JOHANNESBURG - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille visits the Mogoba informal settlement east of Johannesburg after a group allegedly claiming to be African National Congress (ANC) members assault two DA party members. She says the attack was one of many acts of intimidation recently perpetrated against DA activists working in ANC strongholds around the country. The DA believes the ANC is under increasing electoral pressure and that such violent intimidation, if left unchecked, could escalate. Zille wants to meet urgently with President Kgalema Motlanthe and Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa to discuss this matter.

AFRICA & WORLD

YAOUNDE - Cameroon's security forces repulse an attack by pirates in waters off the Bakassi peninsula bordering Nigeria. An armed group says it is fighting for compensation for Nigerian settlers in Bakassi, forced to leave the peninsula when it was handed back to Cameroon in August in line with a 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) order. The peninsula is reported to have significant untapped oil reserves. The attack comes a week after the two countries agree to work together to protect their land and sea border from raids by militants and pirates. Worried about insecurity in the region, the navies of the United States and other Western countries have stepped up visits to the area.

SINGAPORE – David Brand, managing director of New Forests, says putting a price on nature by creating tradeable credits can the limit the loss of forests, wetlands and rivers from the expansion of agriculture. Carbon, water and biodiversity are emerging as the three main environmental market forces this century, and his company is developing projects in all three areas to yield saleable credits. If remaining ecosystems are not given a monetary value then these are traded as free input to the expansion of agriculture. A major portion of the money raised from the sale of the credits will go to the local community, located in these ecosystems, to be managed in the interest of the community.

LONDON - eBay says it will institute a global ban on the sale of all types of ivory products by January 1, 2009, after a conservation group investigation finds more than 4,000 elephant ivory listings on the online auction site.  A report compiled by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) says most sales of ivory products through eBay are transacted on the company's US site. IFAW indicates that, every year, more than 20 000 elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia to meet demand for ivory products.

LONDON – Nato commander General John Craddock says the alliance’s members are wavering in their political commitment to Afghanistan, describing the nearly seven-year-old campaign against the Taliban as disjointed. The alliance’s troops serve in Afghanistan under a United Nations mandate. As insecurity increases in Afghanistan, Nato troops are steadily being drawn into more deadly operations, a factor that is dissuading some countries from deeper involvement. Military commanders have continually stated that the Taliban cannot be defeated militarily and that insurgents needed to be drawn into dialogue. Afghanistan is widely seen as more precarious than Iraq, with the Taliban becoming more sophisticated in its ability to carry out ambushes and bombings.


FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA - US Democrat Barack Obama won the support of former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday. Powell said either candidate would make a good president but he was critical of John McCain's uncertainty on how to deal with the economic crisis. Powell's backing of Obama could give a boost to the foreign policy and national security credentials of the first-term Illinois senator and increase his appeal to moderates and independents. Powell says he has no plans to campaign for Obama and is not looking for a job in his administration, but he left the door open to the possibility.