see what they're doing.

If the power went off and our generators didn't work, all our patients would need to be ventilated. We would have to allocate one nurse for each and every patient and they would have to take over the breathing requirements for the patients because all the ventilators would go off.

Some of the machines do have batteries but that would only last between three and four hours. The patients are all also on infusions that rely on electricity and most of our infusion sets are old and do not have batteries.

NIMISH, ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY

We cannot always rely on these generators and our back-up systems because once a patient comes in and we have him on a life-support system, he needs to be monitored regularly... and if the power goes off then we are lost. We would not know how to cope with that.

That patient lying on a support system would die, within minutes, if we couldn't get back-up to the relevant equipment. It is the most crucial aspect for us as an emergency department.

ABDOOL, MANAGER

When I got to work on Monday, there was no power. The possible lack of power is worrying hospital staff. I got a call from theatre from the doctors wanting to know how long it would last. We enquired and it was actually from 0800 till 1000 in the morning. But the doctors were quite understanding because they knew it wasn't just the hospital, it was the entire country being affected by load shedding.

On Tuesday it went off at 1400 local time and came back up at 1600 local time. By that time, most of the procedures were completed in theatre but it did affect us again on Wednesday morning.

The municipality in this area was out so they swapped us onto another supply and since then we haven't been affected. It's a major relief. This load shedding is a worry and a concern because this is a hospital we're talking about.

MANDY, ASSISTANT CATERING MANAGER

Last week we were preparing supper when the lights went off. We had to use the gas stove - we have to have a substitute power because we have so many patients that we have to feed. We can't just give them sandwiches.

And even at home this load shedding is giving me so many problems because I have my elderly mother and father to look after. If we buy food and then there's no power to keep it fresh in the fridge then it just goes off. So we have to just throw that food away. The same happens here at the hospital if there's no power.

DESIREE, CASHIER

The continuing power cuts will affect daily life across South Africa. It [load shedding] really makes you angry when you get home and have to have a bath in the dark. We work long hours here and then when we go home, it's all dark. Last night, I had to wait until 2230 local time to be able to have a bath. You don't even feel like eating because there's no lights.

MBONENI, HOSPITAL CEO

The load shedding by Eskom [South Africa's power supplier] is a worry to all of us, you know, it's a worry because when it happens it could cause problems at the hospital. Not all the units here at the hospital are actually connected to emergency back-up power supplies.

SISTER TEMBI, INTENSIVE CARE NURSE

My worry is if our generators were not to work when we needed them - when the power goes off because of this load shedding. If it was to happen it would be the first time that it has happened and it would be a real disaster.

Everything else would also stop because we would have to be doing everything manually - ventilating the patient, etc. It would be so straining for the nurses and we do worry that with all these cuts, one day it will happen.

SHIREEB, VISITING HER MOTHER IN HOSPITAL

If the power was to go off with my mom here, I would be so worried. And very angry because like this morning she was in theatre... if the lights had gone off, what would've happened? Because I don't think that these hospitals always have a back-up plan. What's the guarantee that everyone is going to be safe?

There's no guarantee and no-one is prepared to take responsibility. Everybody says the government is apologising but it is a bit too late for apologies. It's a bit too late especially when there's people's lives concerned here.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

'DEATH THREATS' OVER TAYLOR TRIAL!

Charles Taylor is accused of stoking the 1991-2001 Sierra Leone war. The family of a key prosecution witness in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor say they have received death threats. Vamba Sherif told the BBC that unknown men had entered the family home's compound in Monrovia, shouting insults and saying they would all be killed. His brother Varmuyan Sherif has told Mr Taylor's trial that the former leader had close ties to Sierra Leone rebels.

Mr Taylor has denied charges he ordered the rebels' atrocities. Vamba Sherif said the men fled before the police arrived. He said that a few days later, a leaflet was left in the yard, repeating the death threats.

Mr Taylor's trial was moved to The Hague in the Netherlands because of fears that his trial in West Africa could lead to renewed instability in the region. Both Liberia and Sierra Leone are slowly recovering from years of conflict.

The prosecution are trying to prove the former president's links to rebels in Sierra Leone. Varmuyan Sherif, one of his former aides, has told the court that Mr Taylor set up a guest house for them in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. He also said rebel fighters crossed into Liberia from Sierra Leone to aid Mr Taylor's forces when they were attacked by Liberian rebels.

Mr Taylor, 59, is the first former African leader to face a criminal trial internationally. The ex-Liberian president is accused of responsibility for the actions of RUF rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone, which included unlawful killings, sexual slavery, use of child soldiers and looting.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

THE MYSTERY OF FLIGHT BAO38!

By Tom Symonds - Transport correspondent, BBC News.

Mystery still surrounds the crashed British Airways Boeing 777. Why did a modern airliner, with an experienced crew on board, suddenly lose power in the seconds before landing? It is a question that many in the aviation industry simply can't stop asking. The mystery of flight BA038 intrigues them in so many ways.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch is admired around the world as the gold standard in crash investigation. Its experts are either experienced pilots or engineers.

Their task: to produce a highly detailed report of the crash that explains, rather than blames. Pulling together information from a variety of sources, including the AAIB's initial reports, it's possible to describe the last minute of the flight.

BA038 had been descending gradually into Heathrow, the autopilot and the automatic throttle system controlling the aircraft. As the handling pilot, first officer John Coward would have been preparing to take manual control below 1,000 feet. The trouble started two miles out at 600 feet, as the plane was slowing down in its landing configuration. At this point the engines would have required more power to keep the plane from sinking below the glideslope - an invisible three degree path down to the runway, generated by radio waves.

The plane had not run out of fuel, and there is no mention of birds being sucked into the engines, or violent blasts of wind throwing it off course. When the automatic throttle demanded more power, the engines initially responded. Then first the right engine, followed eight seconds later by the left, powered down - to a level below the thrust needed.

Warnings would have flashed up on engine monitoring screens in the centre of the control panel, showing the power was below that required. A lower screen would have shown more detailed information about the flow of fuel around the aircraft. The primary displays would show the likely height the plane would descend to in the next minute.

Faced with the knowledge that a disaster was in the making, the crew had around 40 seconds to save their aircraft. It's understood the captain Peter Burkill quickly reduced the amount of wing flaps deployed.

This was as important as the skilful manipulation of the control column by John Coward, in saving the aircraft. It cuts drag, speeds the plane up a little, and when a pilot has speed, he can maintain altitude. But it would only delay the inevitable -the plane would have been losing both speed and height, a potentially catastrophic situation.

The 150 tonne Boeing just cleared the busy A30, the airport perimeter fence, and a radio mast before crashing to the ground in a stall - where the plane can simply fly no longer. There would have been further warnings in the cockpit, including the stick-shaker, where the controls vibrate to alert the pilots.

But the quick actions and training of the crew had saved many lives. The latest information from the investigation has removed some of the possible causes from the list. The plane had not run out of fuel, and there is no mention of birds being sucked into the engines, or violent blasts of wind throwing it off course.

In fact, both engines were turning as the plane hit the ground. Significantly the AAIB has said "the autothrottle and engine control commands were performing as expected", suggesting no failure of a data link between the automatic systems and the engines. Instead the investigators specifically mention the plane's fuel system.

The Boeing 777 has three fuel tanks - one in the centre that is used up first, and one on each wing, which would have been in use during the later stages of the flight. There are six different pumps to push the fuel to the engines. If any pump fails, fuel can be routed via an alternate. If an engine fails the fuel can be 'balanced' between the wings to take account of the one-sided thrust, and the fact that the tank on one wing will empty faster than the other.

Keeping everything working is an 'electronic engine control', part of a system called the FADEC which monitors the power needed. This takes into account a range of variables including: the configuration of the aircraft, the condition of the outside air, the state of the engines themselves, and of course, the position of the plane's throttles. This system knows the limitations of the engines and stops them being damaged by heat or pressure. Crucially it is supposed to work independently of the plane's autopilot, to make sure the engines function properly.

It is this collection of computers, tanks, pumps, sensors and their backups, which the investigators are examining closely. But they will also be examining the fuel. It might have been contaminated. Or fuel 'waxing' may have occurred. This results from partial freezing, and pilots say the outside air temperature at some altitudes en route to the UK was down to minus 70 degrees that day - some of the coldest readings they could remember. There are heating systems to bring the fuel up to the temperature required. Perhaps these failed.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has identified previous seven incidents involving Boeing 777s where ice and melting water clogged up the sensors and pressure lines of the FADEC system, preventing it from controlling the engines properly. The biggest concern was that this could happen on both engines simultaneously, a scenario eerily similar to last week's crash.

The FAA's findings only related to General Electric GE90 aircraft engines. The pair on the British Airways Boeing were Rolls Royce engines. Maybe they suffered a similar problem.

At least modern airliners provide investigators with the maximum amount of information possible. Every aspect of the plane's performance was recorded, including the words of the crew. It could be weeks before the mystery of flight BA038is solved. The airline industry is waiting, with great anticipation, for answers.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HOMES BURNT IN KENYA POLL CLASHES!

Dozens of homes have been set on fire in central Kenya, police say, with reports of several deaths as post-election violence continues. The latest clashes were in the Rift Valley capital, Nakuru, where there are reports of at least five people killed. The violence comes despite hopes of progress after President Mwai Kibaki met opposition leader Raila Odinga for the first time since disputed polls.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan is to hold further talks to try to end the crisis. His spokesman said he would be meeting various Kenyan leaders on Friday but had no plans to lead further direct talks between the election rivals.

Although Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga shook hands, the opposition were angered by the president's statement that he had had been "duly elected". Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) say he was cheated of victory. Violence that has broken out since the election has killed 700 people across the country. The ODM says Mr Kibaki's statement shows he is not committed to meaningful talks.

The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says the symbolism and significance of the two leaders' meeting was enormous, but there is still a great deal of work to be done and compromise required for them to resolve their differences and reach an agreed way forward.

The announcement of the talks came as a surprise to many in Nairobi. Several earlier attempts to get the rivals to meet had failed, with Mr Kibaki insisting on direct talks and Mr Odinga refusing to meet without a mediator.

On Friday there were reports that as many as seven people had been killed. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said he could not confirm the reports of five deaths in Nakuru but he said two people had been killed in the nearby town of Molo.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing opposition officials of helping to organise ethnic violence in the Rift Valley region, in which hundreds of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu community were deliberately targeted and killed.

ODM spokesman Salim Lone said HRW should provide concrete evidence before jeopardising mediation efforts. The party has denied previous accusations of ethnic cleansing. The unrest triggered by the election on 27 December has driven 250,000 people from their homes.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OBITUARY : HEATH LEDGER !

By Ian Youngs - Entertainment reporter, BBC News.

Actor Heath Ledger, who has been found dead at the age of 28, was regarded as one of Hollywood's brightest young stars, with a string of acclaimed films behind him and a major career ahead. The death of such an admired star at such a young age will cause huge shock among fans, the media and the movie industry.

He shot onto the A list less than three years ago with a lead role in the universally acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, which proved he could shine in emotionally challenging roles as well as comedies and action films. He played the inarticulate and volatile ranch hand Ennis, who became romantically entangled with a rodeo cowboy, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, in 1960s Wyoming. It earned him Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta nominations.

E Annie Proulx, who wrote the story upon which the movie was based, said: "He was so visceral. How did this actor get inside my head so well? He understood more about the character than I did."

HEATH LEDGER'S TOP FILMS

Batman - The Dark Knight (2008)
I'm Not There (2007)
Brokeback Mountain (2005, above left)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Ned Kelly (2003)
Monster's Ball (2001)
A Knight's Tale (2001)
The Patriot (2000)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Two Hands (1999)

After Brokeback Mountain, Ledger was beginning to win blockbuster roles, and had just finished playing The Joker in the new Batman film The Dark Knight. A recent trailer showed him playing the character as a sinister villain who proves a match for the superhero, played by Christian Bale.

"When we came to shoot the movie it was a physically and mentally draining role but I thoroughly enjoyed it and this is the most fun I've had with any character," he said.

Ledger was also thought to be in the middle of filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a new fantasy movie with former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam. Set and shot in modern London, it is the tale of a travelling theatre that takes the audience into a parallel universe.

He has also just been seen in I'm Not There, which saw six actors play characters based on Bob Dylan at different stages of his career. Ledger said his character Robbie Clark focused on "Dylan's struggle with love and his marriage and divorce and family and balancing being in the media spotlight".

Ledger's other roles have included a heroin addict in Candy in 2006, Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm in 2005 and the title part in 2003's Ned Kelly.

He appeared alongside Halle Berry in the Oscar-winning Monster's Ball in 2001, starred in popcorn movie A Knight's Tale the same year, and was seen alongside Mel Gibson in The Patriot in 2000.

His Hollywood debut came in teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You and he starred in light-hearted Australian gangster flick Two Hands in 1999. And like many Australian actors, he had cut his teeth in TV soaps, playing surfer Scott Irwin in Home and Away in 1997.

Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1979. The star had a daughter with US actress Michelle Williams.

Ledger was not known as a hellraiser, but was said to have been uncomfortable with fame. And the spotlight inevitably fell on him during the bad times as well as the good.

He was recently reported to have split from his fiancee Michelle Williams, whom he met when she played his wife in Brokeback Mountain.

They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, in October 2005, but were believed to have parted in late 2007. Ledger was previously in a couple with another actress, Naomi Watts. Their relationship ended in 2004.

But he will be remembered for his film roles and after establishing himself as one of Hollywood's finest actors under 30, Ledger's life has ended just as his talent was beginning to be fulfilled.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ISRAEL TORN OVER RELATIONSHIP WITH GAZA!

By Martin Patience - BBC News, Jerusalem.

Some Israelis say Gaza is becoming more of an Egyptian problem. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivered a keynote speech on Wednesday night presenting himself as an experienced leader in difficult times. But notably absent was any mention of the tens of thousands of Palestinians crossing from Gaza into Egypt after the militant group Hamas blew up sections of the border fence.

Israel is closely monitoring the situation but is reluctant to use force to end the crisis, which would be likely to spark international condemnation. Some Israeli officials, however, are publicly stressing that Egypt must take immediate steps to close the border. "You can't expect us to be responsible for everything going on in Gaza when we're no longer there," says Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel.

Egyptian officials are saying that the border will be closed when all the Palestinians return. This is not the first time that the border has been breached.

Following the Israeli withdrawal of its settlements and military from Gaza in 2005, Hamas blew up the concrete barrier separating the territory from Egypt. As seen this week, many Palestinians took the opportunity then to stock up essential goods such as medicine and foodstuffs.

Later in 2005, the US and the European Union brokered a deal that allowed Gaza to have an international crossing but only for people and not goods. But since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007, the crossing has mostly been closed.

Gaza has been subjected to an economic boycott which was intensified last week. Israel has said this is in response to continued rocket fire from the territory onto neighbouring Israeli towns.

Despite Israeli protests that sophisticated weaponry is being brought into the territory and that the border must be sealed, some Israeli officials view the event as an opportunity to offload responsibility for Gaza onto Egypt. Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel wants to hand over the supply of electricity, water and medicine to Egypt. "We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it. So we want to disconnect from it," said Mr Vilnai, according to Israeli army radio.

Some Israeli political analysts believe that if there was trade between Egypt and Gaza, it would be easier for Israel to close all its crossings into the territory.
"From Israel's perspective, Gaza is becoming more and more of an Egyptian problem," wrote Dr. Guy Bechor, a political analyst at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya, in an article posted on a website. "That is the real fruit of disengagement, something the Egyptians were quite leery of."

The UN, however, still considers Gaza as being under Israeli occupation - Israel controls Gaza's air, sea space and some of the territory's borders - and therefore stresses that Israel has obligations to Gaza's civilian population. For its part, Hamas has called for urgent talks with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority on border crossings.

The Egyptian government will be wary of making major concessions to Hamas. Egyptian officials are concerned about the strength of the Muslim brotherhood, which has strong support in Egypt and to which Hamas is affiliated.

For now, Gaza's border crossing into Egypt remains open. The goods may be flowing in but the resolution to this crisis is not.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

LAST ALASKA LANGUAGE SPEAKER DIES!

A woman believed to be the last native speaker of the Eyak language in the north-western US state of Alaska has died at the age of 89. Marie Smith Jones was a champion of indigenous rights and conservation. She died at her home in Anchorage. She helped the University of Alaska compile an Eyak dictionary, so that future generations would have the chance to resurrect it.

Nearly 20 other native Alaskan languages are at risk of disappearing. Ms Jones is described by her family as a tiny chain smoking woman who was fiercely independent, says the BBC's Peter Bowes in Los Angeles. "To the best of our knowledge, she was the last full-blooded Eyak alive," her daughter Bernice Galloway told the Associated Press news agency. "She was a woman who faced incredible adversity in her life and overcame it. She was about as tenacious as you can get." She believed passionately in preserving the Eyak language and wanted a written record of it to be kept so for future generations, our correspondent adds.

The Eyak ancestral homeland runs along almost 500km (300 miles) of the Gulf of Alaska. With her husband, a white Oregon fisherman, Ms Jones had nine children, seven of whom are still alive. But none of them learned Eyak because they grew up at a time when it was considered wrong to speak anything but English, her daughter said.

According to Michael Krauss, a linguist and professor with whom she worked, "she was very much alone as the last speaker of Eyak" for the last 15 years. "She understood as only someone in her unique position could, what it meant to be the last of her kind," Mr Krauss said. "It's the first, but probably not the last, at the rate things are going, of the Alaska Native languages to go extinct. She understood what was at stake and its significance, and bore that tragic mantle with grace and dignity."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"GOOD ADVICE IS SOMETHING A MAN GIVES -
WHEN HE IS TOO OLD TO SET A BAD EXAMPLE" !

Q & A : GITHONGO ON KENYA VIOLENCE!

John Githongo resigned after receiving death threats. John Githongo, formerly in charge of rooting out corruption in the Kenyan government, gives his views on the political turmoil that has engulfed his country. More than 650 people have been killed and 250,000 more have fled their homes since the disputed presidential poll on 27 December, 2007.

Mr Githongo lives in self-imposed exile in the UK. He resigned when threats were made to his safety after he uncovered a massive corruption scandal involving several government ministers.

Previous elections in Kenya have been accompanied by a certain amount of violence, but nothing on this scale. What is different this time? The elections were always going to be problematic. The outcome was expected to be very close, but in the end the vote was characterised by blatant rigging. This, in a situation where both sides had mobilised their supporters along ethnic lines, created a tinderbox situation.

