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Tunis — President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali returned to Tunis after taking part in works of the 22nd regular session of the Summit Conference of the Arab League Council, held in Sirte, Libya.

During the Summit President Ben Ali met with Arab several Heads of State and Government.

He also reaffirmed, Tunisia's stand concerning Arab questions and most particularly its unwavering support to the Palestinian cause.

President Ben Ali called, in his address to the Summit, to adopt an urgent and efficient plan of action along with the United Nations, the Quartet and other influential forces, in order to save Al-Quds and protect its heritage.

The President of the Republic also said that the current stage the Arab Nation is going through requires to spare no effort to enhance the process of inter-Arab reconciliation, to devote all capacities to strengthening inter-Arab solidarity and co-operation, calling to activate the role of the Arab Peace and Security Council, given its importance in preventing and settling inter-Arab disagreements.

He noted the importance of pursuing efforts for strengthening the tenets of complementarity, integration, co-operation and partnership between Arab States.

He also underlined the strategic character of joint Arab action in the cultural, educational and scientific fields, advocating as part of proclaiming 2010 an International Year of Youth, to fix programs and diversified activities which enable Arab youth to be involved in designing comprehensive development policies targeting them in all fields and give them opportunities for being integrated and in being in tune with their time and communicate with the outside world.

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There was uproar at the Senate today when Prof. Dora Akunyili was placed on the spot light as the Senate commenced screening of ministerial nominees in Abuja.

Hardly had Akunyili finished reeling her intimidating biodata and performance in her previous portfolios when Senator Kanti Bello from Katsina State fired the first salvo accusing the former Minister of Information of betrayal of the first family by her actions with her memo presented at the Executive Council meeting calling for the ceding of presidential powers to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.

This caused a stir as the hallowed chambers erupted with cacophony of reactions from Senators and at the gallery of the chambers.

Senate President David Mark had a herculean task in his bid to keep the sitting under control as Senator Kanti Bello almost walked out of the chambers in annoyance.

However, after a failed attempt to prolong the Senate sitting beyond 6pm, the Senators adjourned to 10am tomorrow but not before Akunyili had responded to the question raised by Senator Kanti Bello on her role in the last political imbroglio that brought in Acting President Goodluck Jonathan.

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Plateau natives resident in Rivers State have said that they would only believe in the seriousness of the Federal Government to resolve the crisis when those arrested have been prosecuted in court.

The group, however, praised the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, for the proactive steps taken to restore normalcy to the city and commended Governor Jonah Jang for "the outstanding efforts in the restoration of peace to the state."

In a communiqué issued last weekend, the Plateau indigenes, under the aegis of Plateau Indigenes Cultural Association, accused the army of complicity in Jos killings where about 500 people were slaughtered in cold blood.

Signed by Danjuma Taksing and Peter Danladi Dishilak, chairman and secretary respectively, the group said in the communique that it was regrettable that the army could be found wanting in an event where such a large scale and gruesome murder of mostly women and children took place.

They said other ethnic groups like the Yoruba, Ibo, Urhobo, who were also victims of the crisis, should have been included in the committee recently constituted by the Federal Government to investigate the crisis.

"Input from these other people could go a long way in contributing to the solution of the recurring problems, particularly as most of these ethnic groups have resided in Jos and elsewhere there for many years," they said.

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Acting President Jonathan Goodluck today asked a Federal high court sitting in Abuja to dismiss a fresh lawsuit by Hon Adamu Farouk Aliyu seeking to invalidate his emergence for want of competence.

Alternatively, he is inviting the high court to hold that the February 9, 2010 resolution by the National Assembly mandating him to perform full presidential powers was not only valid but was also passed for the good governance, order and peace of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dr Jonathan Goodluck made the request on a day the trial high court judge, Justice Adamu Bello, issued a fresh summons, inviting the House of Representatives to come to court to defend the suit by Hon Farouk challenging the validity of its resolution empowering Jonathan to act.

Justice Bello who issued the fresh summons said he would decide on the next adjourned date whether or not to hear and decide the preliminary objection brought by the Acting President challenging the locus standi of the plaintiff to institute the action in the first place or and roll it together with the substantive suit.

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THE American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin R. Sanders has disclosed that the U.S. Government is collaborating with the government and with the Independent Power Providers Association of Nigeria (IPPAN) to implement one of its top priorities, increasing electricity generation to 10.000 megawatts by 2011.

Besides this, their help in the energy sector also includes providing capacity building assistance to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and a grant by the U.S. Government Agency, USTDA, of $162.000 to assist IHS Nigeria, a local company that manufactures towers for cellular, microwave, and radio uses to improve its efforts to evaluate energy alternatives, for renewable energy solutions, and in the ICT sector.

Robins said this through an agreement he signed last week and through the Nigerian Energy and Climate Change project, a U.S. Government effort to help Nigeria generate clean power, generate power from flared gas, and assist independent wind and solar firms to develop bankable investments.

