politics | Entries tagged with africa southern: south africa

Oscar Pistorius will become the first amputee athlete to compete at the able-bodied World Championships, after being named in South Africa’s squad.

Oscar Pistorius will become the first amputee athlete to compete at the able-bodied World Championships, after being named in South Africa’s squad.
The 24-year-old double-amputee, who competes on carbon fibre legs, will race in the 400m and 4x400m relay
The event begins in Daegu, South Korea on 27 August.
Women’s 800m world champion Caster Semenya, who was cleared to run last year after an 11-month lay-off because of gender tests, is also in the squad.

Pistorius said: "I have dreamt for such a long time of competing in a major championships and this is a very proud moment in my life.
"It will be a great day for me when I set out on the track in Daegu and I hope to do my country proud.
"This will be the highest-profile and most prestigious able-bodied event which I have ever competed in, and I will face the highest-calibre of athletes from across the planet."
An International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) ban was overturned in 2008, allowing Pistorius to compete against able-bodied athletes.
The IAAF's ruling that his "blades" gave him an unfair advantage was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Pistorius clocked a personal best time of 45.07 seconds in Italy last month to qualify just inside the cut-off time.

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Via fyeahAfrica which has pics.

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NEW ZEALAND

Death toll stands at 166, missing list fluctuates

The confirmed death toll from the Christchurch earthquake remains at 166 and 41 victims have now been named .
The number of bodies recovered was unchanged over Sunday night.
Police said this morning that about 200 remain missing from the earthquake almost two weeks ago, but the occasional name is still being added to the list by overseas families worried about family members in New Zealand.MORE

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Burundi opens up rights to use River Nile

Burundi finally appended its signature to water usage from Nile River, providing the Nile Basin Countries with the sixth endorsement which was mandatory to exploit waters from the mystic river. The agreement signed in Kampala, Uganda effectively paves way for the ratification of the long standing Nile Accord, a move likely to strip Egypt of its veto power over rights to the flow from the world's longest river.

A 1929 treaty brokered by former colonial power, Britain, granted Egypt a veto over projects that may alter the flow of the Nile. Another 1959 accord between Egypt and Sudan claimed 90 percent of the Nile’s flow for the two countries.
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After a decade of talks, five Nile nations Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya in May 2010 signed a deal that allowed upstream countries to implement irrigation and hydropower projects without first seeking Egypt's approval. A sixth signatory was needed for the CFA to come into force and once it has been ratified by the six national legislatures, a Nile Basin Commission will be created. MORE

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The Listening Post - The UK election's TV twist

?On The Listening Post this week, how 90 minutes of TV airtime turned the British vote into a three-horse race. Plus, how the murder of one controversial politician opened up a race debate in the South African media.

Anybody in Britain? What do you think about the analysis here? Frankly I think they are too optimistic about the breaking power of the journalists because of the debates. Is it journalists who are asking the questions? If so, consider the choreographed, journalistically-managed nonsense that passed for debate in the US election.

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Caster Semanya cleared to compete as a woman.

After months of speculation and gender testing, South African runner Caster Semenya is finally being allowed to compete again:

“Semenya’s lawyers told the eNews channel Wednesday that her medical team looked at test results following the 2009 world championships and their own tests and concluded that she was clear to compete.”

...

Pending official “gender verification” from the track and field’s governing body, the IAAF, Semenya plans to make her return to competitive racing at Spanish competition on June 24.MORE

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South Africa tries to enlist men in AIDS battle
JOHANNESBURG — "There is a new man in South Africa," proclaims a new ad splashed across South African media, aiming to transform ideas about sexuality and to enlist the nation's men in the fight against AIDS. This new South African man's "self worth is not determined by the number of women he can have." He "makes no excuse for unprotected sex" and "respects his woman", the ad reads.
The image of a hard-drinking, fearless seducer still holds powerful appeal for many South African men, posing a major problem to stopping AIDS in a country where 5.7 million of the 48 million population have HIV. Until now, most AIDS schemes have centred on health centres, which are used mainly by women. "It is hard to go to a clinic and acknowledge your vulnerability as a man," said Dean Peacock, coordinator at Sonke Gender Justice Network, one of the groups working to engage men.
But men still hold the upper hand in sexual relations, so the "Brothers for Life" campaign aims to convince men to use condoms while also improving their access to treatment. Currently, women account for three quarters of the HIV tests conducted in South Africa, and two thirds of the anti-retroviral drugs dispensed. What's more, men tend to seek treatment later than women, when their immune systems are already weakened.MORE

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Efforts to prosecute those who may have committed war crimes in Israel's war on Gaza have spread beyond the Middle East.

A lawyer in South Africa has identified 75 South African nationals who he says were fighting with the Israeli army in the war earlier this year.

Feroze Boda, based in Johannesburg and working on behalf of two local pro-Palestinian organisations, says the soldiers should face court action for their involvement.

Imran Garda reports from Johannesburg.

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Entries tagged with africa southern: south africa

Progress is slow, but it happens...

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News Update.

News from Africa:

On the British Elections and the killing of a racist S. African politician

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South Africans Fought in Gaza?

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January 2013

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