As you say, there has always been some violence around elections. This time what was shocking was that in less than a week, hundreds were killed, hundreds of thousands displaced and, perhaps most troubling, ethnic polarisation deepened into a kind of self-perpetuating reality that Kenyans have not seen before. One percent of the population has been displaced in an alarmingly short space of time. That has structural consequences - political, social and economic.

To what extent was the violence orchestrated? Do you feel the party leaders should be held responsible for the violence? Some of it has been clearly orchestrated - the gangs are too well organised. We have a grim history of this, and the leaders who perpetrate these atrocities have never been held to account. Some of it, however, now seems spontaneous and localised. It is also clear, however, that the state's response in some parts of the country has been unjustifiably brutal, leading to suspicions that certain communities are being 'broken down'.

So on the one side, we have what are clearly pre-meditated attacks on an ethnic basis, and on the other, we have police treating demonstrators in the western part of Kenya quite differently from those in the capital. The country's leadership is responsible - not just the political leadership but also the cultural and religious leaders. Among intellectual leaders, there are those that have allowed their parochialisms to overwhelm their better judgment.

As a result, terms like genocide have been used in a fast-and-loose manner, clearly without an appreciation of their inflammatory implications in the short-term, and their legal implications in the long-term.

The word "ethnicity" comes up a lot. What does ethnicity mean to Kenyans, and to what extent can ethnicity help us understand recent events? Ethnicity is a mobile and nebulous concept. It means different things at different times, and sometimes matters more than at others. Today, ethnicity in Kenya means politicised kinship more than it does anything else; a kind of overpowering identity informed by grievance, a sense of being wronged, of being under siege. Fear and anger drive it more than other factors because of the unique circumstances.

Politics caused the violence, and the violence has deepened the politicised ethnicity - but the politics came first. This is driven by fear and anger, and is deepening in part because it is self-perpetuating in an environment where political institutions do not offer solutions, but are actually expressions of the fundamental contradictions in society.

It is not a cycle that cannot be snapped out of - some sections of civil society are particularly robust and are seeking clarity and a way forward. But rationality has been put on the back-burner for a while by the political class.

There is a struggle for Kenya underway. As Kenyans, we are afraid and confused for our country. What is happening is disconcerting and appals the majority of right thinking Kenyans. All the alternatives proposed by hardliners on both sides are isolationist, destructive, backward and horrifying.

Kenya supposedly has a democratic constitution with checks and balances to ensure fairness in the democratic process. Where and how did the system fail? The fact that the presidency appoints electoral commission officers and the judges that hear electoral petitions is an important constitutional failing.

What have you thought of the reporting of the crisis by the Kenyan media, and by the BBC and other foreign media? The Kenyan media have had a rough time - on the one hand wanting to report the truth, but also wanting to avoid inflaming the situation. They have done very well under difficult circumstances. That said, the polarisation that has affected the rest of society will afflict the media as well. The foreign media tends to oversimplify issues - but that's not unusual.

The BBC has been good in giving Kenyan voices valuable space to speak. But it has also been weak in questioning whether some the responsibility for the reversals in Kenya may also lie here in the West.

What has been thoroughly incompetent is the comparison of Kenya to Rwanda. In Rwanda, a small group mobilised a community and state agencies and institutions using state resources to seek the extermination of an entire community. This is not what is happening in Kenya. There has been a very reckless use of words like ethnic cleansing and genocide even by respected Kenyans. This only serves to inflame the situation.

What are your views on Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga's responses to the crisis? Is there a way out? They are both now prisoners of their respective political positions. Retreat seems as if it would herald their political unravelling. There is very little middle ground, and even this is shrinking.

But at the end of the day, unless people sit and talk we are not going anywhere and this crisis will consume both its primary protagonists.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUSTRALIAN PARTY TEEN TURNS PRO !

He said it was the best party ever. Now he wants to do more. The Australian teenager who threw a party while his parents were away causing thousands of dollars of damage says he is turning professional. Corey Delaney, 16, told Australian television he was giving up plans to become a carpenter, and would DJ and host parties instead. Corey shot to international fame last week when 500 teenagers attended a party at his home in Melbourne.

Police who came to investigate noise were driven off by drunken guests. Bythe time police reinforcements with dogs arrived, an estimated A$20,000 ($18,000; £9,200) worth of damage was done. An unrepentant Mr Delaney said at the time that any other teenager wanting to host a home-alone party should get him to organise it.

"Best party ever, that's what everyone's saying," he said. Now he is putting his own advice into practice. "Working on a building site was pretty hard. Now I've got a manager, life's good," he said. The manager, celebrity agent Max Markson, said: "He did a great party in the wrong place. "We're going to put on a great party in the right place."

Mr Delaney had originally hoped to keep the party a secret from his parents, but the world-wide publicity it attracted put paid to that. He temporarily left home to avoid his parent's wrath. Since then, Corey has polarised public opinion. He has become something of a hero for many young people, with some reports describing him as a Generation Z poster-boy.

But other people have criticised him as an arrogant brat. A website inviting people to "slap Corey down the street" has had more than 700,000 hits.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

EGYPT RELUCTANT TO CHECK GAZA'S SURGE!

By Ian Pannell - BBC News, Gaza border.

It has been a memorable day for the Palestinians of Gaza - a day when they decided to try to end the Israeli blockade for themselves. Quite who helped them is not altogether clear although few think it could have been done without the support of Hamas - the militant Islamic group that has been running Gaza since autumn last year.

With explosives and some pretty advanced cutting equipment to hand, the border wall literally came tumbling down. The sound and the news spread through Gaza and as dawn broke thousands of people left their homes and surged across no man's land and on into Egypt with a massive show of people power.

"People are very happy. We have been living like birds in a cage. Now we have been released, we are so happy," said Mohammed, a Palestinian at the border. Most came to shop, desperate to stock up on goods that have become increasingly scarce as the blockade has gone on.

There were old men herding goats across the border and youngsters carrying boxes of crisps and cheese. Donkeys pulling wooden carts laden with cement weaved along the muddy road to the border. There were shiny Chinese motorcycles and dusty cartons of cigarettes. Women clad in black carried rolled-up rugs on their backs and fridge-freezers were hauled slowly through the crowds. Above all people were after fuel, the shortage of which seemed to precipitate this crisis.

Petrol stations were besieged by Gazans wielding plastic canisters. Some enterprising Bedouin brought large tankers to the border site to allow people to fill up (and pay up) more easily. Others had more pressing needs.

GAZA BLOCKADE

17 Jan: Israel seals border following rise in rocket attacks
20 Jan: Gaza's only power plant to shuts down
22 Jan: Israel eases restrictions
22 Jan: Egyptian border guards disperse Palestinians
23 Jan: Border wall breached

I watched a man in a wheelchair being carried above the heads of the crowds and into a waiting ambulance. Families, divided by the closed border, were reunited and took the chance to move all their possessions from one side of the border to the other.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered his support to the Palestinians saying he had authorised the crossing. "I told them, let them come in to eat and buy food, then go back as long as they're not carrying any weapons," he said. It was a fanciful statement at best.

The Egyptian border police were powerless to stop the crowd. Only 24 hours earlier, they had been beating and spraying Palestinian protesters with water cannon. Israel has called on Egypt to take control of the border and says it is worried that weapons will be smuggled into Gaza. But it remains unclear what practically could be done.

Egyptian security forces are significantly outnumbered here and any move against the Palestinians would be hugely unpopular both at home and elsewhere in the Arab world. There is also the risk that it could spark a clash with Hamas gunmen, who have a significant presence on the border. The damage to the boundary wall is extensive.

In some places there are hundreds of metres of corrugated metal that have been felled and thousands of people continued to move in both directions late into the night. For now no-one seems in control here and there is little will politically or practically to mend this particular problem.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SHOCK AT 'COMPASSIONATE' VERDICT !

By Malcolm Brabant - BBC News, Hania, Crete.

John Hogan had been bracing himself for a custodial sentence. During his tearful hour-long testimony to the court in Hania, Crete, Mr Hogan said in a defiant voice: "Whatever you do to me in this court, no-one can do anything worse to me than I have done to myself."

But when the verdict came not long afterwards, it was more magnanimous than anyone had expected. Instead of asking for a reduced verdict of manslaughter on the grounds of temporary insanity, the public prosecutor, in effect, directed the bench to acquit John Hogan on the charges of murdering his son Liam, aged six, and attempting to murder his two-year-old daughter Mia.

During her summing up, she said: "I deem him dangerous to himself and the public and recommend, therefore, that he be committed to a state hospital." The four jurors and three judges retired briefly and decided unanimously that he was innocent of the charges.

John Hogan stood up and kissed his defence lawyer on both cheeks. But there were gasps from the back of the court, where his former wife Natasha collapsed in tears. Her mother, Liam's grandmother, stood with her mouth wide open, unable to comprehend the absence of a punitive sentence.

On the steps of the court, Mrs Hogan sobbed constantly as Detective Constable Russ Jones, a family liaison officer, read a statement on her behalf. She refused to speak or to answer questions, but is expected to give her story in a Sunday tabloid newspaper.


The statement read: "This result, albeit somewhat unexpected, has left me feeling that Liam lost his young life for nothing. I accept that an act in a moment of complete madness was uncharacteristic of John but to have done this to our children is unforgiveable." The verdicts mean that Mr Hogan does not have to return to Korydallos prison in Athens and its psychiatric unit, where he has been held for nearly a year and a half. He will spend the night in a prison in Crete, before being sent to a public institution in Athens.

Professor Iannis Nestoros, the consultant psychiatrist who treated Mr Hogan in Korydallos, and described him as "deranged", said he would probably have to be assessed in a secure ward in Athens. But it looks highly feasible that Mr Hogan, 35, could be returned to Britain within a year.

His mother Josephine, who moved to Athens to support her son, will then have easier access to him. During his testimony, Mr Hogan said: "I love my mum, I love my sisters, I love my brother. But I have never loved three people more than I loved my ex-wife and my two children. "They were the world to me," he said, before collapsing sobbing.

The Greek court may have appeared to have acted compassionately, but it has, in effect, said to Britain: "John Hogan is your problem." It has also presented a huge problem to Natasha Hogan, who has apparently blocked any contact between her daughter Mia and the man the little girl says "threw her in the mud".

John Hogan said: "My ex-wife has every right to hate me. I took her boy away from her. "I jumped over a wall. I had my children in my arms, but I don't remember." That failure to remember was described by a psychiatrist as typical psychotic behaviour, but it also enabled John Hogan to get off comparatively lightly.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ROGUE TRADER TO COST SOCGEN $7bn !

Despite the loss, the bank expect to report a net profit, made in 2007 French bank Societe Generale has announced losses of 6.9bn euros ($10.2bn, £5.2bn), blamed on a fraud by its trader and the credit crunch. Societe Generale said it uncovered a fraud by a Paris-based trader, which resulted in a 4.9bn euros ($7bn) loss. It also announced new write downs of 2.05bn euros related to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US

The bank, one of France's largest, will need to seek 5.5bn euros in new capital to make good the losses. "I am sorry but I have a hard time buying the fact that a trader was able to set up a 'secret trade' of 4.9 billion without anybody finding out," said Ion-Marc Valhi at Amas Bank.

Frederic Hamm, fund manager at Agilis Gestion, believes that the fraud "impacts the reputation of the bank". Chief executive Daniel Bouton offered his resignation but it was rejected by the board, the bank said. Richard Fuld, the chairman of Lehman Brothers, told BBC News in Davos that "nothing stuns me, nothing really surprises me these days."

Shares in the bank were suspended on Thursday. Since the beginning of the year, the bank's shares have declined by 50%. The bank's losses have seriously dented its profits for 2007. The company will announce its full year results on February 21, and it said that it expect its 2007 net income to be in the range of 600m-800m euros.

Societe Generale is also going to raise 5.5bn euros through a capital increase "to strengthen its capital base". Meanwhile, another French bank, BNP Paribas, said that "it has not revealed any loss of item that would justify any particular warning to the market". BBC NEWS REPORT

KENYA 'AGREES' POLL-RIGGING PROBE!

Violence has claimed more than 600 lives in the past month. Kenya's government has agreed to set up an official investigation into allegations of election fraud in last month's disputed poll, officials say. The commission has three months to investigate the claims of vote rigging, however the government and opposition have not agreed on the panel's make-up.

The announcement was made by a Ugandan presidential spokesman, after Yoweri Museveni met his Kenyan counterpart. Former UN chief Kofi Annan is also in Kenya, trying to mediate in the crisis. The opposition says it was cheated of victory and its protests have led to the deaths of more than 650 people. There has been no confirmation of the fraud investigation from either the government or the opposition.

Mr Annan met Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki for an hour but no agreement was reached. "These were just the initial talks," presidential spokesman Isaiya Kabira said. Earlier, the leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) called off a mass protest planned for Thursday in the capital, Nairobi.

Raila Odinga said he was responding to a request by Mr Annan. AFP news agency reports the death of at least 12 people overnight in several different incidents. On Wednesday, skirmishes between police and youths broke up an opposition memorial service for victims of the post-poll violence in a park in Nairobi.

The ODM had been planning a mass demonstration on Thursday to underline its anger at the official result of the 27 December presidential election, which it claims was rigged by President Mwai Kibaki and his government.

But after meeting Mr Annan, the ODM said it would not go ahead with the protest. ODM MP William Ruto told KTN television that the party had presented its evidence of electoral fraud by the government to Mr Annan and expressed its full confidence in his efforts to resolve the crisis in the country.

'Before the meeting, the former UN secretary general said he would insist on a solution for the "sake of Kenya and its people and for the sake of Africa". He is being accompanied by Graca Machel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa.

Mr Annan had planned to meet both sides on Wednesday, but was prevented because Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is on a separate mediation mission, talked to Mr Kibaki for longer than expected. Mr Annan was forced to postpone his meeting at State House for 24 hours.

Several attempts to get the two leaders to hold face-to-face talks have failed so far. The Catholic church has urged the two leaders to hold their first direct talks since the crisis began. "We ask President Mwai Kibaki and Honourable Raila Odinga to open their minds and hearts and immediately enter into dialogue," said a faxed statement signed by Cardinal John Njue and 23 bishops.

AFP news agency reports 12 deaths overnight in clashes between rival gangs and ethnic groups, quoting the police. It says there were eight deaths in Nakuru - to the north-west of the capital. It says two were killed in central Limuru, one man was hacked to death in a Nairobi slum and another Kenyan was killed in the western area of Molo.

On Wednesday, riot police fired canisters into crowds of people who had gathered for a memorial service for some of those killed in last week's crackdown on opposition protests. Hundreds of mourners had gathered to listen to prayers and speeches and Mr Odinga was finishing his speech when tear gas canisters started to fly.

Reports say a group of ODM youths were angered by the presence of police at the venue and started pelting their cars with stones and the meeting then descended into chaos. The opposition has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court, accusing the police of using excessive force during last week's protests, in which more than 30 people died.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

BRAZIL AMAZON DEFORESTATION SOARS!

The Amazon has long been known as the "lungs of the world". The Brazilian government has announced a huge rise in the rate of Amazon deforestation, months after celebrating its success in achieving a reduction. In the last five months of 2007, 3,235 sq km (1,250 sq miles) were lost.

Gilberto Camara, whose National Institute of Space Research provides satellite imaging of the Amazon, said the figure was unprecedented. "We've never before detected such a high deforestation rate at this time of year," he said. His concern, outlined during a press conference in Brasilia on Wednesday, was echoed by Environment Minister Marina Silva.

Ms Silva said the rise in the price of commodities such as soya could have influenced the rate of forest clearing, as more and more farmers saw the Amazon as a source of cheap land. "The economic reality of these states indicate that these activities impact, without a shadow of a doubt, on the forest," she said.

The monthly rate of deforestation saw a big rise from 243 sq km (94 sq miles) in August to 948 sq km (366 sq miles) in December. The state of Mato Grosso was the worst affected, contributing more than half the total area of forest stripped, or 1,786 sq km (700 sq miles).

The situation may also be worse than reported, with the environment ministry saying the preliminary assessment of the amount of forest cleared could double as more detailed satellite images are analysed.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is due to attend an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss new measures to tackle deforestation in the Amazon. The latest figures will be an embarrassment for the Brazilian president, correspondents say.

Last year, President Lula said his government's efforts to control illegal logging and introduce better certification of land ownership had helped reduce forest clearance significantly. Even as he celebrated the success, though, environmentalists were warning that the rate was rising again.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBAWEAN'S STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE!

Ed (not his real name), 23, a bookkeeper, speaks to the BBC News website via phone from his home in the capital, Harare, and describes how ordinary Zimbabweans like him and his family are suffering.

We don't have anything now - electricity, water, food, nothing. We don't even have power now. They cut us off between 0400 and 2100 local time (0600 and 1900 GMT). We are struggling. I stay with my father, my mother and my brother and my sister. My whole family depend on me.

This morning we didn't have food for breakfast. We just ate bananas. I pay two million Zimbabwean dollars (about $0.80 as per the black market) for my bus to work. That's just one way. My salary each month is just 45m Zimbabwean dollars ($90). It is nothing.

It is not unusual to queue for four hours at a bank in Zimbabwe And when I do get paid I have to wait for about one, two, three, four, five, six... sometimes even seven hours at the bank just to get my cash out. I pay the rent for the roof over my family's head which is 30m Zimbabwean dollars.

I don't make ends meet. I have to take out loans from work. Or I borrow from my other brother to get by. But I can't pay anything back - this is exactly my problem. I have other jobs on the side at the weekend such as selling onions and vegetables that I have grown myself.

Now, can you imagine how we are struggling? It is too harsh.

My sister is still at school - she's in her last year of primary school but I don't know how much longer she can stay because school fees have just been hiked to 40m Zimbabwean dollars this term compared to 500,000 Zimbabwean dollars last term... I am yet to pay the fees.

And then to top everything, you are not allowed to complain or say anything about [President] Mugabe. Even now I think people are listening. But to think of better times, today was my day to have my once-a-month treat: I had some take-away rice and chicken for lunch. It was so good.

I hope that next month I'll still be able to treat myself.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"NO ACT OF KINDNESS, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, IS EVER WASTED"!

NIGERIAN POLICE RESCUE CHILDREN!

Nigerian authorities are searching for the families of 105 abducted children found packed into a minibus. The children, aged between five and 13, were taken from Kano state in the north and, say anti-trafficking agents, would have been "abused and molested". Police found the children crammed into a 15-seat bus in the northern city of Kaduna on Thursday after the driver was stopped at a police checkpoint. The children were piled on top of each other "like sardines" say officials.