He further affirmed that they are working with the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) Information Technology department to help on cyber-security solutions and security best practices in the banking sector and Nigeria being the largest agribusiness market in Sub-Saharan Africa for the United States. They are working to deepen U.S. Nigeria agribusiness tie through trade and development programs. Each year, hundreds of Nigerian agribusinesses participate in industry-specific events in the United States to source products, services, and technical know-how for their operations.

According to him, "We support and sponsor various agricultural technical exchanges between U.S. and Nigerian institutions through programs including USDA's fellowship and faculty exchange programs. These offer short-term agricultural training opportunities for mid-level managers from the government and NGOs.

As part of the U.S. $25 million Global Food Security Program for Nigeria, we are working with federal, state, and private sector institutions to build capacity in agricultural productivity, markets, linkages, and building agricultural yields in cassava, rice, and cow peas. Nigeria's agricultural future is vital to this country's well-being, and I am pleased that I have had an opportunity to meet with Nigerian farmers all over Nigeria to see how our technical assistance has helped farmers to produce protein enriched cassava and cow pea flour, and better rice.

Recently in Ogun State, I visited an innovative public-private partnership between Ekha Agro and the U.S. Government through USAID which is helping over 1,000 Nigerian cassava farmers produce glucose from cassava, the first agro-business of its kind in Nigeria and the first in all of West Africa. Small scale farmers will double their productivity and increase their net incomes by over 150 percent thanks to better yields and higher prices. In Benue's Olam farm, we have also helped a 200_member farmers' cooperative improve rice yields and increase exports.

In Ondo State, an agro-business is making cassava flakes for export. All of these projects are using, and are advancing with U.S.-funded technical assistance and capacity building. I know this audience is primarily filled with business persons active in the dynamic commercial sector of Lagos. But it doesn't mean that your voices should not be heard at this crucial political time for Nigeria. You know as well as I do that investment and economic growth don't like uncertainty, so what is going on now politically in either the short term or the long term does affect your interests so your voices need to be heard. That being said, the U.S. Government wants to assure you that we support the democratic efforts to find a way out of these uncharted waters.

We are still your friend and I speak today as a friend of the nation. So I want to tell you some of the things we are still doing to be helpful and supportive during this critical time, in the areas of energy, banking. ICT and agriculture. I know these are uncertain political times for Nigeria, as your Acting President needs your support in ensuring Nigeria's democracy not only continues to mature but also so that the country remains stable. The U.S. Government cares deeply about Nigeria, Not only how it is doing as a nation, but where it is going, and how it is planning to get there.

We wish you success as you continue to chart a way forward during these uncertain political times as you decide as a nation how to address the issues at hand, from the dignity for an ailing President to reports that a small group is being less than transparent about his status. Your Acting President needs the support of the entire nation at this time to ensure that the way forward for Nigeria is not only democratic and maintains unity of purpose, but also inspires the right actions on election reform and addressing the fundamental areas of development particularly in the Niger Delta, and including encouraging more transparency in the Petroleum Industry and Local Content Bills for the energy sector." He said.

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Harare — Zimbabwe's feuding political parties look set to miss yet another deadline to conclude talks on outstanding issues from their power sharing agreement with indications that sharp differences have started to emerge.

South African President Jacob Zuma who was appointed by the Southern African Development Community to mediate in the negotiations between the three governing parties in the unity government had given the negotiators up to March 31 to round off the talks.

President Zuma a fortnight ago raised hopes that the 18 month inclusive government's reform agenda was back on track when he announced that President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF and the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Tsvangirai had agreed on" a package of measures."

But Mr Mugabe on Friday told a meeting of his party's central committee that there would be no deal in the talks until sanctions imposed on his inner circle by the West were reversed.

The ageing leader said he was not going to give in to MDC demands that he must fire his trusted lieutenants heading the central bank and the Attorney General's office.

He also rubbished reports that he had agreed to swear in MDC treasurer general Mr Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister and a formula for the appointment of provincial governors.

MDC says it was taken aback by President Mugabe's outbursts because it believed that the talks were being finalised.

"We are shocked," said MDC spokesman, Mr Nelson Chamisa. "It's a Zanu PF political summersault and we don't know the motivation for this.

"If they are not politicking, it means we will be going back to President Jacob Zuma for arbitration."

The political agreement signed between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations spells out a timetable for elections next year, which will follow a referendum on a new constitution.

However, progress hinges on the parties concluding the negotiations on time and implementing key reforms.

Mr Tsvangirai on Thursday is set to present an ambitious plan that would see government relaxing draconian media and security laws by the end of the year but analysts say its success would be undermined by the discord in the coalition.

Western donors have refused to help the one year old unity government revive the country's battered economy until the power sharing agreement is fully implemented.

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Johannesburg — Sixteen-year-old Neo Malema and his brothers and sister live with his grandmother in the impoverished Alexandra Township in Johannesburg. Despite his poor background, Malema dreams of one day playing football for the country's national squad, Bafana Bafana.

