Obama pays tribute to ailing Mandela, but tries to focus on economic message
Paying tribute to his personal hero, President Barack Obama met privately Saturday with Nelson Mandela's family as the world anxiously awaited news on the condition of the ailing 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader.
Obama, who has spoken movingly about Mandela throughout his trip to Africa, praised the former South African president's "moral courage" during remarks from the grand Union Buildings where Mandela was inaugurated as his nation's first black president.
The U.S. president also called on the continent's leaders, including in neighboring Zimbabwe, to take stock of Mandela's willingness to put country before self and step down after one term despite his immense popularity.
"We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama said during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma.
Obama's stop in South Africa marked the midway point of a weeklong trip to Africa, his most significant engagement with the continent since taking office in 2009.
His lack of personal attention on the region has frustrated some Africans who had high expectations for the first black American president and son of a Kenyan man.
Even with Mandela's health casting a shadow over his visit, Obama tried to keep focus on an agenda that includes deeper U.S. economic ties with Africa. The president dismissed suggestions that he was only investing personal capital on Africa's economy now as a response to the increased focus on the continent by China, India, Brazil and others.
"I want everybody playing in Africa," he said. "The more, the merrier."
But the president pointedly called on Africans to make sure that countries seeking an economic foothold on the continent are making a "good deal for Africa."
"If somebody says they want to come build something here, are they hiring African workers?" Obama said. "If somebody says that they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in Africa? If they say that they're very interested in a certain industry, is the manufacturing and value-added done in Africa? "
The president did not specifically single out China, but some African leaders have criticized Beijing for such behaviors.
Obama's focus on trade and business appeared to be well received in Africa, home to six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies. The majority of the questions he received from the South African press and later at a town hall meeting with young African leaders focused on U.S. economic interests in the region.
Between his two events, Obama spent about 30 minutes meeting privately with two of Mandela's daughters and several of his grandchildren at the former leader's foundation offices in Johannesburg. He also spoke by phone with Mandela's wife, Graça Machel, who remained by her husband's side at the Pretoria hospital where he has battled a lung infection for three weeks.
In a statement following the call, Machel said she drew strength from the Obama and his "touch of personal warmth."
Obama, who has met Mandela in person only once before, did not visit the former leader in the hospital out of respect for his family's wishes, the White House said. Ahead of his arrival in South Africa, the president had told reporters that he did not need "a photo-op" and didn't want to be obtrusive.
Obama ascent to the White House has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela. Both are their nations' first black presidents, symbols of racial barrier breaking and winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Zuma said Obama and Mandela "both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed." Zuma said Mandela's condition remained the same as it had in recent days — critical yet stable — though he expressed hope that Mandela soon would leave the hospital.
Obama, Zuma and other dignitaries held a moment of silence for Mandela during a dinner Saturday night.
Source-AP
Biden asks Ecuador's president to reject NSA leaker Edward Snowden's asylum
Vice President Joe Biden has asked Ecuador to turn down an asylum request from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the country's president said Saturday.
Rafael Correa, in a weekly television address, offered little sympathy for the Obama administration's view that Snowden is a criminal who should be swiftly returned to the U.S. At the same time, he vowed to seek American input on any asylum request and suggested Snowden will have to answer for his actions.
The Friday phone call between Correa and Biden — it's the highest-level conversation between the U.S. and Ecuador to be disclosed since Snowden began seeking asylum — added to the confusion about Snowden's status. Facing espionage charges in the U.S., Snowden is believed to be holed up in a Moscow airport's transit zone and seeking safe passage to Ecuador, the country seen as likeliest to shelter America's most wanted fugitive.
Julian Assange, founder of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, has been given asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London.
Correa said he had a "friendly and very cordial" conversation with Biden, and told the vice president that Ecuador hadn't sought to be put in the situation of deciding whether to harbor an American justice-dodger. He said Ecuador can't consider the asylum request until Snowden is on Ecuadorean soil.
"The moment that he arrives, if he arrives, the first thing is we'll ask the opinion of the United States, as we did in the Assange case with England," Correa said. "But the decision is ours to make."
White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan confirmed that the two leaders spoke by phone Friday and discussed Snowden, but she wouldn't disclose any details about the conversation.
A staunch critic of the U.S., Correa rebuked the Obama administration for hypocrisy, invoking the case of brothers Roberto and William Isaias, bankers whose extradition from the U.S. Correa said Ecuador has been seeking. "Let's be consistent. Have rules for everyone, because that is a clear double-standard here," he said.
The leftist leader sought to direct attention away from Snowden's actions and back to the U.S. spying secrets he exposed, summoning a theme he's invoked to the delight of his strongest backers since Snowden, a former NSA contractor, revealed the agency's massive Internet and phone surveillance to two newspapers, fleeing all the while from Hong Kong to Moscow in evasion of U.S. authorities.