It is the largest number of trafficked children the authorities have rescued in one incident since efforts began to stop the trade in 2003. Three men arrested with the children said they were taking them to a school in Suleja, 400kms away in Niger state, to learn the Koran. But officials doubt the story as there are plenty of legitimate Islamic schools in Kano, they say.

The children have been taken to a shelter where they have been given food, clothes and a medical check. The police and agents from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (Naptip) have taken the arrested men to the area they claim the children are from to find their parents.

"It would have been very easy for these people to drive around communities harvesting children. It may also be their parents are complicit in this. The fact is that once these children are taken out of their communities they will be devoured by wicked people, abused and molested," said Naptip spokesman Orakwue Arinze.

Under the traditional Islamic Almajiri school system, children are sent away to learn the Koran by their parents. But many end up begging on the roads and are exploited by their "teachers". Islamic leaders have called for the system to be reformed. "The Almajiri system is not doing a good things for Islam and Muslims and to Nigeria. It has a negative effect on our human development and the economic progress of the country," Kano-based Imam Sani Isa said.

He called on poor families to have fewer children. "If you can't afford to clothe, feed and educate your children than you are hiding from your responsibilities -it's a sin," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA IN POWER SHORTAGE WARNING!

China says it is facing serious power shortages as severe winter weather continues to cause unusually high demand for electricity. Thirteen regions have already started to ration power supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It said coal reserves were down to emergency levels and stockpiles were only high enough to generate power for the whole country for eight days. China's economic boom has led to surging demand for electricity.

The coal industry has struggled to keep up, partly because of the government's campaign to close many small mines on safety grounds. China's National Development and Reform Commission, which has control over energy issues, has called on coal suppliers and electricity providers to do their best to maintain output while promoting energy conservation.

It said winter demand was at its peak, and that low water levels has caused hydroelectric output to fall, further driving demand for coal power. The China Business News newspaper said that 70% of all coal deliveries were made by road, and that heavy snowfall and icy conditions had contributed to supply problems.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CLASHES END KENYA PRAYER MEETING!

Skirmishes between police and youths have broken up an opposition prayer meeting for victims of the post-poll violence in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Tear gas was fired at Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) supporters who stoned police vehicles and torched a nearby government building.

Meanwhile, former UN chief Kofi Annan is beginning a fresh attempt to end the chaos arising from the disputed poll. The ODM says it will consider calling off protests if Mr Annan asks them to. Opposition protest rallies were due to resume on Thursday.

"Our official position is that we shall meet Mr Annan this afternoon, and if he asks us to call them off, that is a request that will be seriously considered by the ODM leadership, but as of now the rallies are still on," spokesman Salim Lone told the BBC. Mr Annan says he will insist on a solution for the "sake of Kenya and its people and for the sake of Africa".

His main goal is to establish a dialogue between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga who says his election victory was stolen. Mr Annan is accompanied in his mission by Graca Machel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. "I am confident that, in this crucial endeavour, we can count on the will, maturity, resourcefulness and judgment of the leaders," Mr Annan said late on Tuesday.

President Yoweri Museveni of Kenya's neighbour Uganda is also in the country and held talks with President Mwai Kibaki. Correspondents says ODM leaders left the interdenominational prayer meeting, near the sprawling Kibera slum which was has seen some of Nairobi's worst violence, after the trouble started.

Reports say a group of ODM youths were angered by the presence of police at the venue and started pelting their cars with stones and the meeting then descended into chaos. They have now set fire to a nearby building where the government-owned telecommunications company Telkom is based. Earlier, a group of commuters in the east of the city were attacked by about 30 unidentified armed men. Police say three people were killed and there have been eight arrests.

Hospital officials in Kenya say the political violence that followed the poll has brought a big rise in rape. One UN agency spoke of an opportunistic atmosphere for gangs of men. On Tuesday, the opposition filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court, accusing the government of crimes against humanity.

It says the police used excessive force during last week's protests, in which more than 30 people died. In the latest violence, four people were hacked to death as at least seven were killed in the Rift Valley. More than 650 people have been killed in protests, while 250,000 more have fled their homes since the 27 December elections.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE OPPOSITION LEADER HELD!

Mr Tsvangirai was reportedly seized by police at his home. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was briefly held by police, hours before a planned protest march in the capital, Harare. According to an opposition spokesman, Mr Tsvangirai was arrested at his home in Harare early in the morning, but was later released.

The march, called by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is banned and there is tightened security in Harare. The MDC has mounted a legal appeal, and a magistrate is due to rule on the ban. The opposition want to protest at the state of Zimbabwe's failed economy, and are demanding a new constitution before elections are held, probably in March.

The MDC warned earlier this month that it would boycott the polls if it was not satisfied with preparations to ensure they would be free and fair. An MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa, confirmed to the BBC that Mr Tsvangirai has been released.

Mr Chamisa told the Associated Press news agency that the march would go ahead regardless. "Morgan Tsvangirai was not the only one who was going to march. We are not going to be intimidated," he said.

State radio said on Tuesday that police believed that the march, scheduled to begin at 1100 (0900 GMT), would not be peaceful and "it is not in the interest of public security for it to proceed".

The government last year said it would relax tough security laws which have been used to block political rallies.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

U.N. POWERS AGREE ON NEW IRAN DRAFT!

Permanent members of the UN Security Council - and Germany - have agreed on the contents of a new draft resolution of fresh sanctions against Iran. The announcement was made by the German foreign minister after talks in Berlin with his counterparts from the US, France, the UK, Russia and China. The US and its European allies want a third set of sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for energy, not military purposes. "Today we together agreed on the content of such a new resolution," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said afterwards. He said it would be submitted by Germany, France and the UK, for discussion by the full Security Council.

A US official said the resolution would "increase the severity" of existing sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes, "and will also introduce new elements". However a European diplomat, quoted anonymously by the Associated Press, said there would be no new sanctions as such. The US official said: "The US is very pleased." "This is a swift reminder to the Iranians that they are not in compliance," he said, adding: "The six powers are united."

The Western countries have been keen to crank up the pressure further on Iran, but China and Russia have been reluctant to introduce more punitive measures. Convincing Beijing and Moscow to sign up to a new wave of UN sanctions was made more complicated last month by the publication of an American intelligence report which declared that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003.

Tehran has repeatedly said penalties will not force it to halt its uranium enrichment. "Adoption of a possible new resolution will not have any effect on our people," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said on Tuesday. Iran says it simply wants to generate electricity and denies claims by the White House and key allies that it is building a nuclear bomb.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

I KILLED MAYOR - JAPAN GANGSTER!

Mr Shiroo is said to be linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi crime group. An alleged gangster has admitted to shooting the mayor of Nagasaki last April in a killing that shocked Japan. Tetsuya Shiroo, 60, shot Itcho Ito near an election campaign office in the city on 17 April.

On the first day of his trial, Mr Shiroo told the Nagasaki court: "I apologise to Mayor Itcho Ito and his family from the bottom of my heart." The main issue in the trial is expected to be whether or not Mr Shiroo intended to kill Mr Ito. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that defence lawyers were arguing that the killing was not premeditated. But prosecutors say Mr Shiroo harboured a grudge against Mr Ito from February last year, when the mayor expressed his intention to seek a fourth term in office.

Mr Shiroo told the court that everything in the indictment was true, adding: "Every day, I pray that Mr Ito rests in peace." Mr Shiroo is thought to be a linked to one of Japan's leading criminal groups, the Yamaguchi-gumi. The attack shocked people in Japan - a nation that sees little gun crime and where handguns are strictly banned.

At the time, incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the shooting as unforgivable. The trial of Mr Shiroo is expected to last until mid-March.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SURVIVAL IS TOUGH IN SIERRA LEONE!

BBC Medical Correspondent Fergus Walsh has been to Sierra Leone which has the highest rate of child mortality in the world. In the past ten days I have seen dozens of newborn babies and I have been present at several births. But although all children may be born equal, their life chances very much depend on where they are born. In Sierra Leone one in four children will die before their fifth birthday. In Sweden it is one in 350.

I set out to discover the reasons for those startling statistics - what makes Sierra Leone worse than any other impoverished country? It took around six hours to drive from the Sierra Leone capital Freetown, to Kabala in the north. We made the journey in three 4x4 Unicef vehicles bumping along the red dirt roads through the lush green tropical landscape - trees packed with bananas, oranges and lemons.

When I said I was travelling through Sierra Leone people at home asked me was it safe to travel there - lingering but vague memories of one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars which ended in 2002. The reality is that the biggest danger you face there - and in most developing countries - is from a car accident and the subsequent lack of skilled medical treatment. As we drove the 200 miles north I kept wondering what set this country apart from other developing countries.

I've toured hospitals in Nigeria, Malawi, Vietnam and Bangladesh - all have a better record on child survival than Sierra Leone. The almost total lack of infrastructure is one reason. The roads - or tracks - are in appalling condition making the transport of medical supplies - and sick patients - a lengthy struggle. In Kabala itself, a sprawling settlement of more than 100,000 people, there is no mains electricity or sanitation.

In one of the alleys of Kabala we came to the single-storey mud house of the Marrah family. Kumbah Marrah was cradling her newborn son in her arms. Next to them were her husband and their two daughters. All five share one cramped room. Imagine giving birth here: in the dead of night, without any medical help or pain relief; in a room without electricity or running water.

This is the reality of childbirth in Sierra Leone.

"I was scared for Sheku (her son) and for me", she said. "I was not due for another month and when he looked so small, I wondered would he survive." Kumbah had no check-ups during the pregnancy - but at least now he has had the first round of immunisations. Despite the warm sun Sheku is heavily wrapped in a blanket and a woollen hat. Kumbah strokes his tiny fingers as she talks. "At first he wouldn't take breast milk," she said. "But now he is feeding so I hope he will get bigger soon."

Sheku remains highly vulnerable. Pneumonia, diarrhoeal infections, and malaria are all major killers in Sierra Leone. There are all treatable - but the antibiotics and other medicines are often in short supply. Often children are brought to one of the basic health clinics too late.

Things are changing slowly. Kabala now has a brand new maternity unit funded by the un children's organisation, Unicef. Next month a hospital will open on the same site. The buildings are spacious and clean, but appearances can be deceptive. The hospital has almost no medical equipment. There is no x-ray machine or intensive care facilities. The operating theatre has no heart or pulse monitors.

But the hospital does have dedicated staff led by perhaps the most remarkable doctor I've ever met. Samuel Kargbo stayed in Sierra Leone throughout the horrendous civil war. He brought basic health services and vaccines to children who lived in the rebel areas. He had to negotiate his way across checkpoints and his life was frequently at risk.

Now he is one of just two doctors in a region of nearly 300,000 people. Having trained in Russia, Germany and the UK, Dr Kargbo could easily get a job overseas. But he refuses to leave. "A lot of doctors who qualify in Freetown, go abroad", he said. "Some forget that the greatest need is here". He earns around $200 - £100 - a month.

We watched as he performed an emergency Caesarean section. The baby was blocked and would die unless it was delivered. Apart from the operating table and an overhead lamp there is almost no equipment in the room. The matron acts as anaesthetist; the mother's blood pressure is checked by holding her wrist. And yet despite the severe limitations a baby boy is safely delivered.

Dr Kargbo says that had this happened a year ago before the maternity unit opened the baby and possibly his mother, would have died. Finnah is 28 and has now given birth five times. One son died and three others survive. "I'm going to keep trying for a girl", she said.

Dr Kargbo asked her how many more pregnancies she was prepared to have in order to have a girl: "Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen?", he joked. Then he tells us that he sometimes sees women who have had sixteen children. "Sixteen chances of dying in childbirth," he said.

Sierra Leone has a dreadful record on maternal health.One in eight mothers will die in childbirth. Unicef is trying to help improve the lot of women and children in Sierra Leone. "Many things that can make a big difference cost very little money," said Frederica Wyse, a Unicef health worker. "We encourage women to come and have check-ups during pregnancy. "We offer them bed-nets to protect against mosquitoes, immunisation and so on. "We advise them that exclusive breast feeding can protect their infant from a range of diseases."

Frederica told me that many women still think infant formula is best, but they can't afford it so they water it down. Things are slowly changing in Sierra Leone, but it will be years before health care is even up to the average of developing African nations. Meanwhile, for mothers and young children, it remains a country fraught with dangers.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AMNESTY PRESSES FOR DARFUR ACTION !

By Amber Henshaw - BBC News, Nairobi.

The human rights group Amnesty International is calling on Sudan to stop obstructing the deployment of international peacekeepers in Darfur. In a report Amnesty said troops needed to get on the ground as quickly as possible to contain a new surge of violence in refugee camps. Amnesty also asked the international community to ensure peacekeepers had sufficient resources and staff. It said the situation in Darfur was potentially explosive.

The group said security was deteriorating, most of the camps for displaced people were awash with weapons, and young Darfuris were increasingly angry and frustrated.
Amnesty said people were living in a protection vacuum, adding that the now defunct African Union force sometimes mounted only one patrol a day.

The report - Displaced in Darfur - called on the Sudanese government to stop blocking the deployment of a United Nations-Africa Union mission so peacekeepers could start to contain the growing levels of violence and insecurity. The joint operation which took over from the African Union on 31 December is supposed to be 26,000 strong but there are only 9,000 personnel on the ground. The Sudanese government has refused to allow non-African troops to join the mission and has made a series of demands that have the effect of hampering operations of the force.

The Amnesty report also accused the government of continuing to carry out attacks, and of giving more weapons to Janjaweed fighters - despite commitments to disarm the militias. It said that armed groups were still recruiting fighters from the camps, including children, and were taking part in hostilities across the region.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

US DISMISSES KENYAN 'PROPAGANDA'!

The US ambassador to Kenya has strongly rejected accusations that the international community has been stirring up post-election violence. Michael Ranneberger said government adverts which have appeared over the past week in local newspapers were "scurrilous propaganda". He said that condemning electoral fraud was not an incitement to violence.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan is due to arrive in Kenya later to mediate in the crisis which has left 650 people dead. President Yoweri Museveni of Kenya's neighbour Uganda has also arrived in Nairobi to hold talks with President Mwai Kibaki.

In the capital, Nairobi, police have fired tear gas to disperse a small group of Mr Kibaki's supporters. They had banners with the president's face and slogans which read "Respect Kibaki". The police have banned all public demonstrations since the elections. Most have been by the opposition, who say their candidate Raila Odinga was cheated of victory.

Meanwhile, all trains from East Africa's main port Mombasa to Uganda and on to South Sudan and eastern DR Congo have been blocked since Friday, when opposition supporters tore up the railway in Nairobi's Kibera slum. Rift Valley Railways managing director Roy Puffet said 18 train containers of cargo and fuel were trapped, reports Uganda's New Vision newspaper.

Work has started to repair the track and officials say it should be open again by the end of the week.

In his statement, Mr Ranneberger said he did not think Mr Kibaki was behind the adverts, which were placed by the office of public communications. "It is irresponsible to say, as the advertisement does, that speaking the truth provides incitement to ethnic violence. "There is compelling evidence of serious irregularities in the vote-tallying from a wide variety of non-partisan sources," he said.

The advert asked for evidence of electoral fraud and questioned why western diplomats had not called for an international inquiry into the killings. "Kenyans have been killed because of their ethnicity and political beliefs. It is shocking that you have been silent on this," it said. Members of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu community have often been targeted by opposition supporters.

On Monday, the British ambassador to Kenya was summoned to explain remarks by a junior UK minister, suggesting that the former colonial power did not recognise Mr Kibaki as president. "Our elections do not need a stamp of authority from the House of Commons," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula. On Monday, Mr Odinga said he would only meet President Kibaki if Kofi Annan joined them.

Mr Kibaki has rejected opposition calls for a recount of the elections or fresh polls. As well as those killed, some 250,000 people have fled their homes because of the violence across the country.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MDC TO DEFY BAN ON HARARE PROTEST!

The Zimbabwean opposition says it will defy a police ban and hold a protest march in the capital on Wednesday. The Movement for Democratic Change said the protest was aimed at highlighting the economic crisis in the country. It also wants a new constitution before parliamentary and presidential elections due in March.

The MDC warned earlier this month that it would boycott the polls if it was not satisfied with preparations to ensure they would be free and fair. "We're marching because our people are suffering... there's no water, no electricity," Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the MDC faction that is led by Morgan Tsvangirai, told reporters. "The government is totally bereft and bankrupt of any capacity to govern this country."

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said the police had reversed its decision to allow the march saying they feared it could degenerate into rioting. "The march is not going to be peaceful as the MDC told us, so we have cancelled it," he told AFP news agency. "As the police, we cannot stand idly while people break the law. Anyone who participates in this march will be arrested."

But Mr Biti rejected the ban. "The illegality of the action by the police is in blatant disregard of the new provisions of the Public Order and Security Act."

The government last year said it would relax tough security laws which have been used to block political rallies.

The MDC has said it called the march to test the government's commitment to political reform. South African President Thabo Mbeki is trying to mediate between the government and the opposition to try and resolve differences.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

GLOBAL SHARES TUMBLE ON US FEARS!

Global stock markets have tumbled, with European indexes set for some of their biggest losses in recent years, amid growing fears of a recession in the US.
London's FTSE 100 index fell 4.5% to 5,637.3. In Paris the Cac-40 fell 4.6%, and Frankfurt's Dax dropped 6.7%.

US markets are closed for a public holiday on Monday. Brazil's main index, the Ibovespa, opened 6% lower. Investors have taken little comfort from emergency measures proposed by President George W Bush on Friday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slid by 3.9% to its lowest close since October 2005, while India's Sensex shed 7.4%.

"It's another horrible day," said Francis Lun of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong.
"Today it's because of disappointment that the US stimulus is too little, too late and investors feel it won't help the economy recover." US markets are closed for a public holiday on Monday and will re-open on Tuesday.

The worry is that tax breaks and spending measures will do little to boost consumer spending in the US because of problems in the housing market. Many shoppers are struggling under higher mortgage repayment costs, and default rates have surged.

At the same time, banks have had to become more careful about who they lend to because they have lost billions of pounds on investments linked to the US housing and mortgage markets.

The state of the US economy is very important to many of Europe's and Asia's biggest companies as it is one of their biggest export markets. Any slowdown in demand is likely to hurt corporate profit growth, and push share prices even lower, analysts warned. "It's becoming more and more difficult as the market is now in panic mode," said Hugues Rialan of Robeco France. "We're falling back into the crisis of confidence in the financial sector.