Football for Hope, an NGO that aims to take children from disadvantaged communities around the world and develop them into future leaders for their communities, has given him the chance to realise his dreams.

"Football for Hope has changed my life, I used to be so naughty, I would wonder around playing football in the streets. One day a couch found me and put me in his team, I have been playing for four years. Now I know that if you work hard you can achieve your dreams," Malema said.

Malema and eight other young football players are part of Team Alexandra, which will represent South Africa at the FIFA Football for Hope festival in Alexandra in July 2010.

The Football for Hope initiative was established in 2007 by FIFA and Streetfootballworld to use football as a tool for enhancing global peace and social development. The movement relies on the universal appeal of football to achieve its mission, and so far 1.5 million youngsters have benefited from the programme.

Speaking at the official opening launch of the event in Alexandra on Mar. 25, managing director of Streetfootballworld Jurgun Griesbeck said that the aim of the event was to encourage young people to take responsibility for their own lives.

"The participants were chosen to show the world that they are young leaders so that when they are talking about themselves and where they are going, you yourself become inspired," he said.

Thirty-two teams from disadvantaged communities from all over the world will participate in the exciting event taking place from Jul. 4 to 10. The delegates come from over 40 countries and some teams comprise of players from more than one country.

The tournament will have mixed teams of girls and boys from countries such as Kenya, Cambodia, Israel and Palestine.

But each of the 12-minute games will be played without official referees.

So all disagreements will be resolved through dialogue, a method which organisers hope will enhance mutual understanding and personal development in the young players.

The players will also participate in activities which promote the exchange of ideas and life experiences, including talks on issues like HIV/AIDS and football coaching workshops.

Also speaking at the launch, the chief executive of the local organising committee for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Danny Jordaan said that the upcoming world cup was not only about the famous football stars that are coming to South Africa for the event but also about the youngsters participating in the Football for Hope Festival.

"It is a World Cup of hope, a World Cup of change, a World Cup of opportunity, a World Cup that focuses on the young people and their ambitions and their dreams," Jordaan said.

Sibongile Mazibuko, the executive director of the 2010 World Cup for the City of Johannesburg, said it was important to use football as a tool for social development and change.

Malema has a passion for soccer and helping other disadvantaged youths, he hopes to one day manage an organisation like Football for Hope.

"Football has brought me back to the right path, it taught me that when you work hard you will definitely achieve your dreams," said Malema.

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Johannesburg — THE overwhelming majority, 74%, of SA's accommodation establishments are not hiking rates substantially for the Soccer World Cup, according to a Grant Thornton study issued on Friday.

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk commissioned the study in response to an outcry over perceived price gouging. The survey found 48% of establishments were not charging a premium to their highest 2010 rack rates. Only 26% were charging increases in excess of 50% and 11% more than 100% of their rack rates.

The survey results are based on responses of 2384 establishments across SA and accommodation types. Rack rates are fully priced room rates the industry uses as a benchmark, and are generally higher than average retail prices.

The biggest rise in rack rates was recorded in Gauteng, where almost a third of establishments had raised their room rates more than 100% above their highest 2010 rack rates, while 65% were asking more than a 50% premium over their top 2010 rate.

With 21 matches, 14 team bases, the International Broadcast Centre as well as Fifa and the local organising committee headquarters, there is immense pressure on prices with many fans wanting to be based in Gauteng.

The survey showed SA's price increases were not out of line with Germany's in 2006 and well below those in Athens for the 2004 Olympic Games, when the average premium was about 185% above 2003's peak rate.

"I am satisfied that the majority of accommodation establishments are acting responsibly when it comes to pricing," said Van Schalkwyk. "I am also pleased to note that the survey found that many operators do recognise the damaging impact that exorbitant accommodation prices will have on the legacy objectives of the 2010 World Cup."

Graham Wood, MD of Southern Sun and deputy chairman of the Tourism Business Council of SA, emphasised the survey was of asking rates, not paid rates.

"That some establishments are asking hugely inflated prices does not mean they will achieve those rates. The jury is still out whether they will fill their rooms."

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THE envisaged Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) the European Union wants to sign with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries would not help development in Africa but would continue the economic stranglehold former colonising Western countries still have on African resources, a regional organisation has claimed.

"Not many African countries have signed the EPAs so far and it is not too late to stop these agreements", said Rangarirai Machemedze of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) of Zimbabwe.

"We can demand the parliaments of our [African] countries not to ratify the EPAs and we can organise marches to draw the attention to those agreements the EU wants to sign," Machemedze said at a public discussion in Windhoek on Wednesday.

SEATINI is linked to the Southern African People's Solidarity Network (SAPSN), a regional network embracing a wide range of civil society organisations, labour and social movements from all the countries of Southern African that held a closed workshop in Windhoek on Wednesday and ended with a public meeting on EPAs.

