Less than three months after his inauguration as president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma is facing a sustained challenge from some of the same people -- the urban poor and the unions -- who helped loft him to power. With strikes and protests in the shanties that fringe South Africa's wealthy cities, the images streaming out of the nation -- to the embarrassment of the authorities -- have sometimes reverted to the same visions of police clashing with young men that became familiar during the township protests of the 1980s over apartheid."We would call this his first big test, and the one which will give us a sense of how we will look at the next five years," Mandy Rossouw, a South African reporter who has covered some of the unrest, said in a telephone interview. "Zuma wants to come out of this as the unifying leader, but also as the one who can get things done."
With strikes and protests in the shanties that fringe South Africa's wealthy cities, the images streaming out of the nation -- to the embarrassment of the authorities -- have sometimes reverted to the same visions of police clashing with young men that became familiar during the township protests of the 1980s over apartheid.
"We would call this his first big test, and the one which will give us a sense of how we will look at the next five years," Mandy Rossouw, a South African reporter who has covered some of the unrest, said in a telephone interview. "Zuma wants to come out of this as the unifying leader, but also as the one who can get things done."
The five-day strike by South Africa's municipal workers is over, the South African Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) said on Friday. "It's over ... we signed an agreement this [Friday] afternoon," Samwu general secretary Mthandeki Nhlapo said. "Our workers will return to their posts on Monday," he said. The union agreed to a revised offer from the South African Local Government Association (Salga) of a 13% wage hike, he said. Samwu's members had initially demanded a 15% increase. Imatu's regional manager, Shadow Shongwe, said his union had also signed the wage agreement. "The wage dispute has finally been resolved and the agreement that is now in place has been endorsed by the unions."
Foreign media reports portraying South Africa as a country "seized with unrest" because of the past fortnight's service delivery protests were unfounded, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday. "This clearly is not the case," he wrote in his weekly newsletter. "We should not claim these events to be more than they are. At the same time, it would be unwise to dismiss them because they do raise important issues and they do pose particular challenges for the count." Zuma denounced violence, looting and intimidation that often accompanied the protests, but said the government's response to it must be more than a reminder to respect the law. "If people want to exercise their democratic rights, they must be prepared to respect the democratic rights of others ... Where the law is broken, perpetrators must be brought to book. "As the African National Congress, however, we cannot hope to adequately respond to these events by simply calling for the law to be upheld. We need to look at the circumstances that gave rise to these protests, and work to address them."
WASHINGTON -- A senior American military adviser in Baghdad has concluded in an unusually blunt memo that Iraqi forces suffer from entrenched deficiencies but are now able to protect the Iraqi government, and that it is time "for the U.S. to declare victory and go home." The memo offers a look at tensions that emerged between Iraqi and American military officers at a sensitive moment when American combat troops met a June 30 deadline to withdraw from Iraq's cities, the first step toward an advisory role. The Iraqi government's forceful moves to assert authority have concerned some American officers, though senior American officials insisted that cooperation had improved. Prepared by Col. Timothy R. Reese, an adviser to the Iraqi military's Baghdad command, the memorandum details Iraqi military weaknesses in scathing language, including corruption, poor management and the inability to resist Shiite political pressure. Extending the American military presence beyond August 2010, he argues, will do little to improve the Iraqis' military performance while fueling growing resentment of Americans. "As the old saying goes, `Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days,' " Colonel Reese wrote. "Since the signing of the 2009 Security Agreement, we are guests in Iraq, and after six years in Iraq, we now smell bad to the Iraqi nose."Those conclusions are not shared by the senior American commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and his recommendation for an accelerated troop withdrawal is at odds with the timetable approved by President Obama.
WASHINGTON -- A senior American military adviser in Baghdad has concluded in an unusually blunt memo that Iraqi forces suffer from entrenched deficiencies but are now able to protect the Iraqi government, and that it is time "for the U.S. to declare victory and go home."
The memo offers a look at tensions that emerged between Iraqi and American military officers at a sensitive moment when American combat troops met a June 30 deadline to withdraw from Iraq's cities, the first step toward an advisory role. The Iraqi government's forceful moves to assert authority have concerned some American officers, though senior American officials insisted that cooperation had improved.