"The banks have been reassuring the market over their exposure to US mortgage-related investments, but now we realise there is nothing reassuring about it," he said.

FTSE100 - WORST DAYS
20/10/87 down 12.2%
19/10/87 down 10.8%
26/10/87 down 6.2%
11/09/01 down 5.7%
22/10/87 down 5.7%

But some analysts took comfort from the prospect of falling US interest rates. "If interest rates are cut to the extent we and others expect, the likelihood is that today's share prices will look like silly values in 12 months' time, if not before," said Mike Lenhoff at Brewin Dolphin Securities.

Global trend

Markets in China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines all fell.

In Mumbai, the main Sensex index fell 1,408 points, or 7.4%, adding to an 8% fall last week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1,383.0 points, or 5.5%, to close at 23,818.9,

FTSE100 - BEST DAYS
21/10/87 up 7.9%
13/03/03 up 6.1%
10/04/92 up 5.6%
15/10/02 up 5.1%
25/07/02 up 5.0%

Australia's benchmark ASX 200 index closed down 2.9%, or 166.9, points at 5,580.4, which is its lowest level for a year. It was also the 11th consecutive negative day for the index, the longest losing streak in more than 25 years.

"People are certainly nervous about a potential recession in the US spilling over to the rest of the world," said David Cohen at Action Economics.

So far this year, Japan's Nikkei has dropped 13% percent, the Hang Seng is down more than 14%, and China's main Shanghai index has slipped almost 7%.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"CHILDREN ARE A POOR MAN'S RICHES" !

EGYPT ADDS VOICE TO GAZA OUTCRY !

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has telephoned the Israeli prime minister to warn him of the humanitarian effects of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the call, Mr Mubarak "stressed the need to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people", the official Mena news agency reported. The Arab League is holding an emergency session and the EU has condemned the "collective punishment" in Gaza.

The territory went dark on Sunday when the only power plant was shut down. Factory managers said they had no fuel left after Israel cut off supplies of some types of fuel and closed border crossings to Gaza on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists he will not allow Gaza to suffer a humanitarian crisis but equally will not allow the lives of its 1.5m inhabitants to be "pleasant and comfortable". Israel, which is still providing 60% of Gaza's power, says if Hamas stops rocket attacks on Israel, the situation will return to normal.

On Monday morning residents awoke to closed petrol stations and shuttered bakeries unable to bake bread - a staple food in Gaza. Generators are being used to maintain critical power supplies to hospitals but there are fears that supplies of diesel could soon run out.

Egypt supplies some 8% of electricity to Gaza, and on Monday President Mubarak telephoned Prime Minister Olmert to warn him about the "deteriorating humanitarian situation resulting from the blockade", Mena reported. Mr Mubarak also raised the possibility of reopening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Israel insists should remain closed.


GAZA'S ELECTRICITY SOURCES

Gaza uses 200 megawatts of electricity
Israel supplies 60% of this, and Egypt 8%
The remaining 32% is produced by Gaza's power station
Israel supplies the fuel oil for the Gaza power station

His phone call followed an appeal for international action from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and a direct plea to Egyptian ministers from Hamas's exiled political leader, Khalid Meshaal. However, Mr Olmert stood firm in comments following his conversation with Mr Mubarak. He said he would "not allow" a humanitarian crisis, but insisted the Israeli action was limited to cutting fuel supplies for vehicles. "As far as I'm concerned, all the residents of Gaza can walk and have no fuel for their cars, because they have a murderous terrorist regime that doesn't allow people in the south of Israel to live in peace," he said.

Earlier, an Israeli official accused Hamas of closing the power plant as a "ploy to attract international sympathy". However, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told AFP news agency it would be forced to halt food aid to hundreds of thousands of Gazans within days if the blockade continued.

Israel's actions have also prompted protests from the European Union and neighbouring Arab states. "I have made clear that I am against this collective punishment of the people of Gaza," said the EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, in a statement. She urged Israeli authorities to restart fuel supplies to the territory, and to reopen border crossings for both humanitarian and commercial supplies. She said neither the Israeli blockade nor air strikes on Gaza would prevent rocket attacks, but only a "credible political agreement".

EU-funded fuel for the Gaza power plant is being held at the Nahal Oz crossing, awaiting Israel's decision on resuming supplies, Reuters news agency reported. The Arab League is holding an emergency session to discuss the situation, but the BBC's Ian Pannell in Cairo says other than pushing for humanitarian relief it remains unclear what measures the group could take.

The most significant action would be to reopen the crossing into Egypt - but given the sensitivity of this area, it would probably prove too controversial a step for the Egyptian government, he says. More than 200 rockets and mortars have hit Israel from Gaza since an Israeli operation against militants on Tuesday that left 18 Palestinians dead, the military says.

After decades of occupation, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but it still controls the territory's borders and supplies. Hamas - branded a terrorist organisation by the Israel, the US and the EU - has been in charge of Gaza since June, when it drove out rivals Fatah.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CALL TO ABANDON BIOFUELS TARGETS!

By Roger Harrabin - BBC Environment Analyst.



The EU should abandon its biofuels targets because they are damaging the environment, a committee of MPs says. The Environmental Audit Committee says biofuels are ineffective at cutting greenhouse gases and can be expensive. It also says problematic emissions from cars can be cut more cheaply and with lower environmental risk.

The report comes in the week the EU launches a huge, over-arching climate change strategy which includes rules aimed at reducing damage from biofuels. In a draft, the EU admits that the current target of 5.75% biofuels on the roads by 2010 is unlikely to be achieved. But it maintains its target of 10% road biofuel by 2020.
It states that in future biofuels should not be grown on forest land, wetland - including peat - or permanent grassland, a move that will please critics.

The EU will also stipulate that biofuels should achieve a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings. But these figures have been contested, and it looks as though the calculation will exclude the carbon released by disturbing soil when the biofuels are planted. That would prove very controversial.

It is also unclear how the EU will ensure that its biofuels production on agricultural land does not push up food prices or displace food production, forcing peasants or other agri-businesses into felling other virgin forest to grow crops. The committee of MPs says the targets are putting up food prices and threatening food supplies for the poor.

The EU and the UK government should concentrate on the use of "sustainable" biofuels such as waste vegetable oil and the development of more efficient biofuel technologies, it adds. The Environmental Audit Committee says the UK government and the EU have been "misguided" in prioritising biofuel for road transport when it is much more efficient under current technology to use biofuels for heating and cooling. The committee notes that last week BBC News published an admission by the EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas that the EU had not foreseen all the problems entailed in biofuels.

The MPs say this proves the need for a moratorium on the target until it is proved that biofuels can be produced sustainably. It says current agricultural support for biofuels is largely unsustainable. Committee chairman Tim Yeo said: "Biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from road transport - but at present most biofuels have a detrimental impact on the environment overall." The report is strongly backed by the RSPB which calls current biofuels targets "farcical".

The Royal Society shares the committee's concern that the EU should ensure that the most efficient biofuels are encouraged - but fears a backlash against biofuels which might deter investment in better biofuel technologies.
BBC NEWS REPORT!

"WE ONLY HAVE STONES"

As fresh political violence erupts in Kenya, the BBC News website hears the views on the crisis of two ordinary Kenyans from different sides of the track.

GADDAFI (NICKNAME), 25, UNEMPLOYED, KIBERA SLUM

I threw stones at the police. Many, many actually. In return they fired live shots into the air as some started approaching us and then others began gassing us. Even though there were so many of us the live bullets are still a worry. They should aim up but they don't - they aim right at us.

I was not frightened. When you are faced with the reality of life, when it comes to this, you can't be afraid, not now. What frightens me is that I'll die of hunger. We should be allowed to express our feelings as citizens. We don't need the police to come and invade our lives and our basic needs.

They have arms and are all dressed up in combat gear wearing their red berets. I don't know a lot about guns but I think the ones they have are AK-47s. The ones who don't have guns, have shields. Some of them have batons. All we have is stones. They have power. No-one even listens to us.

My anger is really being driven by what the government is saying. They are ignoring the plight of us poor and unemployed. It was after midday when some protestors rolling tyres came to gather with us. In Kibera are a lot of old, broken-down cars are left. The protestors had taken them off from these discarded vehicles - they had not looted to get them.

We set them on fire in the middle of the road. All the time singing and dancing and chanting in Swahili: 'No [opposition leader] Raila [Odinga], no peace! We want our own rights! No justice, no peace!' The air around us was filled with gun shots, smoke and gas - black smoke from the tyres and whiteness from the tear gas. My eyes were burning really badly and when my eyes got in contact with the gas, tears definitely came out. A lot of tears.

By now, we were on the main road heading out of Kibera. It is double-laned but there were so many of us that we covered the road and for quite a long stretch. At times the paramilitary police were less than 20m away and on either side of us... we were more or less surrounded. This is when many of us began thinking it was wise not to confront them. We left out of fear.

Where I was, no-one was shot today. Many were hurt though, mostly during the times of no order and the stampedes. I didn't like protesting. It is a frustration, anger. It is because of discrimination. And it is not a recent thing - it is historical. This election was just a kindle.


JANET, 36, PHARMACIST, NAIROBI

Business is bad in Nairobi as the political crisis continues. I am in my office. I am working. I am carrying on with my life. It is my own personal protest. I am protesting against my country's destruction for the sake of one person's desire to be in power. I will not deny that I voted for Kibaki. I am a Kikuyu. But I did not vote for him because he is a Kikuyu, but because I felt he had done a good job. As far as the election result goes, I don't think we will ever know the true number. And I don't think going back and recounting will solve the issue.

Both of them [President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga] stole votes -they are both guilty of that crime. It is just that one of them has a better propaganda machine than the other. What I am trying to say is that we can't look back - we have to go forward.

The Kikuyu were targeted first but now the Kikuyu are retaliating. It is not right. And the saddest part of it all is that our country is now divided. I guess you would consider me a middle-upper class Kenyan, and for people like me, our problem at the moment is the inconvenience. We are not hungry. We are safe in our houses.

It is the common man who is suffering because of this; because of the violence and the mass protests and the calls to disrupt business life. And when businesses fail, it is the common man who is going to lose his job, he is the one who is going to be unsafe in the slums and his children will not be able to go to school.

Raila [Odinga] is actually hurting the very people that he is claiming to be fighting for. The crisis has highlighted the poverty and the disillusionment among Kenyans but the solution is not to fight or turn against each other. This is a long-term problem that needs to be solved but it can't be sorted out when everyone is fighting. Personally the situation is affecting me in many ways: I don't have as many customers coming in and so business is bad.

As is security - I don't feel safe driving around. And I can't plan for anything. I can't arrange a meeting for tomorrow because no-one knows what will happen tomorrow. It has affected friendships, especially here in Nairobi because our city is so cosmopolitan. Friends of mine who are not Kikuyu... it never used to factor in our friendship but now it is making me wonder: what do they think of me? Maybe they no longer consider themselves to be a friend of mine?

And then I have my staff to worry about. How will they get home now that public transport is not running? Will they be safe walking? Will they get through the roadblocks? I send everyone home early. But still I worry until I see them again the next morning. I am fed up with everything. And I am not alone. There are a lot of us who are actually fed up with this. Yes, we all know that a great wrong has been done but we just want our lives back to normal.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

THREE DIE IN NAIROBI SLUM CLASHES!

Nairobi's slums have seen some of the worst violence. At least three people have died in violence in a Nairobi slum which has seen deadly clashes since last month's disputed Kenyan election. The bodies of the three killed in Mathare bore machete marks and appear to have been victims of inter-tribal fighting, witnesses said.

An opposition spokesman accused Kenyan police of failing to intervene. A top EU official is in Kenya as part of outside efforts to mediate an end to the crisis over the presidential vote. EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel has urged both sides to stop exacerbating tensions. Separately, the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, is expected in Kenya on Tuesday.

Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses President Mwai Kibaki of stealing the 27 December election, say they will resume protest rallies on Thursday. The disturbances have left more than 600 people dead, including at least 31 in the last four days, and a quarter of a million homeless.

Several homes were set ablaze in Mathare during Sunday's violence, where witnesses said the violence had a tribal element between Kikuyus, the tribe of Mr Kibaki, and Luo, the ethnic group which Mr Odinga is from.

An Associated Press reporter saw the body of one man who was beaten to death, apparently a Luo caught by a group of Kikuyus. Another man staggered past, blood streaming from his mutilated arm after a machete attack, the reporter adds. A Luo woman who spoke to Reuters said she had been asked what tribe she was from. "Even before I could tell them, they took my bag and even wanted to cut me with a machete," she said. "I was just saved by the grace of God, they have taken everything I had."

Musalia Mudavadi, an official from Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), visited the injured in hospital and attacked the actions of the police. "Now we are seeing cases of the police actually giving way and allowing people to attack each other," he told AP.

Mr Michel, who met political leaders from both sides in Nairobi, said he was concerned that the Kenyan police were using excessive force against opposition demonstrators. But he also criticised the opposition's decision to resume mass rallies which could lead to more violence. "Now there is a need for a military ceasefire and also for a semantic rhetoric ceasefire," he said. "Now we need a quiet situation, we need just a little bit positive silence."

The ODM, which wants a re-run of the election, had originally called off protests in favour of a boycott of companies that back President Kibaki. Kenya's National Commission on Human Rights cast doubt on the vote, listing a catalogue of irregularities on Friday.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

INSURER REVEALS 'BAD DRIVING DAY' !

The insurer says Sunday is least common day for car accidents. The most dangerous day to be on the road is Friday, 18 January, according to car insurance provider Admiral. After analysing 1.8 million claims received over the past 15 years, it has identified the days when accidents are most likely to occur. Historically, more accidents happen on 18 January than any other date in the year, while Friday is the most common day of the week for crashes.

Unsurprisingly, the date with the least reported incidents is 29 February. According to Admiral's research, the next safest dates are 25 and 26 December, when the roads tend to be very quiet. For the same reason, the report highlights Sunday as the days of the week when accidents are least likely to occur, followed by Saturday.

The vast majority of problems happen on weekdays when the roads are busier.

TEN WORST DAYS FOR DRIVING
1. 18 January
2. 20 December
3. 27 October
4. 22 March
5. 20 July
6. 1 October
7. 21 October
8. 1 November
9. 15 December
10. 20 October
Source: Admiral

"It's not surprising to see that the worst day of the week for accidents is a Friday," said Admiral managing director, Sue Longthorn. "People are tired after a long week at work and can easily get caught up thinking about their weekend plans instead of the road ahead."

But she said it was less clear why there was such a concentration of incidents on 18 January. "It could be that people have a lot on their mind as they haven't been paid for a while, the bills are coming in, it's dark, the weather's often foul and the fun of the festive period is a long and distant memory," she added.

And she warned drivers not to be complacent on 29 February 2008 as this leap year the extra day falls on a Friday.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

TEENAGER 'CONFESSES' BHUTTO MURDER !

Pakistan accuses militia leader Baitullah Mehsud of being behind the killing
Pakistani police say they have arrested a teenage boy who has confessed to being part of a team instructed to kill opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. It was the first arrest in connection with last month's assassination. Security officials say the boy told them he was part of a backup squad trained to attack, if the initial attempt on her life had failed.

But local newspapers say investigators are treating the boy's claims with caution. The unnamed 15-year-old was arrested in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province along with a more senior militant, officials say. He allegedly told investigators that he would have been "next in line" to attack Ms Bhutto. He also named a local militia commander, Baitullah Mehsud, as being behind the assassination, officials say.

Mr Mehsud has already been accused by the Pakistani authorities but denies any involvement. The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency has also implicated Mr Mehsud in the assassination.

Pakistan's Interior Secretary, Kamal Shah, said interrogators were trying to get supporting testimony from the second detainee before accepting the teenager's confession.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WARNING ON RISING MED SEA LEVELS!

The level of the Mediterranean Sea is rising rapidly and could increase by up to half a metre in the next 50 years, scientists in Spain have warned. A study by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute says levels have been rising since the 1970s with the rate of increase growing in recent years. It says even a small rise could have serious consequences in coastal areas.

The study noted that the findings were consistent with other investigations into the effects of climate change. The study, entitled Climate Change in the Spanish Mediterranean, said the sea had risen "between 2.5mm and 10mm (0.1 and 0.4in) per year since the 1990s".

If the trend continued it would have "very serious consequences" in low-lying coastal areas even in the case of a small rise, and "catastrophic consequences" if a half-metre increase occurred, the study warned.

Scientists noted that sea temperatures had also risen significantly by 0.12 to 0.5C since the 1970s. Sea level rise is a key effect of global climate change. There are two major contributory effects: the melting of ice, and expansion of sea water as the oceans warm.

Last month, a study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the world's sea levels could rise twice as much this century as UN climate scientists had previously predicted.

The Nobel Prize-winning IPCC predicted a maximum sea level rise of 81cm (32in) this century.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

LUCKY OBAMA TRUMPS CLINTON CARDS!

With stakes high in the US presidential contests, Nevada's heritage of Las Vegas gambling and the Wild West helped decide at least two tied caucus votes. It wasn't a High Noon quick draw that resolved the stalemate between Democrat nominees Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama - but a pack of cards.

Under party rules, a pack was shuffled and a supporter from each camp asked to pick a card. Mr Obama won both times. The quirk had little effect overall, and Mrs Clinton won the popular vote. The votes were tied after Saturday's caucuses by 26 votes each at a district in Genoa and 24-24 at Zephyr Cove near Lake Tahoe.

At an elementary school in Genoa, caucus chairman Nancy Downey shuffled the pack of cards - which happened to have "Hillary" printed on the back - and spread them out on a table.

Clinton supporter Greg Kuntz pulled out a five. An Obama supporter picked a king, clinching the vote, and securing an extra delegate to the next round of voting, when about 10,000 delegates meet at county level. "I drew the five to lose to the king," Mr Kuntz told the Associated Press. "Only in Nevada."

Mr Obama's luck held in Zephyr Cove and his supporters again won the traditional Old West tiebreaker by picking a nine and trumping the Clinton camp's five.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE CITIES HIT BY POWER CUTS!

By Peter Biles - BBC Southern Africa correspondent.

Large parts of Zimbabwe are reported to be without electricity after a major power failure on Saturday night. The blackout has affected the capital, Harare, the city of Bulawayo, and smaller towns including Victoria Falls, Kariba, Masvingo and Gweru. Services like mains water and telecommunications have been affected.

Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic crisis and has been experiencing difficulties with power supplies for some time. As a result of the blackout, mains water pressure has dropped, mobile phone connections have been adversely affected and newspapers have not been published.