Namibia initialled the controversial EPA three years ago but raised several concerns which it wanted to be addressed. These include infant-industry protection for Namibian-manufactured products against future EU imports and also preventing cheap cereals like wheat or maize from entering Namibia.

In a statement issued yesterday, SAPSN said "we commend the stand taken by the government of Namibia - actively supported by Namibian labour and social movements and other national stakeholders - not to accept the many highly contentious demands inserted into the EPA negotiations by the EU."

"We also note that EC negotiators manipulate the perceived aid and trade needs of various African governments to propel them into agreeing to the extensive opening up of their economies to European exporters and investors.

"The self-serving and opportunistic tactics of the EC are also evident in their negotiation and initialling of an interim EPA agreement with the government of Zimbabwe which they simultaneously denounce and sanction as a pariah state," the statement said.

"We urge all African governments to resist the EU's EPA offensive, reverse the damaging fragmentation of SADC and counter the threats to the integrity of SACU and, instead, to reunite and act decisively to advance and deepen the development cooperation and integration of the Southern African region.

"We urge all African governments not to compromise their policy-making (political) rights and obligations to their peoples by signing long-term trade, investment, services and other areas of liberalisation through EPAs with the EU, or other similar 'free trade' agreements with other governments, North or South."

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PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said his Government will continue to invite foreign investors to develop the agriculture sector, which he said requires alot of investment to make the country self-sufficient in food.

The president said Zambia required investors who would develop the agriculture sector and particularly invest in agro-processing industries to add value to various livestock and food produce.

According to the statement released by special assistant to the president for Press and public relations Dickson Jerer yesterday, the president made the remarks when he addressed farmers and scores of their workers and families at the Coventry Farm in Mazabuka District in Southern Province where he had gone to visit some commercial farmers.

President Banda toured the Coventry Farm with Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati, Southern Province Minister Daniel Munkombwe among other Government officials.

He was impressed with the development at the Coventry Farm and urged Zambians working at various commercial farms in the district to work hard and co-operate with the investors so that food production can be increased in the country.

He also commended the farmers for having built a school at the farm to cater for the children of the workers.

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Johannesburg — HIV prevalence rates among South Africa's university students remain low, but risk is never far off according to one of the largest surveys ever conducted in the country.

The study of almost 24,000 students and staff found a national HIV prevalence rate among college students of about 3 percent - a sharp contrast to the national prevalence rate of around 18 percent estimated by UNAIDS. A combination of individual questionnaires, interviews, and dried blood spot HIV testing was used.

The research was conducted by the Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) a government initiative to strengthen the AIDS response in the higher education sector.

The study also found that prevalence rates were about three times higher in students more than 25 years in age and that female students were hardest hit, exhibiting a prevalence rate of 4.7 percent - more than double the 2 percent rate found among their male peers .

We can provide as much skills and training as we want, but if we do not include HIV education [in our higher education institutions] we will simply be training young people for the grave.

"The study is really the first comprehensive attempt to define the impact of HIV in the higher education sector," said Gail Andrews, HEAIDS programme director.

"To some extent, it is reassuring that HIV among students and staff at higher education institutions is less common than in the general population, but ... it does not mean that any institution can afford to be complacent. Both the survey and the qualitative research ... indicate that the sexual and social behaviour of sections of university communities puts them at risk."

A similarly low prevalence rate of about 1.5 percent was detected among academic staff, but a much higher rate was found in university service staff, who were also least likely to have health insurance.

Risk, writing and arithmetic

The research revealed that about 60 percent of sexually active students had been tested for HIV before, and a similar percentage reported using a condom the last time they had sex.

Still, campus life is risky. Study researcher Dr Warren Parker said the self-administered questionnaires allowed under-researched topics to be explored, such as risky sex, and same-sex relationships, reported by 6 percent of male students.

About 8 percent of all students reported engaging in anal sex; Parker told IRIN/PlusNews that some participants mistakenly perceived anal sex as less risky than vaginal intercourse.

Other high-risk student behaviours that failed to raise red flags included multiple concurrent partnerships and inter-generational sex, where male and female students took partners at least ten years their senior, often for material gain.

"Some new students, especially those from poor backgrounds, may show up to campus with no accommodation. They may have their school fees paid, but no money for food," said Dr Kevin Kelly, director of the Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE), and part of the research team. "This question of students' basic needs cannot be separated from the HIV question."

Know your epidemic

Andrews, of HEAIDS, stressed that many institutions - even those engaged in HIV research - might not "know their epidemic" as well as they should because campus HIV responses usually did not include men who have sex with men, anal sex, or male students with older partners.

Many students and staff felt that on-campus HIV-related health services were lacking or inadequate, which hindered voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV.

The report's recommendations included mandatory HIV and AIDS awareness as part of university staff induction, improved links between VCT and psycho-social support on campus, and expanded bridging programmes during orientation week for vulnerable first-year students. Researchers found that first-year female students were often targeted by older male students and campus visitors.

South Africa's Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, told IRIN/PlusNews: "We can provide as much skills and training as we want, but if we do not include HIV education [in our higher education institutions] we will simply be training young people for the grave."