Prepared by Col. Timothy R. Reese, an adviser to the Iraqi military's Baghdad command, the memorandum details Iraqi military weaknesses in scathing language, including corruption, poor management and the inability to resist Shiite political pressure. Extending the American military presence beyond August 2010, he argues, will do little to improve the Iraqis' military performance while fueling growing resentment of Americans.
"As the old saying goes, `Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days,' " Colonel Reese wrote. "Since the signing of the 2009 Security Agreement, we are guests in Iraq, and after six years in Iraq, we now smell bad to the Iraqi nose."
Those conclusions are not shared by the senior American commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and his recommendation for an accelerated troop withdrawal is at odds with the timetable approved by President Obama.
In a curious case blending the disappearance of a cellphone with allegations of political maneuvering, an official from Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change was set to appear in court to face accusations that could further strain the country's frail coalition government, according to The Herald, a state-run newspaper, on Thursday. The official, Thamsanqa Mahlangu, the deputy youth minister, was arrested this week, accused of stealing a cellphone from an ally of President Robert Mugabe while sharing a lunch table with him at a political unity event. The accusation relates to a purely criminal charge, but it also seems likely to revive accusations by Mr. Mugabe's adversaries that he is seeking to reassert his absolute grasp on power, using criminal cases against lawmakers to deplete the ranks of his opponents in Parliament.
The official, Thamsanqa Mahlangu, the deputy youth minister, was arrested this week, accused of stealing a cellphone from an ally of President Robert Mugabe while sharing a lunch table with him at a political unity event. The accusation relates to a purely criminal charge, but it also seems likely to revive accusations by Mr. Mugabe's adversaries that he is seeking to reassert his absolute grasp on power, using criminal cases against lawmakers to deplete the ranks of his opponents in Parliament.
The head of Honduras's de facto government, Roberto Micheletti, has expressed support for a compromise that would allow the ousted president of his country to return to power, according to officials in the de facto government and diplomats from the region. But the nation is so polarized over the possible return that Mr. Micheletti is reaching out to other regional leaders for help in building support for such a deal, especially among the country's elite, the officials said.
But the nation is so polarized over the possible return that Mr. Micheletti is reaching out to other regional leaders for help in building support for such a deal, especially among the country's elite, the officials said.
A plan to increase the American military presence on at least three military bases in Colombia, Washington's top ally in Latin America, is accentuating Colombia's already tense relations with some of its neighbors. Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua, which are members of a leftist political alliance that is led by President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and backed by his nation's oil revenues, have all criticized the plan, saying it would broaden the military reach of the United States in the Andes and the Caribbean at a time when they are still wary of American influence in the region.
Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua, which are members of a leftist political alliance that is led by President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and backed by his nation's oil revenues, have all criticized the plan, saying it would broaden the military reach of the United States in the Andes and the Caribbean at a time when they are still wary of American influence in the region.
So, imagine my surprise and sympathy for the writers who can't use internet linking technology to refer back because when one googles '"military base" Columbia', one gets birther crap as the top items...
...and nothing about how super wonderful the American economy is such that they can afford 3 or 5 military more bases. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
When Neda Agha Soltan was killed on June 20, the world watched in horror. Now a symbol of Iran's reform movement, the memorial to mark the 40 days since her death has seen clashes between mourners and security forces. Her mother told SPIEGEL ONLINE that she just wants to find the culprit. What's left for a mother who's watched her daughter die on television? A woman who watched as blood streamed from her child's nose and mouth, as her gaze emptied, as those who bent to help her begged her not to let go? Hajar Rostami Motlagh's daughter died a public death. There's not much that's harder for a mother to take. "Neda believed in God, that's why he bestowed a special death on her," Motlagh said in a telephone interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE on Tuesday. "At least she didn't suffer. Forty-four seconds, and it was over."
When Neda Agha Soltan was killed on June 20, the world watched in horror. Now a symbol of Iran's reform movement, the memorial to mark the 40 days since her death has seen clashes between mourners and security forces. Her mother told SPIEGEL ONLINE that she just wants to find the culprit.
What's left for a mother who's watched her daughter die on television? A woman who watched as blood streamed from her child's nose and mouth, as her gaze emptied, as those who bent to help her begged her not to let go?
