BEIJING – On the afternoon of August 18, 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with his Equatorial Guinean counterpart Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Great Hall of the People. Hu first thanked Obiang for extending condolences to China over the devastating mudslides in Zhouqu, Gansu and putting off the national pavilion day for Equatorial Guinea at the World Expo in Shanghai due to the national mourning day on Aug. 15 for victims in the disaster. Hu said that the friendship between both peoples goes back to the 1970s. Bilateral relations have become even firmer since the establishment of diplomatic... Continue Reading
COTONOU – A project to help African rice farmers maximize the vast potential of inland valleys, through ecological management has just been launched by the Benin-based Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) with technical and financial support from Japan. Inland valleys in sub-Saharan Africa constitute a largely unexploited land resource of about 190 million hectares that provide opportunities for irrigation and offer great potential for sustainable rice expansion and intensification. The new project will focus on the testing and adaptation of a proven rice production technology used in Asia – known as Sawah – which helps to boost rice production through improved... Continue Reading
By Novell Zwange – JOHANNESBURG – South African Bishop Jo Seoka, the current chairperson of the Bench Marks Foundation,has joined a growing list public figures who have expressed outrage over the recent killings of 20 miners at the Aurora Grootvlei mines in Springs and has joined the call for an investigation by the relevant authorities. The mine is owned by Khulubuse Zuma and Zondwa Mandela, amongst others. Khulubuse and Zondwa are relatives of President Jacob Zuma and former President Nelson Mandela.They are Zuma’s nephew and Nelson Mandela’s grandson. Reports claim that the victims were doing illegal gold mining and were... Continue Reading
By Martin Chemhere, in Johannesburg – One of South Africa’s leading ladies, ANC stalwart and politician, the one-and-only Winnie Madikizela Mandela is being celebrated through a new range of signature collection launched by the country’s fashion outfitters, the Johannesburg based Vukani Range Collection recently. Dubbed the Winnie Mandela Signature Collection (WMSC), it is being popularized through an online competition called Proudly South African Online Competition – Vukani Range Creation. The competition aims to encourage South Africans to buy local products and promote home-grown industries. Winners stand a chance of winning an autographed pillow (pictured) from Winnie Madikizela Mandela, created by... Continue Reading
By Mark Oloo (Nairobi) – African countries have been urged to tighten their import regulations to guard against dumping of electronic wastes from abroad. The call follows concerns some countries had grown cold feet in complying with international rules on exportation of second-hand electronic material. “Developing countries must tighten regulations to block dumping of obsolete electronic materials, besides seeking cost-effective means to recycle their own wastes,” said Dr Joachim Wuttke, Germany’s representative to the Basel Convention of the United Nations Environment Programme. He said developing countries should ensure imports of used electronics from industrialized states conform to international safety standards.... Continue Reading