"The really grave thing is what Snowden has reported," Correa said. "He will have to assume his responsibilities, but the grave thing is his reporting of the biggest massive spy operation in the history of humanity, inside and outside the United States."
Ecuadorean officials have acknowledged its embassy in London issued Snowden a letter of safe passage that calls on other countries to allow him to travel to asylum in Ecuador. But Ecuador's secretary of political management, Betty Tola, said the letter was invalid because it was issued without central government approval in Quito, the capital.
Obama and his aides have tempered their rhetoric about Snowden in recent days after more heated attempts to pressure China and Russia over his extradition raised tensions with those nations, threatening to undercut cooperation with the two major powers on other issues.
But Ecuador has seemed to delight in tweaking the U.S. over the issue, accusing America of human rights violations and blowing off warnings about how the U.S. might respond if Ecuador doesn't cooperate.
After the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on Wednesday threatened an effort to block renewal of Ecuador's tariff benefits on hundreds of millions of dollars in trade, Ecuador preemptively renounced the benefits themselves, claiming the trade deal had become "a new instrument of blackmail."
As for Biden, Correa suggested it wasn't personal. He praised the vice president for being more courteous than "those badly behaved and confused ones in the Senate who threaten our country."
Source-AP
Tension rises ahead of Egypt protest calling for Morsi's ouster
Organizers of a mass protest against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi claimed Saturday that more than 22 million people have signed their petition demanding the Islamist leader step down, asserting that the tally was a reflection of how much the public has turned against his rule.
The announcement adds to a sense of foreboding on the eve of opposition-led mass demonstrations that many fear could turn deadly and quickly spin out of control, dragging the country into a dangerous round of political violence.
The demonstrations planned for Sunday reflect the growing polarization of the nation since Morsi took power, with the president and his Islamist allies in one camp and seculars, liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians on the other.
There is a sense among opponents and supporters of Morsi that Sunday's rally is a make or break day. The opposition feels empowered by the petition, known as Tamarod, or Rebel, but it offered no proof regarding the figures. If verified, it would mean that nearly double the number of people who voted for Morsi a year ago are now calling for him to step down.
"Honestly, if (Sunday) is not a game changer, we might all just pack up our bags and leave," said Mahmoud Salem, a prominent blogger known by his blog's name Sandmonkey and a vocal critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails.
While violence is likely in such a tense atmosphere, Salem said it would not play out in favor of Morsi supporters because they will be outnumbered.
"They have alienated everybody," he said. Even if no violence breaks out, Salem said civil disobedience is expected in a movement designed now to "save the country."
Morsi's supporters, on the other hand, question the petitions, saying his opponents are led by members of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak who are trying to orchestrate a comeback and are instigating violence.
"Today and tomorrow will be the real birth of this nation," said Hani Salaheddin, a presenter on the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated TV station Misr 25, predicting that Sunday will bring an end to the questioning of Morsi's mandate.
"Tomorrow is the end of every corrupt person," he said, as the slogan "legitimacy (of the ballot box) is a red line," appeared on the screen.
Already, clashes across a string of cities north of Cairo over the past week have left eight people dead, including an American and a 14-year old, and hundreds injured. Clashes broke out outside offices of the Muslim Brotherhood and its party in at least five different governorates, and rival protests turned into violent confrontations.
Thousands are still taking part in rival sit-ins, in place since Friday in Tahrir Square for opponents and in an east Cairo suburb, Nasr City, for supporters of Morsi.
Source-AP
Thousands gather in Istanbul's to demand justice
Thousands of protesters returned to Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday, demanding justice for a demonstrator slain by police fire during demonstrations that have swept Turkey this month. Police later forced the protesters out of the square, pushing them back using their shields.
In the capital, Ankara, police fired tear gas and pressurized water to break up a similar protest by a group of about 200 people, the Dogan news agency reported.
Turkey has been hit by a wave of protests this month that were ignited by a brutal police crackdown on a peaceful environmental sit-in at a park near Taksim. The demonstrations soon turned into a wide outpouring of discontent with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Four people — three demonstrators and one police officer — have been killed and thousands injured.
The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent days, but thousands converged back on the square on Saturday, angry over a court decision this week that released a police officer from custody pending his trial for the killing of a protester in Ankara.
The protesters also denounced the killing of a Kurdish demonstrator by paramilitary police in a mainly Kurdish town on Friday.
Police allowed protesters to chant slogans for some two hours before issuing a warning for them to disperse. They then moved in, pushing the crowd away from the square. They arrested several people in the process, including some foreign nationals, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Earlier Saturday, hundreds in southeast Turkey attended the funeral of the Kurdish youth, who was shot while protesting the construction of a military post. Eight other people were injured in the same protest when security forces fired on them in the mainly Kurdish town of Lice.
