Free Republic

Israel, only 'free' country in the region, ranks 65th in the world for press freedoms Freedom House Report: Israel maintains 'free' status, though just barely By Hillary Zaken and AP May 1, 2012, 12:07Global media freedom showed no overall decline for the first time in eight years, according to Freedom House's annual survey of freedom of the press, released Tuesday. Israel was ranked the only Free country in the Middle East and North Africa, with a rating of 30.The rating ties it with Greece and makes it the 65th most free country in the world for press freedoms.As decades-old authoritarian...

"Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike" Plato (BC 427 - 374BC). Open rigging and clinging brazenly to power have become common features of emerging democracies in the world today especially in Africa. Many Countries in Africa have become accustomed to "sit-tight dictators" or military style of leadership, with democracy being propelled by the West for their replacement. This is at the centre of the on-going conflict in many emerging democratic nations. Democratization of the world today as being championed by United States of...

Bank of China is set to fund the construction of an undersea cable system linking South Africa and Angola to Brazil, with onward connectivity to North America. The South Atlantic Express Cable (SAex) is intended to reduce latency and bandwidth costs by connecting Africa to the Americas via its shortest route to date; most of South Africa’s Americas-bound traffic currently routes via Europe. Once complete, the SAex cable will connect to the existing, 22,000km GlobeNet system linking South and North America. At the African end of the system, SAex will connect with Seacom, a cable that connects Africa’s east coast...

According to South Africa-based Standard Bank, mainland China maintained its position as Africa's largest trading partner in 2010. Standard Bank, in which Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has a 20% stake, estimates the value of mainland investment into Africa will increase to $50 billion by 2015. It also anticipates China-Africa bilateral trade will reach $300 billion in 2015, more than double that of 2010. "As the production capacity of Africa's traditional trading partners of the US and European economies starts declining and they buy more and more Chinese goods, raw material trade from Africa to China will be...

Angolatitan adamastor, a new sauropod dinosaur, is the first dinosaur discovered in Angola. It is the only occurrence of these long-necked dinosaurs in sub-Saharan Africa of its geological age. An international team of paleontologists unveiled the newly discovered dinosaur fossil today. The large plant-eating dinosaur was 13 meters long and lived 90 million years ago (Late Cretaceous Period). "To us, finding such a dinosaur in rocks of this age in Africa is extremely surprising" says paleontologist Octávio Mateus, who discovered the skeleton... The new dinosaur is known only from a forelimb, discovered in 2005 about 70 km north of Luanda...

Dr. Jonas Mahleiro Savimbi, Angolan patriot, African nationalist, Christian leader and founder and president of UNITA was murdered by government forces in Moxico, Angola, [in 2002]. Despite the fact that Angolan oil output is the largest in all of sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of Nigeria, its people are among the poorest in the world. Savimbi was the leader of the only organized opposition to the totalitarian rule in Luanda. He sacrificed his life for more than 40 years in pursuit of liberty and self-determination for his people. He had a following in Angola up until his death because he...

Russia says it tracked hijacked Arctic Sea all along, but questions grow over cargo Tony Halpin in Moscow Russia’s top general hinted today that the ship allegedly hijacked by pirates earlier this month may have been carrying a secret cargo, as it emerged that the country’s Navy tracked the vessel throughout its journey. President Medvedev sent the Russian Navy to find the Arctic Sea after it apparently disappeared while passing through the English Channel en route to Algeria from Finland. However, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow now says that Russian and international agencies had monitored the ship throughout its strange...

Eleven people, including several children, were injured when they jumped from the third-story window of a suburban Paris apartment building, an official said. It wasn't known if they jumped on purpose or were forced, the judicial official said. There was no emergency in the building at the time, such as a fire. The victims are of African origin, possibly from Angola, and an initial investigation suggested they jumped after one of the women involved became hysterical and started shouting she'd seen the devil, the official said.

Starting in the late 1990s, China's presence on the African continent experienced a phenomenal expansion. Far more profound changes, however, have been underway and may only become apparent in the next decade. These changes are likely to transform the regional economic landscape of the African continent in ways never seen before. Chinese experts apparently believe that Africa is entering an era of relative stability and that the time to explore its untapped resources has arrived [1]. Chinese policymakers see in Africa possible solutions to some of China's most pressing problems, for instance, Beijing's need to secure access to energy resources...