Hajar Rostami Motlagh's daughter died a public death. There's not much that's harder for a mother to take. "Neda believed in God, that's why he bestowed a special death on her," Motlagh said in a telephone interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE on Tuesday. "At least she didn't suffer. Forty-four seconds, and it was over."
A court in Myanmar on Friday delayed a highly anticipated verdict in a case against the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, citing technical legal reasons, according to reports from Yangon, the main city.
An New Delhi court issued a warrant today for the arrest of the former head of the American chemical company responsible for a gas leak that killed at least 10,000 people in Bhopal 25 years ago.Warren Anderson was the head of Union Carbide when its factory in the central Indian city leaked 40 tonnes of poisonous gas on 3 December 1984 - the world's worst industrial disaster.More than 555,000 people who survived the initial disaster are thought to have suffered aftereffects, though the exact number of victims has never been determined. Many have died over the years from gas-related illnesses, including lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
Warren Anderson was the head of Union Carbide when its factory in the central Indian city leaked 40 tonnes of poisonous gas on 3 December 1984 - the world's worst industrial disaster.
More than 555,000 people who survived the initial disaster are thought to have suffered aftereffects, though the exact number of victims has never been determined. Many have died over the years from gas-related illnesses, including lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease.
And about 90 per cent of China's billionaires are the children of high-ranking officials. Princelings have fared far better in business than in politics, observed analyst Zhang Hua, who commented on the phenomenon in Hong Kong's Apple Daily in 2007. 'Not a single (princeling) family has been left behind,' he said sardonically. The various families have carved out territories in various industries. The family of former premier Li Peng, for example, controls the country's energy sector. His daughter Li Xiaolin is chairman of China Power International Development, an electricity monopoly. His son Li Xiaopeng used to head Huaneng Power, another energy heavyweight.
Hat tip naked capitalism "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
The U.S. general put in charge of turning around the war in Afghanistan is likely to recommend significant changes in the campaign and may include a request for more U.S. forces that the White House is expected to resist. Gen. Stanley McChrystal's long-awaited reassessment of the war against Taliban insurgents aims for a transformation of the shaky relationship between U.S. forces and Afghan civilians as troops press a counterinsurgency strategy of clearing and holding populated areas, said officials apprised of the report's contents. The biggest change urged in McChrystal's report is a "cultural shift" in how U.S. and foreign troops operate - ranging from how they live and travel among the Afghan population to where and how they fight, a senior military official in Kabul said Friday.
The U.S. general put in charge of turning around the war in Afghanistan is likely to recommend significant changes in the campaign and may include a request for more U.S. forces that the White House is expected to resist.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal's long-awaited reassessment of the war against Taliban insurgents aims for a transformation of the shaky relationship between U.S. forces and Afghan civilians as troops press a counterinsurgency strategy of clearing and holding populated areas, said officials apprised of the report's contents.
The biggest change urged in McChrystal's report is a "cultural shift" in how U.S. and foreign troops operate - ranging from how they live and travel among the Afghan population to where and how they fight, a senior military official in Kabul said Friday.
When French President Charles de Gaulle took steps to terminate the 20-year French alliance with Israel in the aftermath of its military victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, his decision sent shockwaves around the world. Israel and France had been close since the late 1940s, and their relationship turned into a full-blown strategic alliance after the popular and charismatic Egyptian army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser began providing assistance to rebels fighting French colonial rule. In 1956, Israel joined France and Britain in an elaborate and ill-fated plan to attack Egypt and retake the Suez Canal after Nasser had nationalized it. In addition to providing Israel with sophisticated military technology, including French-made Mirage and Mystère jets, the French helped the Israelis build a nuclear reactor and a reprocessing plant. The Israel-French alliance aimed at containing the growing power of Pan Arabism was a central component in Israeli national security doctrine at the time. But de Gaulle's election in 1958 changed all that. Confounding many of his supporters, de Gaulle embraced a transformative foreign policy agenda that led eventually to granting independence to Algeria in 1962 and to a process of repairing relations with Egypt and the rest of the Arab World. With tension rising in the Middle East in 1967, de Gaulle pressed the Israelis not to attack Egypt and declared on June 2 an arms embargo against the country, just three days before the outbreak of the war. De Gaulle's position in 1967 at the time of the Six Day War played a part in France's newfound popularity in the Arab world, while Israel turned towards the United States for arms and diplomatic support. Could U.S. President Barack Obama play the role of an American de Gaulle? Would a decision by Israel to reject Obama's advice against launching a military strike against Iran's alleged nuclear sites lead to a historic reassessment in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem?