The government has so far given no reason for the power failure, but this apparent breakdown is just the latest in a series of problems facing the authorities in recent months.

Electricity supplies in Harare have been erratic at best, with the power often switched off for many hours a day. Zimbabwe imports much of its electricity from neighbouring countries.

But as the economic crisis has worsened, there has been a shortage of foreign currency with which to pay for supplies.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"FRIENDSHIP IS LIKE MONEY - EASIER MADE THAN KEPT" !

FIVE REFUGEES DIE IN KENYA ATTACK!

Five people have died in western Kenya, in apparent ethnic violence linked to opposition protests against the outcome of last month's presidential election.
The deaths occurred when a group of youths attacked a refugee camp in Rift Valley Province, police said.

It came as the opposition ODM announced that it would resume protest rallies on Thursday. It had originally called off protests in favour of a boycott of companies that back President Mwai Kibaki.

"We are resuming our peaceful public rallies on Thursday," the chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement, Henry Kosgey, told reporters. "We will use all available means to bring down the Kibaki regime."

But EU development commissioner Louis Michel, who is in Nairobi for talks with both sides, said such meetings were dangerous and that Kenya needed a "ceasefire" and "active silence". Post-election violence has left more than 600 people dead, including at least 28 in the last four days.

Police said a group of armed ethnic Kalenjins, who generally support the opposition, attacked displaced people from the Kikuyu tribe, which backs Mr Kibaki, in the Rift Valley village of Kipkeleon.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the camp, 180km (112 miles) north-west of Nairobi, after three weeks of violence in the Rift Valley. Meanwhile correspondents say most of the main trouble spots were calm on Saturday, as international mediation efforts continued.

ODM leader Raila Odinga has demanded a re-run of the election, which he says was rigged by the government. And on Friday Kenya's National Commission on Human Rights cast doubt on the vote, listing a catalogue of irregularities.

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to lead mediation efforts when he arrives on Tuesday.
BBC NEW REPORT

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

Giant Water Bugs!
Saturday 19th January 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

We are having a bountiful rainy season this year; the type that we haven't seen for many years. Its the kind of rainy season that I remember from when I was a teenager where I got wet on the way to school in the morning, again at lunchtime or on the way to sports in the afternoon, and yet again on the way home at dusk.

This is the rainy season that Zimbabwe so desperately needs to fill the rivers dams and lakes and replenish the ground water to revive springs, wells and boreholes. Its the kind of rainy season which reminds us that life in Africa is tough and dramatic - its hot, humid, tropical and conditions can change in a very short space of time: a rising river, flooded bridge or tar that simply subsides into the sand.

The rains have bought great infestations of insects and sand fleas; there are more slugs and snails than seem physically possible and then there are the insects with the unimposing title of Giant Water Bugs which really are the stuff of nightmares. These fearsome brown creatures are four inches long, have large shiny eyes, give off an absolutely foul smell if you touch or squash them and have a frightening pair of grasping front legs. Apparently the water bugs attack tadpoles and small fish and inflict a painful wound if you hold them - not that anyone would want to do that - surely!

This abundant rainy season is making the grass grow faster than you can cut it and making the weeds grow even faster still. The sedges are thick, shiny and lush; the khaki bush tall and distinctly aromatic; the black jacks prolific and covered with a myriad black seeds reaching out to stick on anything that comes too near. There are snakes in the thick undergrowth this season too, prolific even in suburban gardens: green, black and brown ones and others that are distinctly identifiable: Egyptian cobras, burrowing adders and grass snakes.

This is the kind of rainy season where it seems the news from the farmers should be good. In fact every night on the State propaganda come the jingles and video clips bragging that this is: "The Mother Of All Seasons." The news starting to come from small farmers in the rural areas is not good though. They didn't have enough seed in the first place and negligible amounts of fertilizer. One rural farmer I met spoke of the part of his crop on high ground being OK but desperately in need of fertilizer to feed the developing maize cobs. He said there was no fertilizer to be found - even if he had the money to buy it. He said that the maize lower down the slope was a complete write off. It was knee high and yellow and inundated with water. Water which bubbled up from underground, which poured down as rain and which rushed down the fields as run off, not even slowed by contours which are no longer built or maintained and no longer exist. When I asked the man what the outlook for his whole crop was, he said it was bleak. He doubted it would produce enough food for his family for even three months. He asked me if I thought international donors would be coming soon to help the people in rural areas with food; he said many people were already in need. He said that by March there would be a few cobs of green maize to eat straight from the field but by the winter months (June and July) for sure people would be starving. Is this the reason why Zanu PF are adamant that elections be held in March?

Until next time, thanks for reading,
love cathy.

AL-QAEDA PLOTTER GETS LIFE IN US!

Jabarah secretly pleaded guilty to the plots in South East Asia in 2002. A Canadian al-Qaeda operative has been sentenced to life in jail by a US court for plotting to bomb the US embassies in Singapore and Manila in 2002. Mohammed Mansour Jabarah was also found guilty of planning to kill the agents with whom he had agreed to co-operate.

New York judge Barbara Jones said the life sentence was due to the nature of Jabarah's participation in two al-Qaeda conspiracies at the very highest level. The court case was only made public on Thursday, five years after his capture. Prosecutors said Jabarah's case was kept secret because he had agreed to provide information about militants after pleading guilty to the embassy plots.

Jabarah was given life in prison on Friday despite telling the federal court in Manhattan that he had been "brainwashed" by Osama Bin Laden and other senior al-Qaeda leaders, who he had thought were liberators of oppressed people. "I do not believe in terrorism, violence and killing," he said. "I was very sadly deceived by them and they exploited and used me maliciously."

In her ruling, Judge Barbara Jones said she gave Jabarah credit for his repudiation of violence, but could not overlook when sentencing him the fact that he had admitted to being involved in "heinous crimes" at the "very highest level"."Although you were only 19 or 20 years old... you did participate and really ran - as the emissary of Osama bin Laden - these two operations," she said. "That was a decision that had to be made knowingly and wilfully and cannot be mitigated," she added.

Court documents published on Thursday said Jabarah is of Iraqi descent and lived in Kuwait until the age of 12, when his family moved to Canada. After leaving school in 2001, he travelled to al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, where he met Bin Laden and was commissioned to attack two US embassies in South-East Asia by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, prosecutors said. Jabarah reportedly met Osama Bin Laden in 2001.

He had succeeded in purchasing tons of explosives and selecting a suicide bomber when the plots were foiled by a series of arrests in 2002, they added. After being arrested by Omani intelligence services in 2002, Jabarah was deported to Canada where he was offered a deal by the US that saw him plead guilty to the plots in a closed court session and become an informant. He was then moved to an FBI housing facility rather than prison, where he lived in relative comfort with a stereo and his own kitchen.

However, prosecutors said his attitude changed following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A knife and rope were subsequently found hidden in his luggage along with jihadist literature and a list of FBI agents and lawyers assigned to his case, who prosecutors said he was planning to kill. He was "secretly planning to exploit the perception of co-operation that he created", the prosecution alleged.

After the discovery, Jabarah was transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan, where he was held in solitary confinement for four years.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MEDICAL PLANTS 'FACE EXTINCTION' !

Hundreds of medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease, according to experts. Over 50% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first identified in plants. But the Botanic Gardens Conservation International said many were at risk from over-collection and deforestation.

Researchers warned the cures for things such as cancer and HIV may become "extinct before they are ever found". The group, which represents botanic gardens across 120 countries, surveyed over 600 of its members as well as leading university experts.

MIRACLE CURES MOST AT RISK

Yew tree - Cancer drug paclitaxel is derived from the bark, but it takes six trees to create a single dose so growers are struggling to keep up.

Hoodia - Plant has sparked interest for its ability to suppress appetite, but vast quantities have already been "ripped from the wild" as the search for the miracle weight drug continues

Magnolia - Has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years as it is believed to help fight cancer, dementia and heart disease. Half the world's species threatened, mostly due to deforestation

Autumn crocus - Romans and Greeks used it as poison, but now one of the most effective treatments for gout. Under threat from horticulture trade.

They identified 400 plants that were at risk of extinction. These included yew trees, the bark of which forms the basis for one of the world's most widely used cancer drugs, paclitaxel.

Hoodia, which originally comes from Namibia and is attracting interest from drug firms looking into developing weight loss drugs, is on the verge of extinction, the report said. And half of the world's species of magnolias are also under threat.

The plant contains the chemical honokiol, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cancers and slow down the onset of heart disease. The report also said autumn crocus, which is a natural treatment for gout and has been linked to helping fight leukaemia, is at risk of over-harvest as it is popular with the horticultural trade because of its stunning petals.

Many of the chemicals from the at-risk plants are now created in the lab. But the report said as well as future breakthroughs being put at risk, the situation was likely to have a consequence in the developing world. It said five billion people still rely on traditional plant-based medicine as their primary form of health care.

Report author Belinda Hawkins said: "The loss of the world's medicinal plants may not always be at the forefront of the public consciousness. "However, it is not an overstatement to say that if the precipitous decline of these species is not halted, it could destabilise the future of global healthcare."

And Richard Ley, of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, added: "Nature has provided us with many of our medicines. "Scientists are always interested in what they can provide and so it is a worry that such plants may be at risk."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AFGHANISTAN'S POPPY CRACKDOWN!

By Alastair Leithead - BBC News, Kabul.


The small digital display next to the clock on the car dashboard read -4C (24.8F). But then it was 0600 in Kabul, in January. As the sun slowly started to pour light into the city we headed north out of the bustle of the slushy streets, across the Shomali plain near the big American air base at Bagram, and up towards the snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush. And as the sun gradually turned the white mountain tops shades of red, the thermometer drifted ever downwards -6C, -7C, -8C, before settling on a nice even -11C.

It was one of those beautifully clear days with a piercing blue sky. We passed icing-sugar coated walnut trees, stone houses clinging to the mountain sides, and women clad in burkhas the colour of the sky, climbing upwards, making steep tracks in the snow until they disappeared from sight.

The tops of some vehicles - caught when the blizzards came - could still be seen poking out of the drifts beside the road, as could the triangular signs informing anyone who could make them out, or who cared, that there were dangerous bends in the road ahead.

But Afghans do not let two metre (6ft) snow drifts and a slight chill in the air stop them driving at ridiculous speeds. That is once they have defrosted their diesel. I would not have thought lighting a fire under the fuel tank was the best way of getting the engine running, but it is a very popular method on the road to Mazar-e-Sharif.


We had put snow chains on the back wheels of our 4x4 and made good progress through the ice and snow. I was a little surprised when amid a beeping of horns and a cloud of powder snow, a coach, packed with people and topped with luggage, skidded past us at a crossroads. "To be honest the Panshiris are mad," my colleague Mahfouz said in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

Here, Mazar-e-Sharif is to the left, the Panshir valley to the right: once the heartland of the mujahideen fighters whom the Russians never managed to tame. We approached the Salang Tunnel, the gateway to the north. And as a spindrift of snow - like a snake of steam - wriggled left and right across the frozen road ahead of us, the car plunged into the mouth of the tunnel and into an otherworldly smog of darkness and fumes.

The odd broken-down truck emerged from the haze just in time for us to slide past it, and then we emerged out again into the pin-sharp morning as -9C glowed from the dashboard. The journey was taking us into one of the few Afghan provinces where farmers have been persuaded to stop growing opium poppies.

An impressive achievement, mainly down to the relative security, law and order, and the strength and determination of the local governor. He showed me a glossy guidebook on how he had managed to get rid of the opium poppies. The front cover shows him dressed in a shalwar kameez, smashing down poppies with a stick. Quite a contrast to the Italian-suited politician with handmade Gucci shoes standing in front of me. He laughed off the suggestion that he himself was involved with the opium smuggling gangs who hide drugs in their trucks and take them to Iran and Central Asia.

But the men we met the next morning told us a different story about corrupt officials. Dodging donkeys and camels heading to market, laden with kindling, we drove first to one house then another. We spent time sipping tea and huddled around metal-drummed "buchari" heaters constantly fed with firewood.

Finally, we reached a mud compound in a village where the bearded drug dealers were quite happy to show us the opium they had got from elsewhere and the cannabis which has filled the financial gap left by the absence of local poppies.

Back in Mazar-e-Sharif I wandered round a place that is largely at peace past the famous twin-domed shrine, and walked through the crazy mobile phone market, stopped for tea, ate rice and kebabs. Then the phone rang.

A friend in Kabul was in the five-star Serena Hotel, formerly a haven of peace and security in the capital. But a bomb had just gone off, and there was shooting all around her. Eight people died and more were injured. It was the first attack specifically targeting international aid workers and civilians in Afghanistan. I rushed back to Kabul the next day to report on the story.

What a different landscape it was, emerging from the otherworldliness of the Salang tunnel and down into a changed city. An ever more paranoid place where Westerners are killed for being Western, and the many beautiful things about this country are forgotten.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHISPER IF YOU MENTION HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA !

By Paul Reynolds - World affairs correspondent BBC News website.

In 1991, a senior British official remarked to me at a reception on the lawn of the British embassy in Beijing that talks with the Chinese about human rights were simply "froth". The adviser was Sir Percy Cradock, a former British ambassador to China. He was at the time senior foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister John Major who was visiting Beijing to discuss Hong Kong. Sir Percy's view, often expressed though not always so pithily, was that it is far more important to develop your strategic interests with China than trying to pin the Chinese down on human rights, over which you have very limited influence.

That view, give or take a few exceptions, has prevailed in Western diplomacy since President Nixon went to China in 1972 and ended the isolation of the People's Republic. The Chinese republic endures but is very changed and is now a superpower in trade and a growing power in diplomacy. The need for a strategic relationship with China is even more important than ever. The British Foreign Office climate change negotiator John Ashton once said that without China, everyone else's efforts to combat global warming would be useless.

China itself argues that the human rights of its 1.3 billion people are being met by its economic development, which has seen standards of living rise tremendously. Economic success has dampened to a point of dormancy the democratic movement that was crushed in Tiananmen Square in 1989. But Western governments are under pressure from human rights groups, who argue that these issues are being downplayed too much.
There is a formula these days in which a visitor can talk about it, but does not get very far.


On his visit, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is raising the issue in general terms only, his officials have said. They say that more specific points are discussed in a government to government group the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. The last meeting, in February last year, included a discussion on the role of defence lawyers in criminal trials.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who came away from China recently with a bumper order book for nuclear power stations and aircraft, concentrated on the environment and China's role in world trade, not human rights.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an exception. In 2006, she made a point of pressing the Chinese in talks and made this public afterwards. Steve Ballinger of Amnesty International in London told me: "There is definitely a danger that criticism of Chinese human rights will be muted now that China is an economic superpower. "Human rights are a whispered third point after trade and diplomacy.

"The international community needs to press China to change and to honour its comment to 'enhance human rights' that it gave when it was awarded the Olympics."
Amnesty sent Mr Brown a letter listing four areas of concern - the death penalty, detention without a fair trial, persecution of campaigners and freedom of expression.

"Many internet sites in China are blocked, Amnesty International among them," said Steve Ballinger. "If you look up Tiananmen Square, you will not see the man standing in front of a tank. The international service providers should not co-operate with China as long as it is filtering searches."

Paul.Reynolds-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HEZBOLLAH HAS ISRAEL 'BODY PARTS' !

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says his armed group has body parts of Israeli soldiers abandoned in Lebanon during the 2006 conflict.He said they had the "heads, the hands, the feet and even a nearly intact cadaver" in a speech marking his first public appearance in more than a year. He addressed Shia Muslim supporters at a rally in southern Beirut to celebrate the holy Shia commemoration of Ashura.

Israel launched a major campaign against Hezbollah in July 2006. The 34-day war started with a border incursion by Hezbollah, who killed eight Israeli soldiers and snatched two more. About 1,200 civilians died in Lebanon during the conflict and about 160 Israelis - mainly soldiers - were killed during the conflict.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SPAIN ARRESTS 14 TERROR SUSPECTS!

Spain is still haunted by the Madrid bombings - carried out by Islamists. Spanish authorities have arrested 14 people suspected of having links to Islamist terror groups. The Civil Guard detained the suspects in Barcelona as part of a joint operation with Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI).

Several premises were searched and, as the operation is ongoing, more arrests have not been ruled out. Spain suffered at the hands of Islamist militants in 2004 when 191 people were killed in the Madrid train bombings.

Most of the 21 people convicted of the attacks were found to have been part of a local Islamist militant group inspired by al-Qaeda, but not part of that organisation.

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba is expected to hold a news conference on the latest arrests at 1130GMT.

The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Madrid, says domestic security will be a key issue in the run-up to Spain's general election, in two months time.

The governing Socialist Party says that, during its four-year term of office, 300 Islamist militants have been arrested.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ETHIOPIA HOLDS 'MANY WESTERNERS' !

Many US and European citizens of Ethiopian and Somali origin are being held in Ethiopia for alleged terrorist offences, a senior official has said. President of Ethiopia's Somali region Abdullahi Hassan refused to give exact numbers of those detained. "Those who are waging the terrorist war against our people are coming from Europe, are coming from America," he told journalists.

A rebel group is fighting for more autonomy for the Somali region. Mr Hassan said people originally from the region, also known as the Ogaden, were raising money for the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). "They are buying with this money weapons, mines and explosives," he said.

An ONLF spokesman denied the claims. Abdirahman Mahdi told the BBC News website that hundreds of ONLF members were in prison at the moment but said none of them had foreign passports.

"We have no information on American citizens being detained and are following up on this issue with the government of Ethiopia as we speak." Mr Hassan said he did not care whether foreign diplomats got involved in the cases. "They are under Ethiopian law, they are facing trial." He said they were under detention in the regional capital, Jijiga.

The conflict in the region has escalated since last April, when the ONLF attacked a Chinese-run oilfield, killing 74 people. Aid workers are concerned about hunger in the remote, arid area after commercial food deliveries were blocked for several months.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"BE WISER THAN OTHER PEOPLE IF YOU CAN, BUT DON'T TELL THEM SO" !

ZIMBABWE BANK TO ISSUE $10 MILLION BILL !

By Peter Biles - BBC Southern Africa correspondent.

Zimbabwe's central bank is to introduce new higher-denomination banknotes in an effort to ease the critical shortage of cash in the country. Zimbabwe has been in economic decline for the past eight years, with annual inflation widely thought to be in excess of 50,000%. The highest value note that will go into circulation on Friday is worth 10m Zimbabwean dollars. But that is worth less than US$3.90 (£2; 2.60euros) on the black market.