In March, Russia's defense export giant Rosoboronexport signed a supply contract for 16 Su-30MKI (A) with Algeria. The estimated value of this deal may reach approximately $1 billion. Additionally, a contract for the delivery of six Su-30MK2 to Uganda was signed in March. The amount of the transaction may not be very high - up to $200 million, but it is the first time when new heavy fighters are purchased in sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier, there were negotiations with Uganda regarding sale of six lighter MiG-29, Vedomosti reports referring to sources close to the heads of the department. This deal with...

Note: Photo included. SNIPPET: "Bout and American-born pal Richard Chichakli were accused of creating a new business, Samar Airlines, which they thought was clean of any connection to their own bloody dealings. Starting in the summer of 2007, Samar Airlines started making deals for airplanes and crews to ferry contraband between the United States and Tajikistan, the indictment said." SNIPPET: "The Russian-born Bout is accused of wiring $1.7 million from bank accounts in Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Russia through banks in New York City and Salt Lake City to finance the scheme." SNIPPET: "Bout, who is accused of supplying weapons to real...

There’s a boom in rodeos in America, but I doubt that many riders would want to find themselves in this ring. These photographs by Mark Saltz (click to expand them) are of the Angola Prison Rodeo, staged by the fearsome Louisiana State Penitentiary, which sells tickets to it on its website. Why do the prisoners take such insane risks? Because it’s the nearest many of them will get to a taste of freedom. Also, the last man left in the poker game (see below) wins $150, which makes you a rich man in jail. Hat tip: Richard O’Connor.

BANGKOK, Thailand - A Russian dubbed the "Merchant of Death" for allegedly supplying weapons to Africa's bloody conflicts over power and diamonds was arrested Thursday in Thailand on suspicion of conspiring to smuggle guns to Colombia's leftist rebels. Viktor Bout, 41, whose dealings reportedly inspired a 2005 movie about the illicit arms trade, was arrested at U.S. request in his hotel room in Bangkok, said police Lt. Gen. Pongpat Chayapan. Bout had eluded arrest for years and was finally seized after a four-month sting organized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In New York, federal authorities unsealed a criminal complaint...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

The story arc of every papal trip is the same. First, journalists try to invent a controversy that they find more interesting than the true purpose of the trip. Then, the Pope wins people over in ways no one expected. Finally, surprised journalists file stories about how the Pope isn’t such a bad guy after all.In the story of Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Africa — a trip that is ongoing as we go to press — that story is playing itself out. This time, the controversy is over the Holy Father’s remarks about condoms and AIDS.Pope Benedict addressed the...

'Deadly' stampede at Pope speech By Louise Redvers BBC News, Luanda More than 50,000 people came to hear the Pope in Luanda Two people have been reportedly killed in a stampede in a crowd that gathered at a football stadium in Angola for an address by Pope Benedict XVI. Reports say eight other people were injured and 10 more people required medical assistance at Luanda's Coqueiros Stadium. More than 50,000 people turned out to hear the Pope in the Angolan capital. If confirmed, the deaths will no doubt sour what has been a hugely colourful papal visit to the African...

Pope Benedict flew from Cameroon to Angola on Friday with an unusual traveling companion -- a turtle. Just before he left Cameroon, the pope met a group of Baka Pygmies, hunter-gatherers from the country's rain forests. They came to the grounds of the Vatican embassy in the capital Yaounde and gave him the turtle of about 30 cm (one foot) long. The Vatican said it was not yet clear if the turtle -- which has not yet been named -- would be left in Angola or find a new home in the Vatican gardens.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- A group of Pygmies showed up to give Pope Benedict XVI an unscheduled send-off from Cameroon, and presented him with a live turtle to take back with him to the Vatican. The 15 Pygmies from the Baka ethnic group came to the pope's residence at the apostolic nunciature in Yaounde March 20 as the pontiff was preparing to leave for Angola. They built a ceremonial hut out of leaves in the garden of the residence, and the pope came out to greet them. The Pygmies, including grandparents, parents and children, sang songs and danced to the...

The 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 32.26 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in October, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials just released. This is a 210,000 b/d decline from the September level of 32.47 million b/d. Excluding Iraq, production from the 12 members hitherto bound by output agreements fell by 220,000 b/d, to 29.96 million b/d from 30.18 million b/d, the survey showed. When Indonesia, which will leave OPEC at year end is also excluded, the survey shows a 210,000 b/d drop in...