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The country's rival political parties were expected to conclude their talks on Monday, on the remaining issues in the Global Political Agreement, exactly two years to the day since the MDC-T became the largest party in the House of Assembly.

Morgan Tsvangirai's party won 100 of the chamber's 210 seats while the former ruling ZANU PF took 99 seats and lost control of the House for the first time since independence in 1980. Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, representing the smaller faction of the MDC, signed a power-sharing agreement on 15th September 2008. The new government was finally formed in February 2009 but Mugabe and Tsvangirai continue to disagree over the implementation of the GPA.

Mugabe has been in power since independence in 1980 and went from being praised as a liberator who freed the former British colony from minority white rule to being vilified as a dictator. He and Tsvangirai had been enemies for a decade, and Tsvangirai has been jailed, beaten, tortured and tried for treason -- charges that were dismissed in court.

Under a complicated arrangement, Tsvangirai was appointed the prime minister with executive powers to chair a new council of ministers responsible for forming government policies. He is deputy chairman of a Cabinet of Ministers that Mugabe heads.

So far there is no indication at all as to whether the negotiators have managed to overcome the various obstacles, since they last met on Thursday and Friday, in accordance with an 'agreement' with mediator President Zuma. A report has to be presented to the South African President on Wednesday, before the Southern African Development Community considers a way forward.

Talks in the last year have completely failed to finalise the implementation of the GPA that many had hoped would help end the country's political and social crisis. There was a brief glimmer of hope two weeks ago when Zuma visited Harare and announced at the end of his two-day stay that the three principals had agreed to a 'package of measures' to help rescue the fragile unity government.

Zuma even told journalists the parties had agreed the measures would be implemented concurrently, as per the decision of the SADC troika in Maputo.

However after ZANU PF's politburo and central committee meetings last week, the former ruling party said the three political parties in the unity agreement did not reach an agreement during Zuma's visit.

Mugabe told his central committee members that ZANU PF still insists that it will not compromise in the current talks over outstanding GPA issues, until targeted sanctions imposed by the West were removed.

The fact is that Mugabe is not being asked to compromise. He is merely being asked to implement the GPA, which is something he signed up to do over a year ago.

Mugabe's statement was in total contrast to comments by Zuma that the parties had reached agreement during his intervention a fortnight ago. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa expressed shock at ZANU PF's 'political somersault' describing it 'revisionism.'

Chamisa was quoted over the weekend saying an agreement had been reached that Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana should vacate their offices. There was also an agreement on the re-appointment of provincial governors among other issues, including the appointment of Roy Bennett to another ministerial portfolio which is not Agriculture.

Human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba told us they don't hold out much hope from the talks considering ZANU PF's intransigency since the formation of the unity government. Shumba said most people are keeping expectations low ahead of the negotiators presenting their report to Zuma on Wednesday.

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Abuja — A group of 140 lawmakers in the House of Representatives yesterday reaffirmed that but for the February 9, 2010 resolution of both chambers of the National Assembly proclaiming Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as the acting president, Nigeria could have witnessed another forceful change of government that could have returned the military to power.

The group, named The Nigeria First Forum (NFF), was reacting to recent legal suits and media campaigns mounted against the acting president by opponents who are of the opinion that his elevation to power by the National Assembly was illegal.

A prominent member of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, had led an onslaught against the administration and had asked the Senate not to honour the list of nominees for ministerial appointments sent to it for screening and confirmation because, according to him, the acting president lacked both the legal authority to dissolve the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) and the power to constitute a new cabinet.

Chairman of the (NFF), Hon. Abba Anas Adamu (PDP Jigawa), who spoke with THSDAY on the issue, said while individuals like Yakassai were free to express their views, it would have been better if those opposed to the new regime had provided a viable alternative to what the parliament did in the heat of the constitutional crisis that arose out of the prolonged absence of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on account of poor health.

The elevation of the vice-president to the position of acting president, Adamu said, was the best in the circumstance the country found itself.

According to him, the prolonged absence of President Yar'Adua and the leadership vacuum it created almost led to a military takeover of government which in turn could have led to political chaos and disintegration of the country.

Adamu said that Yakassai might either be suffering from old age or acting somebody else's script.

He said that it was wrong criticising the action of the National Assembly and the steps so far taken by Jonathan to stabilise Nigeria without offering viable alternatives.

"If what we (parliament) did was wrong, what would he have suggested that we do that would have guaranteed the existence of Nigeria as one entity and the continued progress of democracy in this country? If what we did was not done, certainly the ship of this country could have capsized because it was at that material time that military officers, high and low, were given instructions not to move an inch without clearance which was an indication of the fact that something dangerous was looming and that they (military) could act.

"If we did not act the way we did, there could have been a problem in the country which could have consumed not only those who are elected and who have the responsibility of seeing that something was done to checkmate the disaster but the very existence of this country would have been in danger.

