SOUTH AFRICA
JOHANNESBURG – According to the Actuarial Society of South Africa, it is estimated that 5.6 million South Africans are infected with HIV in 2008. The Actuarial Society said its mortality estimates are similar to the recent statistics released in February by Statistics South Africa. The model also reveals that 510,000 new HIV infections will occur this year, while 370,000 Aids related deaths will occur in the same period, and 650,000 South Africans have full blown Aids.
PRETORIA - South Africa's ruling African National Congress asks President Thabo Mbeki to appoint its deputy president to parliament as a first step to getting him into the cabinet. ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, a left-leaning intellectual and ally of ANC leader Jacob Zuma, has been touted as a compromise presidential candidate if Zuma's legal problems force him to stand down before the 2009 election.
PRETORIA - Cabinet approves the General Law Amendment Bill and the National Prosecuting Amendment Bill to pave the way for a new unit within the SA Police Service to replace the Scorpions. However, the Khampepe report released by the Presidency says the existence of the Scorpions is "as valid today as it was at conception" and recommends that the special investigating unit should continue existing under the authority of the National Prosecuting Authority. The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry, headed by Judge Sisi Khampepe, was appointed in 2006 to investigate the mandate of the Directorate of Special Operations, but details of the commission's findings were were not released to the public until the legislation had been passed.
CAPE TOWN - Government looks at giving food vouchers or cash to poor households to help them cope with spiralling food prices. "We're looking at a range of options... such as food vouchers, [as well as] increasing cash transfers in the case of people already on the social assistance programme," social development director-general Vusi Madonsela tells a parliamentary media briefing. Government is keen to move away from delivering food parcels to affected households, as this scheme is "riddled with a number of challenges" that result in distribution delays.
AFRICA
WASHINGTON - Many Africans are getting substandard malaria drugs, with more than a third of the pills tested failing quality tests, according to a report published the American Enterprise Institute. Tests of 195 different packs of malaria drugs sold in six African cities show that 35 percent of them either do not contain high enough levels of active ingredient or do not dissolve properly. One-third of the packs tested contain only one drug, an artemisinin-based drug. The World Health Organization has asked countries to stop using these so-called monotherapies. The study states that substandard anti-malarial drugs cause an estimated 200,000 avoidable deaths each year.
WORLD
MOSCOW - Dmitry Medvedev is sworn in as Russian president in a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin's throne room, beginning an unprecedented period of dual rule with his predecessor Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, a 42-year-old former corporate lawyer and long-time Putin ally, stresses freedom and the rule of law in his first remarks after taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolising the presidency. The new leader, who arrived at the Kremlin alone in an armoured black stretch Mercedes limousine flanked by 11 motorcycle outriders, inherits a booming economy fuelled by high oil prices -- but also a sobering set of challenges.
LONDON - Nelson Mandela will travel to London in June to celebrate his ninetieth birthday with a series of events attended by stars and politicians including Oprah Winfrey, Robert de Niro and Bill Clinton, organisers said on Tuesday. Three days of celebrations will culminate in an evening concert at London's Hyde Park on June 27 that will feature artists ranging from TV talent show star Leona Lewis to Simple Minds and Annie Lennox. "You all know that I am supposed to be retired but my friends and the charitable organisations that bear my name want to use my 90th birthday year to raise funds to continue our work and so of course I want to help them," says Mandela.
JOHANNESBURG – According to the Actuarial Society of South Africa, it is estimated that 5.6 million South Africans are infected with HIV in 2008. The Actuarial Society said its mortality estimates are similar to the recent statistics released in February by Statistics South Africa. The model also reveals that 510,000 new HIV infections will occur this year, while 370,000 Aids related deaths will occur in the same period, and 650,000 South Africans have full blown Aids.
PRETORIA - South Africa's ruling African National Congress asks President Thabo Mbeki to appoint its deputy president to parliament as a first step to getting him into the cabinet. ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, a left-leaning intellectual and ally of ANC leader Jacob Zuma, has been touted as a compromise presidential candidate if Zuma's legal problems force him to stand down before the 2009 election.
PRETORIA - Cabinet approves the General Law Amendment Bill and the National Prosecuting Amendment Bill to pave the way for a new unit within the SA Police Service to replace the Scorpions. However, the Khampepe report released by the Presidency says the existence of the Scorpions is "as valid today as it was at conception" and recommends that the special investigating unit should continue existing under the authority of the National Prosecuting Authority. The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry, headed by Judge Sisi Khampepe, was appointed in 2006 to investigate the mandate of the Directorate of Special Operations, but details of the commission's findings were were not released to the public until the legislation had been passed.
CAPE TOWN - Government looks at giving food vouchers or cash to poor households to help them cope with spiralling food prices. "We're looking at a range of options... such as food vouchers, [as well as] increasing cash transfers in the case of people already on the social assistance programme," social development director-general Vusi Madonsela tells a parliamentary media briefing. Government is keen to move away from delivering food parcels to affected households, as this scheme is "riddled with a number of challenges" that result in distribution delays.
AFRICA
WASHINGTON - Many Africans are getting substandard malaria drugs, with more than a third of the pills tested failing quality tests, according to a report published the American Enterprise Institute. Tests of 195 different packs of malaria drugs sold in six African cities show that 35 percent of them either do not contain high enough levels of active ingredient or do not dissolve properly. One-third of the packs tested contain only one drug, an artemisinin-based drug. The World Health Organization has asked countries to stop using these so-called monotherapies. The study states that substandard anti-malarial drugs cause an estimated 200,000 avoidable deaths each year.
WORLD
MOSCOW - Dmitry Medvedev is sworn in as Russian president in a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin's throne room, beginning an unprecedented period of dual rule with his predecessor Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, a 42-year-old former corporate lawyer and long-time Putin ally, stresses freedom and the rule of law in his first remarks after taking the oath of office and receiving a gold chain of double-headed eagles symbolising the presidency. The new leader, who arrived at the Kremlin alone in an armoured black stretch Mercedes limousine flanked by 11 motorcycle outriders, inherits a booming economy fuelled by high oil prices -- but also a sobering set of challenges.
LONDON - Nelson Mandela will travel to London in June to celebrate his ninetieth birthday with a series of events attended by stars and politicians including Oprah Winfrey, Robert de Niro and Bill Clinton, organisers said on Tuesday. Three days of celebrations will culminate in an evening concert at London's Hyde Park on June 27 that will feature artists ranging from TV talent show star Leona Lewis to Simple Minds and Annie Lennox. "You all know that I am supposed to be retired but my friends and the charitable organisations that bear my name want to use my 90th birthday year to raise funds to continue our work and so of course I want to help them," says Mandela.
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