I would like to share a story on Senator Joe Biden that happened 27 years ago. It involved his international humiliation of a good man, and it became a habit for Biden. I’m confident Biden will repeat the performance with Sarah Palin, perhaps during their first vice-presidential debate on October 2 at Washington University in St. Louis.

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

LOBITO, Angola (Reuters) - On a recent Friday night, men in SUVs and others on mopeds line up outside one of the few gas stations in Angola's port city of Lobito to fill up for the weekend. < > "We provide millions of barrels of oil each month to China and the United States but don't have enough to fill up our own tanks," said David Boio, a local businessmen, as he stepped down from his truck. < > The ruling MPLA party, a mix of former Marxists and Western-leaning technocrats, has been in power since it declared independence from...

Chinese arms ship allowed to dock in Angola: report "Can only unload merchandise destined for Angola"Angola has given authorisation for a Chinese ship loaded with arms destined for Zimbabwe to dock but it will not be allowed to unload the weapons, the state news agency Angop reported on Friday. The ship, the An Yue Jiang, has been authorised to dock in the capital Luanda but can only unload "merchandise destined for Angola," Angop said, citing a government statement. "The weaponry that the ship brings destined for Zimbabwe is not authorised to be unloaded on national territory," the statement was quoted...

The ship was forced to abandon plans to offload the arms in the South African port of Durban last week after activists won a court case which prevented it from transporting the load overland to the Zimbabwe border. There were fears that the arms could be used to crack down on protests following parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe last month, both of which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it won. The shipment was also likely to inflame a debate about China's growing diplomatic and economic role in Africa, which has focussed on the country's links with...

Landmine victims are to take part in a beauty contest in Angola, where tens of thousands have been injured by mines. The pageant has been organised by Angola's de-mining commission, and aims to restore the confidence of victims and raise awareness of their plight. Millions of mines were planted in Angola during a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002. The "Miss Landmine Survivor" contest will be held on 2 April in a luxury hotel in the Angolan capital, Luanda. Eighteen women will take part, one from every province in the country. All of the contestants have been maimed by...

WINDHOEK (Reuters) - North Korea's number two leader ended a trip to Namibia, a leading uranium producer, on Sunday saying he would strengthen ties with the country. North Korea, under pressure to declare its nuclear programmes, and Namibia said they signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic consultations. Kim Yong-nam, president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, started an African tour on Thursday in Namibia, the world's fifth-largest uranium miner. In a joint statement issued by Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba's office, the countries "expressed satisfaction" that their ties have grown. North Korea watchers said the search for business...

"Anelta" On Strengthened English Language Teaching Quality

Out of the ashes of war will rise a beauty queen. Ten women will show off their beauty and brains — and their landmine injuries — in Angola next April in a competition to win a golden prosthetic limb and the title of Miss Landmine 2008. The project, created by Norwegian theater director Morten Traavik, is designed to raise awareness of the plight of landmine survivors. Contestants will have to demonstrate their skills and take part in an interview, though the details have yet to be finalized. "There is no sensationalistic intentions within Miss Landmine," Traavik said. "Of course the...

Across the continent, liberation movements that fought against colonial rule proved unable to sustain democratic governance. We cannot keep blaming the past... In the inner sanctum of South Africa's ruling African National Congress they have coined a word for it: Z"anufication"... A senior national executive member of the ANC, Blade Nzim ande, warned recently: "We must study closely what is happening in Zimbabwe, because if we don't, we may find features in our situation pointing to a similar development." ...The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has complained to the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster, over its...

Thursday, 29 March 2007 Your Excellency President José Eduardo dos Santos and the Government of Angola. Angola don’t send Mercenaries to Zimbabwe Dear Mr President Regional co-operation and solidarity in Africa reflects the spirit of Pan- Africanism and the need for regional integration as the means towards African continental unity and the recovery of African dignity and status in global affairs. These principles are enshrined in historical, economic, political, social and cultural factors that have created strong bonds of solidarity and unity among the peoples of Africa and are directed initially towards the political liberation of the continent. Thus, African...

PARIS - French prosecutors have requested that 42 people, including the son of late French President Francois Mitterrand, stand trial for suspected roles in illegal arms sales to Angola during the African nation's civil war, judicial officials said Wednesday. A magistrate will decide whether to proceed with a trial. The group targeted by prosecutors includes Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, who served as counselor on African affairs from 1986-92 under his father, and former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. Preliminary charges of influence trafficking and misappropriating company assets have been filed against...