"The only alternative to what we did was change of government through forceful means and that is not what members of the National Assembly are interested in seeing. That is also not what every person who is conscious of the importance of democracy would have loved to see happening in Nigeria. I am sure that what we did was in the best interest of the country and if we had not done that certainly, Nigeria could have been in shambles," he said.

On the suits challenging the proclamation of the National Assembly on the elevation of Jonathan, Adamu said that the controversy was already being resolved with the amendment of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.

The Senate, according to him, had passed the bill on the amendment of the relevant provisions of Section 145, while the House of Representatives would soon concur with the bill to put an end to the controversy surrounding the resolution of the parliament.

The NFF had played an active role in the build-up to the February 9, 2010 resolution of the House of Representatives.

Days before the resolution, members of the group had raised the issue in form of motions of urgent public importance but the motions were shot down apparently because the leadership of the House was not favourably disposed to the idea.

Even on the day the resolution was finally adopted at a closed door session, THISDAY learnt, members of the group "practically forced" the leadership of the House to include the post of "Acting President" in its resolution as this was missing in original motion crafted by the leadership.

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Lagos — The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, has called on stakeholders to intensify drug control efforts as he identified illicit drug trafficking as a major threat to political stability in West Africa.

Giade made the call at a public lecture organised by the wife of the governor of Bauchi State and founder of Challenge Your Disability Initiative (CYDI), Hajia Hauwa Abiodun Isa Yuguda in Bauchi State at the weekend.

Speaking on the topic, Implications of Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on Internal Security, Giade identified political thuggery, low productivity, money laundering, violent crimes, militancy and youth restiveness as some of the consequences of the obnoxious trade. These consequences can undermine the peace and stability of a state.

He challenged those who are of the opinion that illicit drugs are only a threat to developed countries to have a rethink.

The NDLEA boss said the drug problem in Nigeria and West Africa is real. Daily seizures of narcotics and psychotropic drugs as well as pressure on drug counseling/rehabilitation facilities are clear indication of the worrisome state of illicit drugs.

He also cited a report by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) that listed some of the countries most affected in the region to include Republic of Benin, Cape Verde, Cote dívoire, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana and Togo.

Giade stressed that the region is fast becoming the target of drug barons that smuggle drugs from source countries like Latin America and Middle East through the region to United States and Europe.

According to Giade, "the existence of clandestine laboratories show that drug cartels are not only smuggling drugs through the region, but also developing sophisticated on-site capacities for producing narcotics".

He however, gave assurance that the situation is not helpless but requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders. "The drug situation in the region would have been worse if not for the deliberate control measures by member countries. Worthy of mention is the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan 2008-2011 to address the drug problem in the region".

Besides the contribution of individual efforts of countries in the region as well as regional bodies like the ECOWAS, Giade listed some practical recommendations that will help in making the region drug free. These include active stakeholder participation, proactive and effective planning of drug demand reduction strategies and conduct of drug research to ascertain the complicated chain of drug production, trafficking and abuse. Others are adequate penal sanctions, improved funding and support by international collaboration.

The governor's wife, Hajia Hauwa in her address also lent her voice to the looming threat posed by illicit drugs and urged participants to improve their lifestyles and those of their neighbours with the knowledge acquired at the lecture. "Let no one under any illusion think that the threat of drug abuse is not real. It is hoped that at the end of this lecture, we should become better informed on the scourge of drug abuse and appreciate the need to work together for a drug free tomorrow".

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Cape Town — South African and Swedish church leaders have reiterated grave concerns that a 10-year-old arms deal that involved Sweden with South Africa threatens the fledgling African democracy.

The deal to sell armaments to South Africa also involved other European and Western nations such as Britain, France and Germany. It was signed a decade ago, estimated at around US$4.8 billion.

"As predicted, the arms deal unleashed a culture of corruption that has severely undermined the transition in South Africa from apartheid to democracy," said Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba along with the Swedish church leaders.

The two Anglican leaders wrote a joint article with Emeritus Archbishop K.G. Hammar of the Church of Sweden and Karin Wiborn, a Baptist who is chairperson of the Christian Council of Sweden. It was published on 28 March, in the South African weekly Sunday Times newspaper and Sweden's daily Dagens Nyheter.

They said recent riots across South Africa protesting against government failures to deliver essential services can be linked to prioritising on the procurement of costly military goods.

"Just a few weeks before the signing of the contract between Sweden and South Africa on the export of Swedish Gripen fighter aircraft, the South African Council of Churches and the Christian Council of Sweden convened a seminar in Cape Town - on November 24 1999 - on the topic of 'Defence Expenditure and Poverty Alleviation'.

"A joint declaration between the two Christian councils was adopted in which we expressed our deep concerns about how the arms deal would harm the governance, legitimacy and anti-corruptive work in both Sweden and South Africa."

The arms deal was the biggest military transfer in history between industrialised countries and Africa.