The introduction of the new banknotes, or "bearer cheques" as they are officially called, is a further attempt to stabilise the Zimbabwean economy. There have been long queues every day at banks as people have struggled to withdraw cash. The government's only response is to print more money - and that is seen as the main reason for the hyperinflation.

There have been no official inflation figures published for the past three or four months. Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono, has called on the business community not to increase prices every time new measures are taken to adjust the currency. The new higher denomination bank notes are certain to cause more confusion and they may only bring short term relief.

In the meantime, many people have become dependent upon imported goods, there are still severe shortages of fuel and power supplies remain erratic.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OUTRAGE AT KENYA POLICE TACTICS !

By Noel Mwakugu - BBC News, Nairobi.

As Kenya's opposition protests enter a third day, people are increasingly questioning the actions of the police, who are accused of shooting dead protesters.
The killings have sparked outrage across the country. On Thursday, human rights activist Okia Omtata chained himself to the barriers of the Nairobi police headquarters and, as bystanders watched, clutched a rosary chanting: "You are killing people in this country. That is wrong. "The sanctity of life must be protected." He was soon arrested.

Earlier, television footage had suggested a policeman in Kisumu may have shot dead in cold blood an unarmed man taking part in opposition protests against last month's disputed elections. The protester was making faces at the anti-riot unit when an officer approached him, armed with a rifle.


The young man fell down and the policeman is shown kicking the prostrate man in the back. Within minutes, bullets were fired at close range. The protester was later pronounced dead. In defence, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe insists officers are well aware that they are dealing with innocent people being "used by politicians".
"Some are drunk on alcohol and others are high on drugs and it is obvious they are innocent, so we are not using excessive force to disperse them," he said. The police chief in Kisumu said officers had disobeyed orders to only use tear gas and truncheons and were investigating the incident.

However, allegations of excessive force by Kenya's police are not new. Late last year they were accused of extrajudicial killings during the infamous crackdown on suspected members of the outlawed Mungiki sect in Nairobi and Central Province. At least 500 people died then. More than 600 have died in the election protests. The government-sponsored Kenya National Commission for Human Rights accused the force of executing large numbers of youths based on suspicion they were members of the secret sect.

Many accusations of brutality against civilians are aimed at the dreaded paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU). Many Kenyans know the unit by its Swahili acronym, FFU. They half-jokingly say this stands for Fanya Fujo Uone ("Mess around and see what we will do to you"). Members of the unit have undergone special training to deal with any threat to national security and, unlike the regular police, they rarely mingle with the public.

This, it is argued, makes them insensitive and brutal during their operations. In the past, they have been accused of raping women just to instil fear during operations. During the 24-year rule of former President Daniel arap Moi, this was his most trusted unit among the security forces.

Onyango Oloo of the Sankara Centre, a local human rights lobby group, says the police have often been used by the political elite to unleash brutality and terror on its opponents. "This goes back to the colonial times but certainly it has been part and parcel of how the state has dealt with the opposition - by crude brutality," says Mr Oloo, a former political prisoner.

In Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, residents have told the BBC that policemen have been firing indiscriminately at rioters in the suburbs. In the first round of unrest, I saw more than 40 bodies in the city's mortuary. Most had bullet wounds. Again, residents blamed the police, who denied responsibility for any deaths.

Residents of Nairobi's Kibera and Mathare slums have also accused the police of firing indiscriminately. Human rights activists allege that the officers are responding to a shoot-to-kill order issued by former Internal Security Minister John Michuki. Mr Oloo says the actions of policemen in using live ammunition on unarmed protesters is illegal under Kenyan law.

And it is emerging that there is growing discontent among officers at civilian deaths. There have been unconfirmed reports that some officers in Kisumu, where most of the shooting has taken place, have declined to follow orders to shoot at the public. Kenyans are questioning police actions when protests are peaceful

Observers argue a good number of police are sympathetic to the opposition. "I am convinced among them there are those who do not approve of what is happening and if they were asked to choose they would not rein in the protesters," Mr Oloo says. He says it is wrong to believe individual policemen have brutality ingrained in them.

But it is unlikely the police force as a whole would refuse to take orders from the government. Members of the force are recruited from across Kenya's 43 ethnic groups. Although some of top commanders have been seen aligning themselves with the ruling elite, political tensions have rarely been displayed among lower cadres.

But Ben Lawrence, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, says an inquest should be opened to address the killings across Kenya. "People have been killed under circumstances that are not unjustified and the police must be held accountable," says Mr Lawrence.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

'HERO' PILOT OF HEATHROW CRASH DRAMA!

Airline captain Peter Burkill has been widely praised for his handling of the crash-landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow Airport. All those on board - 136passengers and 16 crew - survived as the plane skidded short of the airport's south runway.

BA described 43-year-old Mr Burkill as one of their most experienced pilots, who had been flying with the airline for nearly 20 years. Chief executive Willie Walsh said he was proud of Mr Burkill and his flight and cabin crew on board Flight BA038 from Beijing. He said they did a "fantastic job" and described them as "heroes".

Gordon Brown joined in the praise of the pilot's skill in getting the aircraft down safely. The prime minister said: "I think it's right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff and the captain and what he achieved in landing the aircraft."

According to one airport worker, Mr Burkill said the plane lost all its power and had to be glided down to the ground. The British Air Line Pilots Association (Balpa) said Mr Burkill and his co-pilots went for a curry on the night of the crash in an attempt to "return to normality". The union said the crash landing seemed to have been handled in "textbook fashion" and offered its full support to Mr Burkill and his colleagues.

Mr Burkill was resting the day after the drama of events at Heathrow, and BA said the pilot would not return to the cockpit until the time was right. "There are no specific rules about staff returning to work after incidents like this," a spokesman said. "Our cockpit and cabin crew involved in this incident will be treated extremely sympathetically."

The spokesman said the company would not want anyone to fly until they felt physically and mentally comfortable. "Our flight crew and cabin crew management will discuss these issues with the individuals involved," he said. "We want to show them every consideration, so that when they do come back to work they return in a first-class medical and mental condition."

Mr Burkill lives in Worcester with his wife Maria and their three young sons - all aged under three - in a five-bedroom detached home in a quiet cul-de-sac near the centre of the city. Mr Burkill is well known by his neighbours in Worcester, Paddy and Valerie Firminger, as they are friends of the Burkills. Mrs Firminger said she was not surprised Mr Burkill dealt with the situation so well. She said: "He's absolutely gorgeous. He's all you imagine an airline pilot to be. He's very good looking, very calm. "He's talked to me about flying because I'm not a very good flyer. So if ever there's a person you want in charge of that plane, it was him."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

MORE CLUES IN THE US ELECTION RACE!

By Kevin Connolly - BBC News, South Carolina.

In the early stages of any race for the presidency, journalists and political scientists find themselves making predictions and extrapolating national trends from local results when very few of the American public have had a chance to vote. It is crunching numbers, when there simply aren't enough numbers to crunch.

But this weekend, after the Republican primary in South Carolina and caucuses for both parties in the Western desert state of Nevada, we will have a little more hard information to work with. For different reasons, the two states may help to give us a feeling for how the race is shaping up on the way into so-called Super Tuesday, when voters in 22 states will have their say, and the nominations just might be wrapped up.

I generally distrust psephological "rules" derived from previous elections... along the lines of "no Republican candidate from the South has placed better than 3rd in Wisconsin in a year when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series". How dull the race would be if the past really was an infallible guide to the present.

Having said that, it is impossible to ignore the importance to Republicans of South Carolina, the first of the states of the old South to vote. Since 1980, the candidate it has picked has always gone on to win the party's nomination, even when, as with Bob Dole in 1996, he didn't go on to win the White House.

Any Republican in modern times who's won two out of three in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina has always won the nomination. With Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee all having secured early wins in different places, that statistic looks particularly intriguing. This year, of course, the race is so open that conventional statistical yardsticks may cease to apply altogether.

The truth is, the Republican race remains a mess.

That is in part because one of the national front-runners, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has taken the extraordinary gamble of virtually ignoring the early races to concentrate on the bigger prize of Florida at the end of the month. John McCain is hoping to regain momentum in South Carolina But it's also because none of the Republican candidates has shown the ability to pull together the various threads that make up the party. Each of them appeals to one section or another, whether it is Christian social conservatism (Huckabee), belief in big business (Romney) or experience in military and defence matters (McCain).

Victory will probably go to the candidate who manages to reach out to the rest of the party without alienating his own base. And, of course, in politics when things are tight, they start to get a little dirty. South Carolinians are no strangers to the dark arts of negative campaigning, and 2008 may turn out to be a year to remember on that front.


Already I've been told stories about bogus Christmas cards circulating which purported to come from Mr Romney, a Mormon. Mitt Romney may have suffered attacks based on his Mormon faith They contained references to polygamy which purported to come from the Book of Mormon.

But wherever the quotes came from, the cards certainly didn't come from Mr Romney. And the Mormons discontinued polygamy well over a century ago. And a shadowy group calling itself Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain has been busy too, handing out flyers implying that in Mr McCain's long spell as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, during which he was tortured, he gave information to America's enemy.

The evidence? Well, there isn't any. It's a straightforward attempt to take one of Mr McCain's best cards - his status as a war hero - and use it against him. Something very similar happened to Mr McCain when he lost South Carolina to George W Bush in 2000, but this time he's mobilised a group of volunteers called "the Truth Squad" to lead his rebuttal of the rumours. We shall see how they fare.

Nevada, by comparison, has been a model of decorum, but there is plenty at stake there too. With the Republicans largely focusing on South Carolina - except for the eccentric Mr Giuliani, who's tirelessly flogging up and down the freeways of Florida - it is the Democratic race out West which is making headlines. Essentially, the race boils down to another round in the evenly-matched struggle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and, as the race is evenly-balanced nationwide, so it is proving in Nevada.

Each candidate can point to a poll which puts them ahead. Senator Clinton can point to backing from influential politicians in the Hispanic community, Senator Obama has the backing of a powerful local union organisation.

And the backdrop to the campaign is interesting too, in a state which for decades was the fastest growing in the whole of the US. Nevada has by far the highest rate of foreclosure in the country - foreclosure being the brutal business whereby the bank takes your home off you if you cannot meet your mortgage payments. American prosperity feels brittle and the electorate is nervous of recession - we can expect to hear in Nevada how the two leading Democrats would help the needy, and manage the economy.

On opposite sides of the country this weekend, there is a great deal at stake... and the prize of momentum to take forward first to Florida, then on to Super Tuesday itself.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

S.KOREA IN OIL RALLY SUICIDE BID!

A South Korean fish-seller has attempted to commit suicide during a rally protesting at the country's worst-ever oil spill. Ji Chang-hwan drank poison before dousing himself with inflammable liquid and setting himself alight. Doctors treating Mr Ji say he is critically ill and may not survive.

Thousands had gathered in Taean county, on the country's west coast, to demand more official compensation for communities hit by last month's spill. Two fish farmers have already committed suicide over the issue. Mr Ji was rushed to Soonchunhyang University Hospital after his suicide bid. Hospital spokesman Park Jae-ho told the Associated Press Mr Ji had swallowed a fatal dose of herbicide and was unlikely to survive.

The spill happened when a tug snapped its towing cable, causing the barge it was pulling to drift and collide with a super tanker in early December. The resulting slick of some 10,500 tonnes of crude oil devastated beaches and marine farms on South Korea's west coast. The spill was the largest in South Korea's history. Tens of thousands of police, troops and volunteers staged a huge clean-up of the shoreline but environmentalists say the damage could last for years.

Taean residents are calling on the companies involved in the spill to pay full compensation and take "unlimited responsibility" for the damage. The oil slick, the largest in South Korea's history, is about a third of the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, considered the costliest on record. South Korea's previously largest spill happened in 1995, when 5,000 tons of oil washed onto the southern coast.

Police are expected to announce the results of their investigation into the accident next week.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DEPORTED, ABANDONED AND SAVED IN GHANA!

By Will Ross -BBC News, Accra

Ama Sumani is slowing down. She is only 39 but moves like an elderly grandmother.
Her feet, legs and face are swollen. Ama came to the UK five years ago as a student A week ago Ama was lying in a hospital bed in Cardiff. Her kidneys damaged by cancer, she had just had a session of the dialysis treatment she needs three times a week to stay alive.

Then early in the morning, in walked three immigration officers. They removed her from the hospital in a wheelchair, drove her to Gatwick airport and the very same afternoon put her on a plane to Ghana. Ama's visa was out of date and so she had been in the UK illegally.

The next evening I found Ama sitting next to the swimming pool at a luxury hotel a stone's throw from the Ghanaian president's house. The immigration officers were still with her and looked upset. Their efforts to help the widow get dialysis treatment at Accra's main hospital had failed. They had obviously struck up quite a relationship and one of the officers had even given Ama a pair of her shiny silver-coloured earrings.

They may have escorted her out of Britain but Ama certainly held no grudges and was grateful they had at least tried to help. So she wanted to show a bit of Ghanaian hospitality to the British by seeing them off at the airport.

But they left late that evening without saying goodbye to Ama.

Knowing that she faced an uncertain future without the life-prolonging treatment, perhaps it was easier that way - but Ama could not understand it and she rang their mobiles over and over again. There was no reply. The next morning Ama had to check out of the £100 ($200) a night hotel which had been paid for by the British taxpayer.

It was clear she was totally lost. Her family lives in northern Ghana and Ama had only spent one day in the capital in her life and that had been on her way to the UK, via the embassy to pick up her four-year visa.

I offered to help her try again at the hospital and so Ama packed her bags, not sure where she would sleep that night. She had a couple of suitcases and a large plastic bag full of furry-collared winter coats, which in Ghana's stifling heat had suddenly become her most useless possessions. "Won't be able sell them for much here, will I love?" Ama joked.

Another mannerism she had picked up in Cardiff emerged as she left the hotel. "Thank you. Ta Ta," she cheerfully said to the porters.

The dialysis room in Ghana's main hospital does not fit the image many have of the medical facilities in Africa. There is an impressive line-up of white machines, blinking lights and digital read-outs. The medical journal the Lancet described Ama's removal from the Cardiff hospital as 'atrocious barbarism'

But when Ama Sumani asked about the cost of the dialysis, she was presented with a scrap of paper which brought tears to her eyes. It was a bill for about £2,500 ($5,000) to be paid upfront. That was just for three months' dialysis. Ama reached slowly into her pocket and pulled out a few crumpled notes - enough money for just two days' treatment.

When Ama had appealed against her imminent removal from the UK, doctors had advised the judge that without the treatment she had only weeks to live. As it became clear that the dialysis was available but unaffordable, criticism of the Home Office grew and the medical journal, the Lancet, described Ama's removal from the Cardiff hospital as "atrocious barbarism".

Of course, there are plenty of people who are quick to back the government's action and question why on earth British taxpayers should pay the medical bills for a Ghanaian who was not even there legally.

"It's the National Health Service not the International Health Service," is a view I've heard a few times.

But there is a counter-argument.

Turn up at a British hospital and do not be too surprised if the nurse or doctor who treats you is Ghanaian. With the drain of this exodus on the Ghanaian health service, some here suggest the UK might owe Ghana a favour or two. This week I have seen Ama deteriorate as she skips the dialysis treatment.


Ama's case has caused widespread controversy in the UK.
Her face and feet have swollen and she can barely walk.
But now help has arrived.

Ama took a phone call from Wales. And as the total stranger on the end of the line explained that she was sending the £2,500 so she could start the treatment, Ama's face moved from shock to joy and the phrase "God bless you!" was repeated over and over, and then finally laughter.

It will be a struggle for Ama to pay for the ongoing dialysis. But as she phones to say she is on her way to the hospital there is some cheer in her voice as she tells me, "Thanks love. See you later. Ta Ta."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OJ SIMPSON FREED ON DOUBLE BAIL!

Former football star OJ Simpson has been released from jail hours after a judge accused him of "arrogance or ignorance" for violating bail terms. District Judge Jackie Glass doubled Mr Simpson's bail to $250,000 (£127,000) after he attempted to contact a co-defendant in his armed robbery case.

Mr Simpson was arrested in September for allegedly robbing at gunpoint two sports memorabilia dealers in a hotel. Mr Simpson was acquitted of two murders in 1995 in a high-profile case. He always denied killing ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman and was cleared in a racially charged trial. Two years later he was found liable for the deaths in a civil case.

Mr Simpson, 60, was taken into custody by his bail bondsman in Florida on Friday for violating the terms of his bail. The district attorney said that Mr Simpson had left an expletive-laced phone message with his bail bondsman, telling him to tell co-defendant Clarence Stewart how upset he was about testimony given during their preliminary hearing.

In court in Las Vegas, Nevada, Judge Glass said: "I don't know Mr Simpson what the heck you were thinking - or maybe that's the problem - you weren't. "I don't know if it's just arrogance. I don't know if it's ignorance. But you've been locked up at the Clark County Detention Center since Friday because of arrogance or ignorance - or both," she added.

Mr Simpson faces kidnapping and armed robbery charges, over allegations that he and several friends burst into a Las Vegas hotel room and robbed the two memorabilia dealers. His legal team says he was trying to retrieve stolen memorabilia that belonged to him and deny any guns were involved.

The trial is due to start on 7 April.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

KENYA 'TURNED INTO KILLING FIELD'!

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused the government and the police of turning the country into "killing fields of the innocent". His Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) said seven people were shot dead in Nairobi on the second day of protests against elections it says were rigged.

Police denied Mr Odinga's claim that they were "on a killing spree" and said they were acting "with restraint". EU politicians have meanwhile urged it to cut aid to Kenya's government.

Mr Odinga said: "The government and the police have turned this country into killing fields of the innocent, executing at will in an unprecedented bloodlust that began long before elections took place." He said the government had "issued its police force with a shoot-to-kill order. And police officers all over the country have followed that order to the letter."

A police spokesman, Eric Kiraithi, said officers had killed two "criminal" protesters - one in western Kenya and one in Nairobi. He said police were acting "with restraint", and that protesters were being "used by politicians".

Mr Odinga's claim that seven people had been shot dead in Nairobi's Mathare slum was backed up by residents. Mr Odinga produced photographs of the dead and said one of them was the driver of an MP.

Other sources said two people were killed in Kisumu, western Kenya, but the claims could not be verified. Police, who have banned all public demonstrations, fired into the air to disperse protesters and clear barricades in several cities. Tear gas was fired and protesters beaten in the ODM strongholds of Kisumu and Eldoret in the west.