Geopolitics: Jetting around the world to drum up support, Iran ally Hugo Chavez says he's winning a bid to join the U.N. Security Council. As a showdown with Iran looms, is the world crazy enough to vote him in? If this is Wednesday, it must be Angola on the Chavez world tour. Already the Venezuelan president has visited China, Malaysia and Syria, and last month he blew through seven other countries. As he goes, he splashes out cash and preferential trade deals. He has now spent more than 365 days in his seven-year presidency overseas, but nothing like this. It...

Health experts here say, that Luanda's slums are now the center of one of the worst cholera epidemics to strike Africa in nearly a decade, an outbreak that has sickened 43,000 Angolans and killed more than 1,600 since it began in February. But it is only one reason. Cholera typically spreads through contact with contaminated water or sewage, and in Luanda's slums, both are everywhere. Neighborhoods here are ringed by mountains of garbage, often soaked by rivulets of human waste. Only about half of slum dwellers have even an outdoor latrine. Children stripped to their underwear dance through sewage-clogged creeks...

As Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visits Angola, the BBC's Piers Scholfield examines what links the two nations. One of the worst of the countless conflicts that has blighted Africa in recent times is that of Angola. But a peace deal signed four years ago - and huge oil reserves - are now giving the Angolans hope as the country tries to rebuild its devastated infrastructure. A family living in Cambamba Dois slum Most Angolans haven't seen the benefits of the oil billions Recently China, scouring the globe for raw materials to feed its booming economy, has been drawn to...

Beijing builds goodwill in pursuit of oil, raw materials BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China's Premier Wen Jiabao sets off to woo key African nations this week including his country's second-largest oil supplier, Angola -- but Beijing's growing economic power may mean his welcome is tempered by resentment. Thirsty for oil and raw materials, China has poured billions into African countries blessed with mineral wealth, building on a legacy of goodwill from its support of independence movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly one third of China's crude imports already come from Africa, and Angola was second only to Saudi Arabia...

Friday's World Cup action begins at 8:55 a.m. ET as Argentina meets Serbia & Montenegro. The Netherlands and Ivory Coast follow that match at 11:55 a.m. If the Dutch and Argentines both win, both advance to the Round of 16 from Group C. Mexico and Angola conclude the afternoon at 2:55 p.m. Full ABC/ESPN schedule | Standings | Viewing parties |  

The opening round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup continues on Sunday with three matches, including the first match for CONCACAF side Mexico, which takes on Iran at 12 noon ET, live on ABC. The other two Group D sides, debutants Angola and a dangerous Portugal, will also be in action, closing the day's action with a 3 p.m. ET meeting in Cologne (ESPN2).

MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) -- Russia is building new resource alliances with Africa aiming, first and foremost, at the oil and gas sector, and then at diamond mining. To the extent these are capital-sharing partnerships, in which Russian state-controlled companies introduce more capital than they export, they are different from the Russian oligarch ventures that have been seen in Africa already -- Norilsk Nickel's short-lived attempt to buy into, then take over Gold Fields; Renova's manganese licences in South Africa's Kalahari; or Russian Aluminium's Nigerian government-funded takeover of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON). Another difference between the new state-controlled Afro-Russian...

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Reuters) - Greyhound Bus Lines complained to Louisiana's prisons department to stop referring to a temporary New Orleans jail, that was once its bus station, as Camp Greyhound, a prisons official said on Monday. The Greyhound bus station in New Orleans was converted into a makeshift jail by police trying to restore law and order in a city rife with crime and lawlessness in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit. "Greyhound called us on Friday and asked us not to refer to it as Camp Greyhound anymore," Pam Laborde, communications director of Louisiana's department of corrections told...

- Airline places order for 2 777-200ERs with option for 1 additional airplane - Orders 4 Next Generation 737-700QCs with 2 options SEATTLE, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA - News) and TAAG Angola Airlines today said they've reached a definitive agreement for the purchase of two 777-200ER and four 737-700QC (Quick Change) airplanes. The firm airplane order has a catalogue list value of $649.6 Million and is valued at approximately $990 Million with options. The first 777-200ER is scheduled for delivery in July of 2006, when the first new 737-700 will also join the fleet. The...