"Now, more than a decade later, we are sad and concerned that the concerns we raised were well founded. The arms deal is described by the Institute For Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) as 'the litmus test of South Africa's commitment to democracy and good governance'."

They said that South Africa's government had "succumbed to economically absurd arguments and pressure" from European governments that the arms deal would create more than 65 000 jobs, and thereby stimulate the economy.

"These promises have so far turned out to be mainly empty words," they said.

The church leaders repeated the declaration made 10 years ago, calling for "an independent judicial inquiry into the allegations of corruption which have been made in connection with the arms procurement deal".

They pledged to work closely with church, community, and other civil society organizations to develop and implement plans for the conversion of military bases and defence industries to productive civilian use.

The church leaders also call on the Swedish government to cooperate fully in these inquiries, to suspend the sale of arms to South Africa until the review process is complete, and to urge the British, German and Italian governments and suppliers to take similar action.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebels said on Sunday they had shot down two Sudanese army helicopters in the latest reports of fighting that have marred faltering peace talks between Khartoum and other insurgents.

Sudan's army said two if its helicopters crashed after developing technical problems, but denied there was any attack.

"Government forces attacked our positions in South Darfur yesterday (Saturday)," Ibrahim al-Helwu, from the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) told Reuters, speaking by telephone from Paris.

"Our forces shot down two of their helicopters -- one crashed at the site and the other came down on its way back to Nyala (South Darfur's capital). The government says the war is over but this is just propaganda."

The SLA was one of two rebel groups that took up arms against Sudan's government in 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting the mostly desert western region.

The insurgents' Paris-based leader Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur is refusing to negotiate with Khartoum, and dismissed a ceasefire signed last month between Sudan's government and Darfur's insurgent Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The SLA has reported regular army attacks on its positions in the central Jabel Marra region since Khartoum inked its deal with the militarily more powerful JEM in February. Aid groups say thousands have been displaced by clashes in the area.

Sudan's army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khaled dismissed the rebel report, saying the SLA was the second insurgent force to try to take credit for the accident.

"The helicopters crashed because of technical problems. No person damaged them. Nobody targeted them," he told Reuters.

In a separate statement to state news agency Suna, Khaled said one helicopter developed a fault as it was flying low in the Shattaya area, between the towns of Kas and Nyala.

The engine of the second helicopter caught fire after sand got in as it tried to rescue the first crew, the statement said. No one was injured, Khaled added.

Further peace discussions between JEM and Sudan's government, hosted in the Qatari capital Doha, have stalled since the February ceasefire.

Sudanese government negotiator Amin Hassan Omer criticised JEM, telling journalists in Khartoum on Saturday it was not serious about the talks.

"The movement is not committed to the release of government prisoners ... It has breached the ceasefire it signed in Doha," he said.

JEM official Al-Tahir al-Feki told Reuters the discussions had reached "stalemate". The rebel group is insisting Sudan delay April presidential and legislative elections, saying they would be a farce while the conflict continues.

Khartoum has so far refused to budge on the vote date.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel hopes an underground wall that Egypt is building along its border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to stop smuggling will be completed by the end of the year, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday.

Cairo has played down the scope of the work along the 14-km (8-mile) frontier, but the Islamist group Hamas condemns it as a "wall of death" that could complete an Israeli-led blockade of Gaza by eliminating smugglers' tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.

"The Egyptians are working on a project which I hope will be completed by the end of the year," said the senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"This project, which involves laying a steel barrier 20 metres underground as well as a security system, should stop most of the smuggling along the Philadelphi (corridor)," the official said, referring to the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Israel has long lobbied Egypt to tackle the cross-border smuggling, which supplies Palestinians with both munitions and basic commercial goods lacking in Gaza because of the Israeli blockade on the rest of Gaza's land border.

"I can't say we are completely satisfied, but we have noted that the Egyptians are taking action," the official said.

Senior Israeli and Egyptian officials meet regularly to discuss regional security issues.

Egyptian officials have said steel tubes are being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose. Unlike Israel, Egypt maintains relations with Hamas and has an Islamist opposition movement.

Citing an unnamed Egyptian intelligence source, Israeli media reports have said the wall will be rigged with sensors and pressurised hoses to flood tunnels with seawater.

Tunnel builders say some 3,000 underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week offensive against Gaza over a year ago, but only 150 are still operating after the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.

Israel says Hamas has used the tunnels to replenish its rocket and small-arms arsenal since the war. Israeli officials have said Hamas has also increased the range of its short-range rockets and acquired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Since the Gaza conflict, Hamas has been trying to stop other militant groups from firing rockets into Israel to avoid retaliation.

A previously unknown group, Ansar al-Sunna, claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Israel on March 18 that killed a Thai hothouse worker, the first fatal rocket attack for more than a year.

RABAT/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Rescuers on Sunday were searching a Moroccan hillside lake for the boss of the world's largest sovereign fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), two days after his plane crashed into it.

The aircraft of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the younger brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is also president of the United Arab Emirates, crashed into a reservoir 10 km (6 miles) south of the Moroccan capital Rabat on Friday.

