No to Madonna bid for Mercy – Why is Madonna misusing her high profile to steal culture from African children? She should be stopped!

Pop star Madonna holds the child named Mercy, whom she hopes to adopt, in this undated publicity photo taken in Malawi and released to Reuters April 13, 2009. REUTERS

Posted Sunday

The man believed to be the father of the Malawian child who pop star Madonna wants to adopt has said that he opposes the move.

James Kambewa told a US TV station that he would be able to look after four year-old Chifundo Mercy James, even though he had never met her.

He said that he wanted the little girl to be raised as a Malawian.

Madonna’s appeal against a court ruling that denied her request to adopt the child is to be heard today.

She has already adopted a boy, David, from Malawi.

Capable

Mr Kambewa told CBS television’s The Early Show that he wore a necklace bearing his daughter’s name around his neck, even though he had never seen her in person.

I want to take care of her, and I’m capable to take care of my baby, he said.

Mercy, she is a Malawian – so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian as well with our culture.

A spokeswoman for Madonna said that she did not know if Mr Kambewa was Mercy’s father.

All I know is that Mercy has been in an orphanage since the day she was born, Liz Rosenberg said.

Last month, Madonna’s application to adopt Mercy was rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the southern African state for 18 to 24 months.

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, dancer, actress and entrepreneur.

Musical groups

Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance.

After performing as member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and then produced three consecutive number-one studio albums on the Billboard 200 in the 1980s and four more since year 2000.

Madonna is known for exploring religious symbolism and sexual themes in her work. This drew criticism from the Vatican in the late 1980s.

(Reports by BBC online and Wikipedia)

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Uganda rally ace Kurji dies in action – the sporting event he so much loved took his live in the end

Ugandan driver Riaz Kurji examines his car after it rolled in Eldoret Rally in 2006. He escaped that accident without injuries but was not so fortunate this time round. Photos/ ANWAR SIDI

By TWINCAN

In Summary

• Pearl of Africa Rally ends prematurely after news of drivers death came through

Riyaz Kurji, former Uganda Rally Champion and one of the best known rally drivers in the African Rally Championship series, is dead.

Kurji is said to have succumbed to injuries after his Subaru Impreza rolled several times at the end a high speed accident while leading his home round of the African Rally Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Pearl of Africa Rally was prematurely ended when news of Kurji’s death broke.

Kenya’s Robert Gow, who was on duty as Technical delegate for the Pearl Rally of Uganda talked to the Sunday Nation from the scene of the accident.

It is very a major accident. The car must have rolled several times before landing far away off the road. It is really bad., said Gow.

Kurji’s co-driver, Sayed Kadri is said to be fine. He was the first to call the emergency services.

Safety concerns

Incidentally Kurji, one of the quickest rally drivers to ever emerge from Uganda, had expressed safety concerns as a lead car prior to the start of the third round of the African Rally Championship.

Talking to a local daily, Kurji was quoted as saying I thought the African champion (Jamie Whyte) was supposed to open the way but if that’s what has been decided it’s okay.

It’s a bit troublesome to start first but I am not afraid.

Kurji’s death comes barely a fortnight since one of Kenya’s leading navigator Farak Yusuf was found dead in a car while on holiday at the coast.

Former Safari Rally winner and multiple winner of the KNRC titles, Ian Duncan said it is so sad.  His sentiments were also echoed by Azar Anwar among others.

Kurji was a spectacular competitor and one of the fastest drivers to participate in the Kenya National Rally Championship though at times his performance was erratic.

Though he led several rallies at his peak, his most memorable performances were achieved at the coast when he first emerged as winner of Safari Rally, Kenya’s round of the 2004 African Rally Championship.

Fuel pump

He won the Mombasa Rally in 2006 and 07 before stamping similar authority in the Guru Nanak Rally. His last event in Kenya was during the 2009 Safari Rally. He retired in the Elementaita Estate after his Subaru Impreza suffered a fuel pump failure.

This is the second death of a rally driver in less than a month, after the sudden demise of reigning KCB Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) Navigator Champion, Farakh Yusuf on April 9.

Further details couldn’t immediately be established about his death, but sources close to the deceased confided he was found dead in a car in Mombasa in the earlY hours of that morning.

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Somalia’s Ahmed says willing to talk to rival Aweys – this may bring peace to the country

MOGADISHU, Sunday (Reuters) – Somalia’s president said on Saturday he would welcome negotiations with hard-line opposition leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, which may lead to Aweys joining the Horn of Africa nation’s government.