On the first day of the protests on Wednesday, at least four people were killed. Kenyan authorities say more than 600 people have died in violence since President Mwai Kibaki was declared the victor of elections held in December.

But Mr Odinga told reporters on Thursday that more than 1,000 people had died. The government has accused Mr Odinga's group of planning to carry out systematic ethnic cleansing. Justice Minister Martha Karua said the ODM had been "planning mayhem if they lost".

The US on Thursday blamed both sides for the violence. Police were deployed to remove burning barricades. State department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "More than anything else they need to come together for the Kenyan people and for Kenya's future."

Meanwhile, the European Parliament on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution calling for the EU to suspend aid to the Kenyan government. The EU is due to give some 400m euros (£298m) to Kenya over the next five years. Mr Odinga said the international community should impose sanctions.

"Sanctions is one way of putting pressure on Mr Kibaki to know that it is not going to be business as usual with the rest of the world, unless and until he agrees to a peaceful resolution to this artificially instigated crisis," he said. Mr Odinga has demanded a vote recount.

Meanwhile, the UN has launched a $34m (£17.3m) humanitarian appeal for Kenya, to help those affected by the violence following the disputed election. A quarter of a million people have left their homes and 6,000 have fled to neighbouring Uganda.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WESTERN ISLES TO WESTERN SAHARA?

Western Isles to Western Sahara?

By Colin MacKinnon - BBC Scotland Eòrpa reporter.

The crew of a Western Isles trawler will decide in the next few weeks whether to return to the northwest coast of Africa to fish. The Prowess is one of more than 100 European trawlers in the area They spent a trial period sailing out of the port of Dhakla in southern Morocco late last year because their EU fishing quota was too small.

Angus Macleod, from Barra, explained why they might travel back the 1,500 nautical miles in the spring. He told BBC Scotland: "Nobody wants to leave home but it's just not viable for us to continue, with the quota we have in the UK. I can't see that we can afford not to come back. The door's open, it's viable. We hope we can improve on what we've learned and be better next time round." The 60m "Prowess" is one of more than a hundred European trawlers that have taken advantage of a recently renewed [2007] agreement between the EU and Morocco which allows foreign boats to fish in Western Sahara waters.

It was not all plain sailing for the crew when they spent a month catching sardines there last November, according to skipper John Archie Macleod. He said: "The biggest obstacle is because we're fishing outside the 15-mile zone we're classed as foreign, and the fish we catch is classed as foreign fish, so it's a customs problem - we have to pay customs duty on the import. "It's the same for the processing factories when it comes to exporting the fish."

Another Scottish boat, the Peterhead based "Krossfjord", has remained in West Africa over the New Year. Its crew has also battled with bureaucracy, but skipper George Nicol is bypassing much of it by using a processing plant he has bought and runs independently in Dhakla. Mr Nicol said: "We have invested with Moroccan people locally, to sell on the fish that we're catching. It's been very difficult - we've met opposition from all quarters."

The Scots have sailed into political controversy in the region known as Western Sahara. It's been a disputed territory since the mid-70s when Morocco annexed it after Spain relinquished colonial power. Some politicians, like SNP MEP Ian Hudghton, are opposed to the EU fishing agreement with Morocco, although he can understand why the Scots trawlermen are taking advantage when their quotas have been cut in recent years. "It's not the fault of fishermen that we're in this situation," he said.

"I think that the politicians have let down Western Sahara, and have implemented here an agreement that breaches what should have been preserved in terms of international law and the right of people to expect support when they're invaded or taken over by neighbours or whoever."

The Moroccan Government disagrees. It maintains its right to govern over Western Sahara and believes the EU agreement benefits the region. Dhakla spokesman Noureddine Aissaoui said: "It is Moroccan land. We work here in our country in peace and in security. "You must have noticed all the investment and construction projects that have been ongoing for years; Morocco is developing its territory. "Today, this is an opportunity for the whole world to be part of the plan to develop this region."

It has not been easy so far for the Scots who have tested the water of Western Sahara, but they hope this opportunity will be the answer to their difficulty with restricted EU quotas at home. Oh, and the weather's better too, as they've discovered.

This issue is featured in Eòrpa on BBC Two Scotland at 1930 GMT on Thursday, 17 January.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"THE GREATEST STRENGTH IS GENTLENESS" !

FLOODS COULD BE WORSE THAN 2001!

Flooding in Mozambique and neighbouring countries could be more damaging than catastrophic floods seven years ago, Mozambique authorities say. But officials say they don't expect the death toll to be as high as in 2001, when 700 people died.

The government is preparing to evacuate 200,000 people from their homes as rains continue to fall. Some 70,000 people have been forced from their homes so far and several people have died, the government said. The National Institute of Natural Disaster Management (INGC) predicted the heavy rains as far back as November and warned communities they were coming.

But flood waters are now spreading to Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia, and more people will have to be evacuated. The rain is forecast to fall throughout February and could continue into April, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.

The INGC told the AFP news agency that a UN announcement that 50 people had died in the flooding was "overestimated". Torrential rains in Zambia and Zimbabwe have swollen the Zambezi river - Africa's fourth longest - to well above the flood limits.

Valleys in Malawi and Mozambique are bearing the brunt as the waters flow down to the Indian Ocean.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

AIRLINER CRASH LANDS AT HEATHROW !

An international passenger plane has crash landed short of the runway at Heathrow Airport. Passengers escaped down the emergency chutes after British Airways flight BA38 from Beijing came down. Six ambulances were sent to the scene and three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The incident happened as Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due to leave Heathrow for China and India. His flight was delayed because of the incident. The south runway is closed while investigators examine the scene - the north runway remains open. Eyewitness John Rowland said: "The plane's wheels collapsed, doors were flown open.
"On its approach it took the runway too low, just missing the roof of my cab. "It crashed into the runway, debris was flying everywhere, there was an enormous bang and it skidded sideways."

Another eyewitness, Nick Gray, told BBC News: "We were taxiing along ready to take off and certainly out of the window I could see a plane coming in to land. "I'm not quite sure if the under carriage was missing or not, but certainly what we saw was the plane coming down.

"There were some sparks as the undercarriage or the bottom of the plane actually touched the runway - certainly a huge amount of smoke coming up from that. "And then the plane did come to a halt reasonably quickly. "It was incredibly efficient the speed that people got off the aircraft. "I could see that the chutes were deployed very quickly and people were coming down on that. "Then people were sent off to the nearby buildings which are probably only about 200 yards away from the plane. "There about six fire engines there now. "There seems to have been regular dousing of foam on the port engine which obviously probably was the hottest one where the plane landed. "Certainly there is a lot of activity and lots of vehicles with flashing lights all around the plane."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

'SEVEN DEAD' IN KENYA PROTESTS !

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga says police in Nairobi have shot dead seven people on the second day of protests against disputed polls. BBC correspondents reported Kenyan riot police firing into the air to disperse protesters in several cities. They said at least two people had been shot in Nairobi's Kibera slum and there were clashes in Kisumu in the west as police tried to clear barricades.

The European Parliament has asked the EU to cut aid to Kenya's government. On the first day of the protests on Wednesday, at least four people were killed. The police have banned all public protests. Kenyan authorities say more than 600 people have died in violence since President Mwai Kibaki was declared the victor in elections held in December.

But Mr Odinga told reporters on Thursday that more than 1,000 people had died. Mr Odinga has demanded a recount of the vote, but said he would stop disputing the result if it showed Mr Kibaki won. He told the BBC that the international community should impose sanctions. He also told the BBC's Hardtalk programme that he would be prepared to take part in a "transitional coalition government" charged with organising new elections within six months.

The Commonwealth is the latest body to criticise the results. The final report of its observer team said the polls "did not meet international standards". A BBC correspondent says two people are known to have been shot in Nairobi's Kibera slum, and there is also a standoff in the city's Mathare slum.

Youths are burning tyres and barricades, and police have been firing into the air in an attempt to disperse the groups. The military is being used to clear road blocks like this one in Eldoret

In the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu, where four people were killed on Wednesday, residents of the Kondele slum set up barricades on a main road, which officers have been trying to clear. Gunshots can already be heard in different areas of the city, correspondents say.

TV footage of Wednesday's rally there showed a protester lying on the ground being kicked by a policeman. The man was found dead shortly afterwards with bullet wounds. The BBC's Karen Allen says a wake for one of those killed has turned into a political meeting.

Kisumu's police chief Grace Kahindi told the BBC that local officers had ignored orders only to use tear gas and batons in putting down Wednesday's protests, and that they would now be more closely supervised.

"The specific instructions were very clear: tear gas and batons. That's what we said. We're also trying to find out why [shots were fired] because we were not there," she said.

The European Parliament on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution calling for the EU to suspend aid to the Kenyan government. The EU is due to give some 400m euros (£298m) to Kenya over the next five years. Kenyan refugees have been receiving food aid in Uganda.

MEPs have no direct say over the aid budget, but the vote sends a strong signal to EU governments about the disquiet provoked by the elections and their aftermath, says the BBC's Alix Kroeger in Strasbourg.

MEP Glenys Kinnock told the BBC News website that EU money should be diverted away from the government and used in aid projects instead. Mr Odinga has called for tougher measures from the outside world. "Sanctions is one way of putting pressure on Mr Kibaki to know that it is not going to be business as usual with the rest of the world, unless and until he agrees to a peaceful resolution to this artificially instigated crisis," he said.

Meanwhile, the UN has launched a $34m (£17.3m) humanitarian appeal for Kenya, to help those affected by the violence following the disputed election. A quarter of a million people have left their homes and 6,000 have fled to neighbouring Uganda. Kenya is East Africa's most developed economy and its bread basket has traditionally been the Rift Valley, where maize is grown, but the ethnic violence.

Sir John Holmes, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the money the UN was seeking over the next six months would be mainly used for food aid.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CLINTON IN FLIGHT ATTENDANT SPOOF!

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton briefly took on the role of flight attendant while travelling on her campaign plane. Speaking to members of the press on board, she gave a humorous take on the standard flight attendant speech familiar to air travellers.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome aboard the maiden flight of Hill Force One," she joked.

The US president's plane is called Air Force One. As the plane made its way down the runway before taking off from Las Vegas on its way to Reno, in Nevada, on Wednesday, she introduced herself on the loud speaker.

"My name is Hillary and I am so pleased to have most of you on board," she said, referring to her sometimes difficult relationship with the media.

In the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire - Hillary Clinton.

"[Federal Aviation Administration] regulations prohibit the use of any cell phones, Blackberries or wireless devices that may be used to transmit a negative story about me," she continued. "In a few minutes, I am going to switch off the 'Fasten Your Seat Belt' sign. However, I've learned lately that things can get awfully bumpy when you least expect it - so you might want to keep those seat belts fastened," she added. "And in the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire."

Taking the opportunity to make a political point, she continued: "If you look out from the right, you will see an America saddled with tax cuts for the wealthiest and a war without end. "If you look out from the left, you will see an America with a strong middle class at home and a strong reputation in the world," she said.

The in-flight entertainment would be a political speech, she added.

She finished by saying she was grateful that the passengers "chose the plane with the most experienced candidate".
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ATONEMENT TOPS BAFTA NOMINATIONS!

Keira Knightley is nominated for best actress for Atonement.
Romantic drama Atonement is leading the field at this year's Bafta film awards, after receiving 14 nominations.
Its stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are both nominated for best actress and actor and Joe Wright was named in the best director category.
Thriller No Country for Old Men and Texan drama There Will Be Blood each received nine nominations.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, on 10 February.

Several movies picked up more than five nominations each, with Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose scoring seven, thriller The Bourne Ultimatum with six, and American Gangster, The Lives of Others and Michael Clayton all receiving five nominations.

MAIN BAFTA NOMINEES

Atonement - 14
No Country for Old Men - 9
There Will Be Blood - 9
La Vie en Rose - 7
The Bourne Ultimatum - 6
American Gangster - 5
The Lives of Others - 5
Michael Clayton - 5

Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's novel set in World War II, is up for best film along with Sir Ridley Scott's crime drama American Gangster, German Cold War movie The Lives of Others, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood.

It is also nominated for best British film and adapted screenplay.

The movie won best film at the Golden Globes earlier this week.

Keira Knightley is up against Julie Christie, who won a Golden Globe for her role in Away From Her, in the best actress category.

The pair are joined by Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose and Ellen Page for Juno.

James McAvoy is nominated for best actor alongside Daniel Day Lewis, who also won a Golden Globe for There Will Be Blood, George Clooney for Michael Clayton, Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises and the late Ulrich Muehe for The Lives of Others.


Daniel Day-Lewis plays a petroleum baron in There Will Be Blood

There was also a best supporting actress nomination for 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan for her role as Knightley's younger sister in the romantic drama.

Atonement producer Tim Bevan praised director Joe Wright for making a truly British film.

"Most importantly, we have this amazing young director who cast it and crewed it from British people and he got them all to raise their bar and it's fantastic to get this level of recognition," he told BBC News.

Director Shane Meadows, whose film This Is England received two nominations, said it seemed "very fitting for a film which is so fundamentally British in origin".

He told the BBC News website: "When it did well at the UK box office, I was really chuffed and to receive two British Independent Film Awards and now to be nominated for two Baftas is the icing on the cake."

Film critic Mark Kermode also said there were "no real surprises" except for a "slightly poor showing for Sweeney Todd".

"It's only there for make-up, hair and costume design and not for any major awards. It's doing very well in America but largely overlooked here."

Bafta deputy chairman David Parfitt, meanwhile, said he was "sad for Harry Potter" after the Order of the Phoenix also missed out on nominations in the main categories.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is now in its 61st year, after handing out its first prize for achievement in film in 1947.

Last year, drama The Last King of Scotland and fantasy Pan's Labyrinth both took home the most Bafta awards, with three each.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

WOMAN BOMBER KILLS 11 IN IRAQ!

A women wearing an explosives belt has blown herself up near a Shia mosque in Diyala province north of Baghdad, killing 11 others, Iraqi police say. The attack took place in the town of Khan Bani Saad, south of Baquba, capital of the restive province.

Eighteen people were wounded in the attack, near a popular market in the town, a local military commander said. Reports say victims were treated in Baghdad, rather than the mainly-Sunni Baquba because of security concerns. BBC Baghdad correspondent Jonny Dymond said the bombing looks very much like a religiously motivated attack. The bombing is the third reported to have been carried out by female attacker in the past two months in the Baquba area.

Diyala has defied the trend towards lower violence in Baghdad and much of central Iraq over the past six months. Diyala is the current battleground between the Sunni insurgency and its opponents and also one of the places in Iraq where Shia and Sunni live side by side, our correspondent says.

The area around the mosque was crowded with people in the run up to the important Shia ceremony of Ashura which falls on Saturday. In other violence, two civilians were reported killed and 10 wounded when a roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol exploded in central Baghdad, police said.

The bodies of another six people were found in different areas of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. There were also reports of two people dying in roadside bombings in Nahrawan, south of Baghdad, and three similar attacks in quick succession in central Baghdad that wounded three people.

On Tuesday, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Iraq during which she praised the progress made in Iraq, nearly five years after the US-led invasion which overthrew Saddam Hussei
BBC NEWS REPORT.

U.N. 'TO MULL NEW IRAN SANCTIONS' !

Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes. Foreign ministers from the UN Security Council's five permanent members, plus Germany, will meet next Tuesday in Berlin to discuss Iran, diplomats say. They are expected to explore whether to impose a third round of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The talks would bring together Britain, China, France, the United States and Russia, as well as the host country. China and Russia have questioned the need for more sanctions on Iran, which says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

A US intelligence report last month said Tehran had stopped an alleged secret nuclear weapons programme in 2003. Iran says its uranium enrichment is to generate electricity and denies claims by the administration of US President George W Bush and key allies that it is building a nuclear bomb.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"WHEN A MAN IS WRAPPED UP IN HIMSELF, HE MAKES A PRETTY SMALL PACKAGE" !

DEATH PENALTY FOR TYCOON RAPIST!

A former lawmaker has been sentenced to death in China for raping more than 20 young girls, according to reports. Millionaire businessman Wu Tianxi began his campaign of rape after being told by a fortune-teller that having sex with virgins would prolong his health.

The People's Daily reported that the 61-year-old, from Henan province, was aiming to have sex with 100 virgins. A woman who helped Wu to track down the girls - aged between 12 and 16 - was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Wu, who served in the Chinese parliament from 1998 to 2003, had denied the charges saying he had engaged only in prostitution.

But the court in Nanyang city convicted him and handed down the death sentence for the rapes, which took place between early 2005 and April 2007. Xinhua news agency reported earlier that the authorities in Henan admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status.

Wu, the boss of a food company in Zhenping, was also fined 500,000 yuan ($69,000; £35,000) by the court.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

STAND-OFF OVER WHALING ACTIVISTS !

Officials in Japan and Australia are working to resolve a row over two protesters detained on a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean. Japanese crewmen took the protesters, from the radical Sea Shepherd group, into custody on Tuesday after they tried to board their vessel. The whalers say they are trying to return the two men but accuse Sea Shepherd of not co-operating.

Sea Shepherd say Japanese conditions for the handover are unacceptable. The Sea Shepherd crew have been pursuing the Japanese fleet with the aim of using direct action to disrupt the hunt. The whalers say Sea Shepherd activists have injured crew members in the past and accuse them of dangerous harassment.

The two men, Brighton-born Giles Lane, who lives in Leeds in Britain, and Australian Benjamin Potts, boarded the Yushin Maru 2 vessel on Tuesday to deliver a petition. Sea Shepherd say they were assaulted and tied to the radar mast by the Japanese crew. But whaling officials said the pair had not been harmed, describing the claims as "completely untrue".

They said the men had illegally boarded the vessel after trying to damage its propeller and throwing bottles of acid. A spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tomohiko Taniguchi, said that there was a strong desire on the Japanese side to return the two men. Officials had contacted Sea Shepherd but received no response, he said.

A condition of the handover was that Sea Shepherd's inflatable boats agreed to remain 10 miles from Japanese vessels. "If Sea Shepherd is not willing to do what the Japanese side wants them to do, I'm afraid it will take more time," he said. Calling the two men hostages was incorrect, he added. "The two crew members were intentionally left behind on board."

Sea Shepherd, meanwhile, described a conditional release as unacceptable. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he expected the men to be returned "in a safe and secure condition". "And the Japanese government also wants that to occur," he added. "What is now needed is the co-operation of the two vessels involved."

The Japanese fleet plans to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April as part of what it describes as a scientific research programme. But other nations and environment groups say the research goals could be achieved using non-lethal methods and call the programme a front for commercial whaling.