"The search is still going on, that is all that I can tell you," Moroccan Communications Minister Khalid Naciri said.

Sheikh Ahmed is in his early 40s and was ranked No. 27 on Forbes list of the world's most powerful people last year.

His sovereign wealth fund is believed to have assets of around $500 to $700 billion, ranging from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Britain's Gatwick airport to residential property in major cities.

Few details have emerged about the accident except that the pilot of the craft was rescued after it crashed near Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Dam.

Residents of the area said the sheikh was a regular visitor and that the Abu Dhabi royal family had a palace overlooking the reservoir, which is swollen due to high rainfall and estimated to be about 60 meters deep.

Dozens of police on Sunday blocked roads leading to the lake, which is set in green, rolling hills. Several black Mercedes-Benz cars with diplomatic licence plates swept through a police blockade down the road leading to the royal family's palace. Moroccan government vehicles followed.

UAE officials have made no comment since a statement on Friday reporting the crash. In the conservative Gulf region, health concerns about royal family members are treated with great deference and sensitivity and officials are rarely willing to comment before announcements from the ruling families.

"The suspense is unbearable, at least we should know whether he is found and about his condition," said a senior Abu Dhabi businessman on condition of anonymity.

ADIA is viewed as the world's largest state-run investor, funnelling funds from the emirate's oil exports into stocks and bonds overseas from its headquarters in a gleaming skyscraper on the island city's shoreline.

Sheikh Ahmed, like the organisation he leads, has shunned the media spotlight. He is the son of the founder of the seven member UAE federation, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, and worked as a European equities analyst at ADIA for six years before becoming its boss.

The fund has rarely given details of its investment strategy or investments. In its first detailed report published in March, ADIA said it aimed to be more transparent. It also said it returned 6.5 percent on an annualised basis over a 20-year period as of December 31, 2009 and 8 percent over a 30 year period.

The chairman of ADIA is Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahayan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE.

An ADIA spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

2010-03-28

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The United Nations must boost peacekeeping forces in areas of Africa where Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels operate to stop massacres such as one that killed more than 300 people in December, a rights group said.

The Ugandan rebel group has killed and abducted people on a regular basis for the last 23 years, from Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch noted in a report.

It said the United Nations has fewer than 1,000 peacekeepers in this vast and and often impenetrable areas where the rebels mount their attacks.

The U.N. says the LRA killed more than 1,200 people in a 10-month period throughout 2008 and 2009, while the rights group puts the death toll in a massacre previously unreported in the remote northeast last December at 321.

"The four-day rampage demonstrates that the LRA remains a serious threat to civilians and is not a spent force, as the Ugandan and Congolese governments claim," Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher at HRW, said.

HRW also wants the Congolese government to work with mobile phone companies to bring network coverage to the area.

One witness cycled 60 km (40 miles) to find a telephone to inform the U.N. of the massacre, and villages that were subsequently attacked knew nothing of nearby attacks.

Other recommendations in its report charting LRA atrocities, released late on Saturday, include donor funding for a comprehensive strategy, better coordination, community radio, helicopter support and deploying elite military groups.

"High-level attention, bold steps and courageous leadership are necessary to develop and implement a comprehensive regional strategy that resolves the LRA threat," said the report, which said one source of hope comes from the U.S. government.

The U.S. military's African Command (Africom) provides communications, logistical and intelligence support for Uganda's national army in its pursuit of the LRA, and the U.S. is considering legislation to ensure a strategy to catch the LRA leadership.

"The number of peacekeepers we have on the ground is already not enough to cover Congo, but it's not only about blue helmets -- we need more cooperation among the three countries in the fight against the LRA," a spokesman for the U.N. mission, known as MONUC, said.

DAKAR, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A dispute broke out in Senegal between Prime Minister Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye and a close associate of President Abdoulaye Wade on peace negotiations with the rebel Movement of Democratic Forces in Casamance (MFDC), local press reported on Sunday.

On a political tour in the interior of the country, the Senegalese prime minister reacted to a statement published on Thursday by a MFDC leader Cesar Atoute Badiate asking for "sincere and all inclusive negotiations" with the government.

"The wish of all of us is that peace should reign in Senegal, Casamance included, and we shall pay whatever price to get the peace. We are ready to receive the leaders of MFDC to start negotiations," the prime minister.

The premier also denied Farba Senghor, who claimed himself "chief negotiator" with the rebel movement, as in an official position for saying negotiations were already underway.

"Senghor is not a government minister. You cannot talk on behalf of the government unless you have an official position. Senghor does not have any official position and he cannot therefore speak on behalf of the government or engage with the government," Ndiaye said.

Badiane, in an interview with the Radio France International, had denied the affirmations of Senghor by insisting that he had not had any contacts with him.

After a lull following the December 2004 peace accords between the government and the MFDC, fighting resumed in 2009 in the southern parts of Senegal killing at least 15 soldiers.