THE NEXT 9/11 The next “9/11” is apt to be something most people don’t want to hear about,read about,or even think about. I’m talking about biowarfare; and, unless I miss my guess,it is being studied-using human guinea pigs-by the People’s Liberation Army of China. They have succeeded in identifying a strain of “bird flu” , called H5N –RK7,that is extremely lethal to birds and to humans. ( It is just one of 10 strains they have been studying – via “controlled releases” into their own population ; and they are still looking for the “ideal strain”.) The goals seem to...

Children are being trafficked into the UK from Africa and used for human sacrifices, a confidential report for the Metropolitan Police suggests. Children are being beaten and even murdered after being labelled as witches by pastors, the report leaked to BBC Radio 4's Today programme said. Police face a "wall of silence" in investigations because of fear and mistrust among the groups involved. It follows the case of a girl tortured by her guardians for being a witch. Three people, including the girl's aunt, were convicted of trying to "beat the devil out of" the un-named 10-year-old - originally from...

This is the Marburg Surveillance Project Thread II. This thread, as the first one was, will be used for all of the latest Marburg Outbreak News and comments. This is the place to post all comments about the Marburg outbreak, all articles and links to articles about the Marburg outbreak.

The number of new cases of people infected with the Marburg virus in Angola has declined in the past few days, but the epidemic is still not under control, the World Health Organization is reporting. New cases are still occurring in Uíge, the same northern province where the epidemic has been centered since it was first identified on March 21. In recent weeks the disease invaded several neighborhoods that it had not reached before, said Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, a spokeswoman in Uíge for the health organization. In addition, she said, in some areas where the virus had been detected before, new...

Marburg Toll in Angola Rises to 327 Recombinomics Commentary May 9, 2005 The Marburg toll in Angola rose to 327 on Friday when 8 new cases were recorded in the Ministry of Health's daily report. All but 11 of the reported cases were in Uige province. There were four additional deaths, raising the total to 287, again with all but 11 in Uige. However, on Friday, May 6, seven more cases were administratively removed from the list. Since there are now only 11 "official" cases outside of Uige, the 7 cases removed all came from within Uige city, where there...

Marburg Toll in Angola Explodes to 313 Recombinomics Commentary May 3, 2005 >> There have been 313 cases detected of the Marburg virus since monitoring of the outbreak, the worst recorded to date, began on October 13, it added……. Deputy Health Minister Jose van Dunem told journalists that a health team travelled to the village of Ngombe, 150km north of the city of Uige, on Sunday and was told that a woman who had attended the funeral of a relative in Uige had spread the virus to the village. "When she returned to Ngombe, she contaminated 12 other members of...

JOHANNESBURG, May 13 - Nine people have died in the Congo Republic since late April from what appears to be an outbreak of the Ebola virus, the second episode of a deadly hemorrhagic fever to strike the region this year, a spokesman for the World Health Organization said Friday. The latest outbreak is taking place as the Congo Republic's southern neighbor, Angola, battles an epidemic of Marburg virus, a hemorrhagic fever closely related to Ebola. So far, 280 people have died in that epidemic, which has yet to be contained eight weeks after the virus was first identified. Health officials...

Marburg kills 280 03/05/2005 09:53 - (SA) Luanda - The death toll from the outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in Angola has reached 280, most of whom succumbed to the disease in the northern Uige province, the health ministry and the World Health Organisation said late on Monday. Of the 280 dead, 269 were in Uige province and a further 208 people are under medical observation in that region after coming into contact with an infected person, a statement from the ministry and the WHO said. There have been a total of 313 cases detected of the Marburg virus...

Translation via Google. Uíge: Minister of the Health affirms that Marburg is in the phase of Uíje eradication, 02/05 - the minister of the Health, Sebastião Veloso, said sunday, in the city of the Uíge, that the hemorrhagic fever of Marburg, that devastates the population has seven months, is currently in final phase, that is of its eradication. The minister said to the journalists moments after its return of plus an day of constatação and social mobilization that took it to the locality of the Gombe, city of the Bungo, seventy quilómetros of the city of the Uíge. In this...

As of 27 April, the Ministry of Health in Angola has reported 275 cases of Marburg haemorrhagic fever. Of these cases, 255 were fatal. In Uige Province, which remains the epicentre of the outbreak, 266 cases, of which 246 have been fatal, were reported as of 28 April. With all control measures - teams, equipment, and protocols - needed to contain the outbreak now in place, extreme care must be taken to guard against any practices that could again amplify transmission. At this point in the outbreak, an amplification event would be a setback capable of extending the presently intense...