Aweys, who is on the U.S. terrorism list for alleged links to al Qaeda, returned to Somalia last week from Eritrea on his first known trip home in two years.

Analysts say he is an influential figure for many of the Islamist rebels fighting the new government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

“Hassan Dahir Aweys is a Somali citizen, and we struggled together for a long time. I welcome him if he wants to negotiate,” Ahmed told a news conference in the capital Mogadishu. No specific time was given.

Ahmed said he was willing to give Aweys — his partner in the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which ruled the capital and most of southern Somalia until Ethiopian troops ousted them in 2007 — a chance to suggest ways of improving the government.

“If he is not (willing), he must wait until the two-year term of this government ends, then he should stand in the coming election and try his luck,” he told reporters at the presidential palace.

Aweys and Ahmed later split, with Aweys taking over the Eritrea-based Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia from Ahmed, who was elected president early this year at U.N.-led talks in Djibouti.

Ahmed said his administration, the 15th attempt at a central government since 1999, would prioritise security, rebuilding, reconciliation and good governance.

“The root cause of the Somali problem is lack of good governance,” he said.

“In terms of security we want to form the national Somali forces including marine forces to tackle instability and piracy,” he said.

Last week, donors agreed to give at least $213 million to help Somalia strengthen its security forces and also fund a small African Union mission over the next year.

Ahmed said the Arab League was planning a meeting to collect funds to assist in rebuilding Somalia, but did not say when it would be.

source.nation.ke

President Obama criticizes Eritrea, Zimbabwe on press freedom in Africa

President Obama criticizes Eritrea, Zimbabwe on press freedom in Africa

Jimma Times

U.S. President Barack Obama decried press freedom violations in the two African countries of Eritrea and Zimbabwe in a White House statement on Saturday in honor of World Press Freedom Day. This week, the Washington DC- based non-governmental organization Freedom House also published a report critical of the media scenes of several African nations, including Ethiopia, while Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named Eritrea as the top jailer of journalists in Africa.

The Freedom House organization said press freedom is declining in many places around the world.  The international organization placed Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Libya and Equatorial Guinea in the bottom ten ranking in the world. It said several Zimbabwean journalists are being imprisoned, tortured and in some cases killed. Eritrea remains as the only African nation without a private media while CPJ said three countries — China, Cuba and Eritrea — account for half of journalists imprisoned globally.

According to Freedom House, the Middle East and North African regions continued to have the lowest level of press freedom in the world in 2008. But some African countries continue to improve, with Ghana, Mauritius and Mali leading the way in the continent. Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and Comoros showed the most improvement in Africa. Namibia, Cape Verde and South Africa also have high rankings however conditions have declined inside these countries compared to the previous year.

Freedom House indicated that press freedom deteriorated in many areas globally, including in Iran and North Korea. It also criticized Israel for travel restrictions and military censorship imposed on the press during the conflict in Gaza as well as in Israeli-occupied territory of the West Bank. The organization said space for independent media shrunk significantly in countries like Russia, Ethiopia and The Gambia. It condemned punitive laws in countries like Ethiopia while media restrictions remain in the Ogaden region of southeastern Ethiopia.

Journalists are frequently intimidated and harassed by the government in Ethiopia, particularly outside Addis Ababa, even though the country has one of the largest number of private newspapers and magazines in Africa. Since the brutal 2005 crackdown on the press in Ethiopia, Awramba Times, Harambe, Enku and Addis Neger are some of the critical papers that suffered under frequent government harassment. Several newspapers have been closed due to financial and security issues they faced, particularly in the rural parts of Ethiopia. A private Afaan Oromo paper, Yeroo, was one of those closed due to human rights and financial problems facing publishers in the country. Other private Ethiopian newspapers like Capital, SS Informer, Ethio Channel, Addis Admass, Mesenazeria, Daily Monitor, Reporter and Addis Fortune face less harassment but they work under pervasive self-censorship, according to CPJ. Critics say Ethiopia’s defamation laws and heavy financial punishment on publishers are threatening the survival of the private media in the country.

The recent reports by Freedom House and CPJ were released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on Sunday. Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor asked the Obama administration to adopt policies that will defend freedom of expression around the world. In addition to Eritrea and Zimbabwe, the statement by President Obama mentioned Azerbaijan, Cuba and Burma, where journalists are being actively harassed the most.

end