TRACKING JAPANESE WHALERS

November 2007: Japanese fleet of six whaling ships sets sail
31 December: MV Esperanza carrying Greenpeace campaigners enters Antarctic waters on trail of Japanese fleet. MV Steve Irwin carrying rival Sea Shepherd Conservation Group also heads towards whaling fleet
9 January: Australian ship Oceanic Viking leaves Perth on whaling surveillance mission
15 January: Two Britons held by Japanese after boarding Yushin Maru No 2 to deliver protest letter
BBC NEWS REPORT.

KENYA POLICE USE 'LETHAL FORCE'!

The government has banned public gatherings in Kenya Kenyan police have used lethal force, including gunfire, to break up anti-government protests, the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. Nearly 600 people have been killed in post-election violence, the Kenyan Red Cross has said, as opposition supporters protest December's vote.

HRW said Kenyan police in several cities have used live ammunition to disperse protesters and looters. Defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga has called for further protests. Police have banned public gatherings since violent clashes erupted after President Mwai Kibaki was declared re-elected in a controversial poll.

"Kenyan security forces have a duty to rein in criminal violence and should protect people, but they shouldn't turn their weapons on peaceful protesters," said Georgette Gagnon, acting Africa director at HRW. The opposition blames President Kibaki for rigging elections. Police said they have only shot looters.

The political violence, including tribal-based clashes, have also seen 250,000 flee their homes, the United Nations estimates. Around half-a-million people will need emergency aid, including food and shelter, the UN said.

Defeated candidate Raila Odinga and his supporters say the vote was rigged. On Sunday, he said he was ready for talks, but only if they were led by international mediators - a condition rejected by the president. Mr Odinga has refused to join a power-sharing administration led by Mr Kibaki and has called for three days of protests beginning on Wednesday. "Kenyans spoke for change, Kenyans want change and Kenyans will get change," he said to some 2,000 supporters at a Nairobi church on Sunday. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Tuesday's reopening of parliament, where Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement won 99 seats to 43 for Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity, may provide another flashpoint for violence.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is due in Nairobi this week to head a panel to attempt to broker a deal between the two sides. Meanwhile, the United States and the European Union said their relations with Kenya would come under review unless Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga reach a compromise that restores stability. The top American diplomat to Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said on Saturday that it was "imperative" that the two men sit down together "directly and without preconditions".
BBC NEWS REPORT.

50 YEARS ON REMAND !

By Roland Buerk - BBC News, Colombo.

A man has been released from prison in Sri Lanka after being held on remand for 50 years without conviction. DP James was 30 years old when he was arrested for stabbing and wounding his father and sent to jail. He is now 80. He was moved to a psychiatric hospital shortly after entering prison in 1957, and returned to jail in the mid-1980s, where he seems to have been forgotten.

Mr James was released on bail with the court's apologies. His lawyer hopes the case against him will be dismissed. Mr James is due back in court next month. A claim for compensation is now being considered.

It was an extraordinary case for the Magistrates Court at Kurunegala in Sri Lanka - an 80-year-old man appearing for a bail hearing 50 years after he was remanded in custody. The lawyer who organised his defence in court, Darma Veejaya Seneveratna, says his client did not complain because he was from a village and ignorant of the law.

DP James might have ended his days in prison, but in December he was taken to hospital again for medical treatment. Prison officers who went to collect him after his recovery checked his documents and realised the error.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HELICOPER SHORTAGES !

By Jonathan Marcus - BBC diplomatic correspondent.

The stalled deployment of a European military force to eastern Chad now looks as though it will go ahead at the start of February after the French government agreed to pitch in with additional resources. Helicopters have become the vital workhorse of overseas missions One of the key shortages had been in the support area, notably helicopters.

Last month, French Defence Minister Herve Morin complained about the reluctance of other European governments to come up with the necessary resources. France, because of its long-standing military ties in the region, had wanted to restrict its contribution to the 3,500-strong force, which is to be commanded by an Irish general. With few other offers coming in, the French have now decided to deploy around 10 transport helicopters and the necessary support elements themselves - though they still hope that other countries may contribute additional equipment.

This episode underlines a growing problem in expeditionary operations, whether they be coalition forces engaged in explicit military tasks, like in Afghanistan, or in peacekeeping duties for the United Nations or other international bodies. There are simply not enough helicopters to go around.

A good rule of thumb would be that it takes around 30 people to keep each deployed helicopter in the air The same problems of helicopter and transport shortages have dogged efforts to build up the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Ever since the Vietnam-era, helicopters have become the vital workhorses of military deployments overseas. Leaving aside specific combat missions, like hunting tanks for example, helicopters give vital mobility and support - carrying troops, ferrying supplies and providing essential services like casualty evacuation.

They are a genuine "force-multiplier", allowing relatively small units, often in difficult terrain, to make the most of their capabilities. At first sight, it seems strange that the French government in this case, or often the UN, should have to go cap in hand to beg for additional helicopters. A quick glance at any military almanac like, for example, The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, shows that if you just take the Nato countries alone, they have hundreds of helicopters at their disposal.

But deploying them overseas is quite another matter. Even for life and death missions involving its own personnel in Afghanistan, Nato has perennially been short of helicopters. Iraq's difficult terrain makes US helicopters more valuable there.
Those countries, like Britain, which have deployed significant assets, find they still do not have enough, and at the moment there is a programme under way to convert eight existing twin-rotored Chinook helicopters into a supporting role so that Britain would have a larger pool of aircraft from which to draw.

The problems are both political and practical. In some case governments just do not want to become involved in a particular operation. There may be long-standing sensitivities in the deployment region. It is often better, for example, that the United States remain on the sidelines of any operation given its active global military role in Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider war on terror.

But even the US, too, might have problems finding additional aircraft for peacekeeping operations. Fighting two wars has placed an extraordinary strain on Washington's military machine. These wars are being fought in places with difficult terrain, making helicopters even more valuable, but high altitudes and dusty desert air are both bad news in terms of maintaining a helicopter fleet's air-worthiness.

So, some governments may not want to participate; some - like the US and Britain - may have their forces fully engaged elsewhere; but what of the rest? The simple fact is that most countries - even Nato players - are not really geared up for genuine expeditionary warfare. Their helicopter squadrons were never intended to be able to be picked up and deposited in some harsh environment.

Deploying even small helicopter forces is expensive and manpower intensive. A good rule of thumb would be that it takes around 30 people to keep each deployed helicopter in the air. Bases have to be provided and protected and a whole logistical support apparatus established to provide fuel and spare parts.

Only very few countries are able to deploy significant numbers of helicopters in this way, and they tend to be the ones whose forces are already overstretched. It is all part of a much broader problem when trying to construct peacekeeping forces. When the call goes out for troops, there can often be significant numbers of offers. But everyone wants to contribute infantry battalions. They are the basic building blocks of any force and are relatively easy to find.

What is much more difficult is the key enablers; the support services that keep the show on the road - engineering, logistics, and, of course, helicopters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

PROFILE :PETER HAIN

Peter Hain has admitted that more than £100,000 of donations towards his bid to become Labour's deputy leader were not declared as they should have been. He said his commitment to his two cabinet jobs meant he had not paid closer attention to his campaign finances. Peter Hain holds two Cabinet jobs - Wales, and Work and Pensions

The Chelsea-supporting 57-year-old holds the twin portfolios of Work and Pensions and Wales Secretary. He is a highly ambitious politician, whose long political career has taken him from president of the Young Liberals and anti-apartheid campaigner, into the Labour cabinet. He has been Secretary of State for Wales since October 2002, and took up his Work and Pensions role in Gordon Brown's first reshuffle. He moved from the Northern Ireland office where he had enjoyed a high profile, helping to broker the historic power-sharing agreement between unionists and republicans at Stormont.

Born in Nairobi and brought up in South Africa, Mr Hain was educated at Pretoria Boys High School, the University of London and Sussex University. By 1969, aged 19, he was a leading anti-apartheid campaigner, making the headlines with his disruption of the all-white South African rugby team's tour of the UK. In the UK he joined the Young Liberals, becoming chairman in 1971 and remaining a prominent activist throughout the 1970s.

The South African security services attempted and failed to have him framed for a bank robbery in 1975, the same year that he married his first wife Patricia, the mother of his two sons. He joined the Labour Party in 1977 and worked as a trade union official until entering the Commons at a 1991 by-election in Neath. His left-wing credentials were established by his membership of the Tribune Group, a reputation underlined by his Commons performances. But this did not prevent him from being granted a seat on New Labour's front bench following Tony Blair's 1997 general election victory.

His first job in government was as junior Welsh Office minister, where he was responsible for managing Alun Michael's campaign for the leadership of Welsh Labour. Mr Hain was then moved to the Foreign Office as minister for Africa, where he enjoyed a much higher profile than is normal for that role, with interventions over Zimbabwe.

After a short stint at the Department of Trade and Industry as energy minister, he returned to the Foreign Office after the 2001 general election as minister for Europe, which transformed him into an enthusiastic supporter of British entry into the European single currency. It was also in this role his reputation for speaking his mind - or dropping clangers, depending on your point of view - was forged.

Many believed he was given licence by Tony Blair to say the unsayable on Europe, and he often came under fire for his supposed gaffes, which many in Westminster saw as deliberate attempts to test the water of public opinion on the euro and other controversial matters.

In early 2003 he provoked genuine anger among Eurosceptics when he dismissed the EU Constitution as a "tidying-up exercise". His appeal to those campaigning for a referendum to "put away their placards" also seemed provocative to some, particularly given his own history of political activism. He then landed himself in trouble with his own party by appearing to suggest the European elections should be a referendum on the constitution.

A self-confessed Kinnockite, Mr Hain has displayed the odd flash of old-time socialism from time to time. Within weeks of taking over from John Reid as Commons leader in 2003, he was slapped down by Mr Blair for remarks that higher earners should contribute more in tax. During the Labour deputy leadership race, he suggested voluntary curbs on "obscene" City bonuses. Mr Hain, who has declared another £80,000 that he spend on the campaign, came fifth out of six contenders to succeed John Prescott and become Gordon Brown's number two.

The winner was announced in June but it was 29 November before questions emerged about Mr Hain's campaign donations, amid a furore over a separate donations row engulfing Labour. As the police began to investigate more than £650,000 of donations made to the party by property developer David Abrahams, under other people's names, other problems with donations came to light.

Harriet Harman came under fire for accepting a disguised donation for her successful bid to become Labour's deputy leader. Wendy Alexander's campaign team admitted accepting an offshore donation for her bid to be Labour's Scottish leader. Both said they acted in good faith. Mr Hain admitted failing to register a £5,000 donation to the Electoral Commission - something he blamed on an "administrative error" which he wanted to declare "in light of recent events".

But it soon became clear it was not the only gift to go undeclared. When the full scale was disclosed in January he blamed the demands of his cabinet jobs for not keeping a closer eye on his deputy leadership bid's administration. "I understand that people will ask how I could have allowed this number of donations to go undeclared at the time," he said. "The fact is that during this period, I gave my campaign for office within the Labour Party second priority to my government responsibilities."

The BBC's Nick Robinson said a "spending binge" by his campaign team meant they ended up asking wealthy friends to donate to his deputy leadership bid - long after he had lost the race.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SARKOZY TO SIGN UAE NUCLEAR DEAL!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed that he will sign a nuclear co-operation deal with the United Arab Emirates during his regional tour. It will be the third such deal Mr Sarkozy has made with Muslim countries since taking office in May last year. He said the Arab world should have the same rights to civilian nuclear programmes as enjoyed by others. Mr Sarkozy said the sale of such technology could foster trust between the West and the Muslim world.

Mr Sarkozy is travelling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - three Gulf states interested in developing a civilian nuclear programme despite huge oil and gas wealth. France and the UAE are expected to sign an accord on co-operation in developing civilian nuclear energy, during a stop in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

France has already made similar agreements with Algeria and Libya. After signing the deal with Algeria last month, Mr Sarkozy said: "The sharing of civilian nuclear [technology] will be one of the foundations of a pact of confidence which the West must forge with the Islamic world."

Correspondents say there has been a rush of interest in civilian nuclear technology among Arab countries in the past 18 months, with at least six expressing their interest to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mr Sarkozy has been working to ensure that France benefits from any such proliferation - just as he has helped sell French nuclear know-how to China. But analysts say he is equally keen to sell a message - that there is no Western monopoly on nuclear power.

US President George W Bush is currently touring the region to rally support for his policy of isolating Iran over its controversial nuclear activities.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter From Zimbabwe !

56 DAYS!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week electoral authorities in Zimbabwe again stated that combined
Presidential, Parliamentary and council elections will not be deferred and
are to be held on the 9th March 2008. It is hard to believe that Zimbabwe
will be ready for an election in just 56 days time. The logistics of an
election are enormous under normal circumstances but mammoth in a country
which has all but collapsed.

There is no fuel at filling stations, no food in the shops, extremely
limited supplies of bank notes, electricity only in the middle of the night
and water off or dirty most of the time. Telephone communications are in a
shocking state with new cell phone lines only available on the black
market. Roads are falling apart, postal deliveries increasingly erratic and
in some areas - including mine - house deliveries have not been made for
three months. In rural areas there are reports of roads and bridges washed
away due to heavy rains and flooding - and so the list goes on and
on. Every aspect of an election from the campaigning to the advertising,
voting, monitoring and counting is swamped with problems - not the least
of which is that so far there is only one candidate and one party to vote
for.

Looking for sanity, even inspiration, in such bizarre times, I turned to a
book of poetry sent to me by an ex Zimbabwean. Every day of the year has a
poem and that prescribed for the 9th of March is by an unknown author.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

We are a country dying but not dead - we still have hope. Surely this
poem for the 9th of March holds some prophetic meaning.
Until next time,thanks for reading,
love cathy.



Copyright cathy buckle 12 January 2008
www.cathybuckle.com
My books: "African Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available in South
Africa from: books@clarkesbooks.co.za and in the UK from:
orders@africabookcentre.com

BURMA'S SUU KYI IN JUNTA MEETING!

Ms Suu Kyi's allies say talks with the junta have made little progress. Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had another meeting with an official from Burma's ruling junta. Witnesses said Ms Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years, spent about one hour in talks at a military building in Rangoon.

It is thought she met Aung Kyi, the labour minister appointed as a liaison last year amid global outrage at the military regime's repression. If confirmed, it would be the fourth time the pair have held talks. Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said last month that meetings with the junta had so far yielded little. The country's generals came under sustained international pressure late last year after brutally suppressing peaceful demonstrations.

The EU and US both introduced a raft of new sanctions and UN diplomats engaged in frantic diplomacy in a bid to rein in the generals. But most Asian leaders have been reluctant to criticise the regime, and there have been few signs of genuine reform in Burma.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS" !

"JEALOUSY IS THE ONLY VICE THAT GIVES NO PLEASURE" !

FBI WIRETAPS CUT FOR UNPAID BILLS!

By Peter Bowes - BBC News, Los Angeles.

The FBI has had some of its telephone wiretaps disconnected because it failed to pay its bills on time, a US government audit has found. The Department of Justice said some of the agency's surveillance operations had been jeopardised by late payments and an "antiquated" accounting system. The audit also revealed an FBI employee had admitted stealing $25,000 (£12,745) intended for undercover phone services. The FBI said the operations in question had not been significantly affected.

In August, President George W Bush updated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to allow the tapping without warrants of telephone calls and e-mails routed through the US. Previously the government had to seek approval from a special court in advance.

The audit conducted by the justice department's inspector general, Glenn Fine, concludes that phone lines which were established to eavesdrop on suspected criminals were disconnected because of late payments.

In some cases it caused evidence to be lost. In one office the unpaid costs for wire taps from one phone company came to $66,000 (£33,640). The audit blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations.

The FBI has acknowledged a few instances in which late phone bills led to surveillance disruptions. Assistant FBI Director John Miller said wire taps were dropped only a few times because of backed up billing which he said did not significantly set back investigations which were under way.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the report highlighted hypocrisy from telephone companies that want Congress to give them immunity from law suits or co-operating in certain wiretaps on the grounds that they were acting only as responsible corporate citizens.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 'BEING ABUSED' !

Britons believe too many people, especially immigrants and asylum seekers, take advantage of the Human Rights Act (HRA), a poll has suggested. The survey for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which dates from 2004 but has only just been published, says 57% believe the law is being exploited. The poll of 2,000 people featured in a report which found there was widespread support for a law on human rights.

The MoJ said ministers had been working to improve understanding of the Act. A spokesman said: "The overwhelming conclusion shows 84% of the general public agree it is important to have a law which deals with human rights in Britain. "Since this research was undertaken, the government has undertaken a campaign to promote better understanding of the Act and to ensure that public authorities are more aware of their duties to the public under the Act."

The government commissioned the Human Rights Insight Project in 2004, but the MoJ has only now released the findings. The 1998 act, which came fully into force in 2000includes the right to life, the right to privacy and family life and the right to freedom of religion. It incorporates Articles two to 12 and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights into British law.

The study, released now without publicity, suggests that British people feel values of respect, dignity, equality and fairness are very important. But a majority said the act was being misapplied, particularly by certain groups, including refugees, lawyers and celebrities. Overall, 40% of those questioned said the law created more problems than it solved.

The report recommends that government develop a "communications strategy" to try to win the public over. But the document states that the research was commissioned to "stimulate discussion" and does not represent government policy. It called for more work to correct public misunderstandings about the HRA.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has defended the HRA and rejected Conservative calls for it to be scrapped in favour of a British Bill of Rights.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

BAGHDAD WAKES UP TO RARE SNOWFALL!

Snow has fallen in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for the first time in living memory - though it mostly melted into puddles on touching the ground. People came out on to the streets to watch and some Iraqis said it was the first time they had seen such weather other than in films. Snow is common in Iraq's mountainous Kurdish north but the closest thing Baghdad usually sees is hail. Freezing night temperatures in the city are forecast for the weekend.

"I woke up and I saw snow falling, so I woke up all the family and told them to come and see the snowfall," Baghdad resident Aysar Khaled told Reuters news agency. "Everyone in Baghdad is delighted because this is a new thing, this is the first time that it snows in Baghdad... The view is very beautiful."

Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, 63 and retired, told the Associated Press he had heard from his father when he was young that snow fell in the early 1940s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad. "But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination," he added.

Fawzi Karim, 40, said he had asked his 80-year-old mother, and she had never seen snow before in Iraq. "This is so unusual, and I don't know whether or not it's a lesson from God," he added.
BBC NEWS REPORT.