When French President Charles de Gaulle took steps to terminate the 20-year French alliance with Israel in the aftermath of its military victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, his decision sent shockwaves around the world. Israel and France had been close since the late 1940s, and their relationship turned into a full-blown strategic alliance after the popular and charismatic Egyptian army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser began providing assistance to rebels fighting French colonial rule.
In 1956, Israel joined France and Britain in an elaborate and ill-fated plan to attack Egypt and retake the Suez Canal after Nasser had nationalized it. In addition to providing Israel with sophisticated military technology, including French-made Mirage and Mystère jets, the French helped the Israelis build a nuclear reactor and a reprocessing plant. The Israel-French alliance aimed at containing the growing power of Pan Arabism was a central component in Israeli national security doctrine at the time.
But de Gaulle's election in 1958 changed all that. Confounding many of his supporters, de Gaulle embraced a transformative foreign policy agenda that led eventually to granting independence to Algeria in 1962 and to a process of repairing relations with Egypt and the rest of the Arab World. With tension rising in the Middle East in 1967, de Gaulle pressed the Israelis not to attack Egypt and declared on June 2 an arms embargo against the country, just three days before the outbreak of the war. De Gaulle's position in 1967 at the time of the Six Day War played a part in France's newfound popularity in the Arab world, while Israel turned towards the United States for arms and diplomatic support.
Could U.S. President Barack Obama play the role of an American de Gaulle? Would a decision by Israel to reject Obama's advice against launching a military strike against Iran's alleged nuclear sites lead to a historic reassessment in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem?
So, what distinguishes the French and U.S. cases? Well, for one thing, U.S. foreign policy has traditionally been more heavily influenced by the power of public opinion, the media, and Congress than French policy, which tends to be determined by a powerful executive and elite groups.
U.S. foreign policy has traditionally been more heavily influenced by the power of public opinion, the media, and Congress
Touching.
Also like Blackwater, Triple Canopy has hired mercenaries from countries with atrocious human rights records and histories of violent counter-insurgencies. Among them: Peru, Chile, Colombia and El Salvador. In fact, in Iraq, Triple Canopy hired far more "Third Country Nationals" than Blackwater and DynCorp and has used more TCNs than US citizens or Iraqis. As I reported in my book, Triple Canopy used the same Chilean recruiter (who served in Augusto Pinochet's military) Blackwater used when it hired Chilean forces, including some "seasoned veterans" of the Pinochet era. In El Salvador, the company reportedly used "a U.S.-trained former paratrooper and officer of the Salvadoran special forces during the country's civil war" where the U.S. backed a brutal right wing dictatorship in a war that took the lives of some 75,000 Salvadorans. A Triple Canopy spokesperson reportedly said of the Salvadorans, "They've got the right background for the type of work we are doing." A Triple Canopy subsidiary in Latin America has also reportedly used a former CIA base in Lepaterique, Honduras as a training center. In the 1980s, the facility was used by the CIA and Argentinian military intelligence in training Contra death squads to attack Nicaragua. The base also served as the headquarters for the notorious Battalion 316, a CIA-trained Honduran military unit responsible for torture and disappearances.
The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), operated by WFP, has a budget for 2009 of $160m (£96m) but has received less than $90m in fees and contributions this year.... WFP said funding for the airline's Chad service will run out on 15 August and needs $6.7m (£4m) to continue flying to the end of the year. ... The service supplying Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea needs $3.3m (£1.9m) to continue flying to the end of the year. ... Shortages have already led to UNHAS closing its service in Ivory Coast in February. The Niger service, also suspended that month, is expected to resume in August after a recent donation from the UN Common Emergency Relief Fund.
WFP said funding for the airline's Chad service will run out on 15 August and needs $6.7m (£4m) to continue flying to the end of the year. ...
The service supplying Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea needs $3.3m (£1.9m) to continue flying to the end of the year. ...
Shortages have already led to UNHAS closing its service in Ivory Coast in February. The Niger service, also suspended that month, is expected to resume in August after a recent donation from the UN Common Emergency Relief Fund.
Go Desertec, best idea since sliced bread. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