The government said it had launched an investigation into the incident, which came as autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels are withdrawing from Turkey as part of peace talks with the Turkish government.
A rebel commander last week criticized Turkish government efforts to build new military posts amid the peace efforts.
Dwight Howard the biggest name available when NBA free agency opens
Dwight Howard could leave, Chris Paul is expected to stay, and plenty more will happen beyond Los Angeles when the NBA's free agency period opens.
Frontcourt players such as Josh Smith, David West, Andrew Bynum and Al Jefferson also can become free agents Monday at midnight EDT.
Howard heads the class after spending one largely unhappy season with the Lakers. They would like him back and can outspend other suitors by about $30 million, according to NBA rules, but teams such as Houston, Dallas and Atlanta will try to persuade him to take less money for more enjoyment.
He didn't fit right in Mike D'Antoni's offense and could end up with his third home in less than a year, having been dealt from Orlando to Los Angeles just last August.
Bynum was in that deal, too, going from the Lakers to Philadelphia in what was a four-team trade. He sat out all season because of knee problems and could leave without ever playing a game for the 76ers.
The Clippers are much happier with Paul, and he has plenty of reasons to stay in Los Angeles. The Clippers won their first Pacific Division title last season and will be coached now by Doc Rivers, who headed across the country after the Clippers sent a future first-round draft pick to Boston to let him out of his contract.
Players can agree to deals any time after free agency opens but can't sign until July 10, after next season's salary cap has been set.
That's when the blockbuster draft night trade that sent Kevin Garnett from Boston to Brooklyn will become official.
The more severe penalties in the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement now start to take effect, with stiffer luxury taxes and more restrictions on sign-and-trades.
Teams are chasing the two-time defending champion Miami Heat, who will try to hold onto key reserve Chris Andersen. The San Antonio Spurs, whom they beat in seven games in the NBA Finals, would see the end of their longtime Big Three if Manu Ginobili does not re-sign. Starter Tiago Splitter is a restricted free agent, so the Spurs can match an offer.
West helped Indiana take Miami to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals, and the Pacers would like to keep the veteran power forward. The versatile Smith (Atlanta) and the rugged Jefferson (Utah) also are available.
Key guards on the market include Olympian Andre Iguodala of Denver and Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith of New York.
Source: AP
Novak Djokovic cruises past Jeremy Chardy
World number one Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round of Wimbledon with victory over 28th seed Jeremy Chardy.
Djokovic made just three unforced errors on his way to a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over the Frenchman, who found his opponent unplayable.
The Serb, 26, lost just six points on his own serve, in a match which lasted one hour and 26 minutes, to send out a warning to the rest of the draw.
His last-16 opponent will be Tommy Haas, who beat Feliciano Lopez. Djokovic and Chardy's last meeting came at Wimbledon in 2011, when the eventual champion again made easy work of his opponent, winning 6-4 6-1 6-1.
"I felt very confident stepping onto the court but it's never easy against Chardy, he's a quality player," said Djokovic.
"Everything went my way. I haven't lost many points on my service game, I enjoyed it very much and it's very enjoyable when everything works well.
"Not many times on the grass against a big server do you get to return this well on what is the fastest surface."
Australian Bernard Tomic beat ninth seed Richard Gasquet to reach the fourth round for the second time.
Tomic, ranked 59 in the world, won 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a match which lasted two hours and 46 minutes.
The 20-year-old will next face seventh seed Tomas Berdych after he beat Kevin Anderson of South Africa 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-5.
Delano Williams seals England deal
Top Caribbean junior sprinter Delano Williams has completed the IAAF transfer allegiance and is now eligible to compete for the Great Britain (GB) & Northern Ireland (NI) team in international competition with immediate effect.
The announcement was made by British Athletics, which was later confirmed by the IAAF through its monthly bulletin issued this week.
The 2012 World Junior 200m champion, who holds dual citizenship for both Turks & Caicos and GB & NI, was previously eligible to compete for the British team at the Olympics due to TCI's status as a British overseas territory, but narrowly missed out on selection after competing at the British 2012 trials in June last year.
After 2012, Williams decided he wished to compete for GB & NI in all international competitions, and his immediate transfer was granted by IAAF last week, according to British Athletics.
"I am very pleased that my transfer of allegiance has been confirmed, and I am excited to be aiming towards a British team this summer," said Williams.
"Any athlete who saw the Olympics would feel an affinity with British fans as they showed how much they love the sport. I hope to receive a similar warm welcome in a British vest this season."
British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black welcomed Williams' transfer of allegiance.
"Delano is determined to earn a regular place on the team and to represent GB & NI every year rather than just in Olympics, and that shows exactly the right commitment.
"We very much look forward to working with him as he develops into a senior athlete. He is already a real talent and he will be vying for selection to the team for Moscow World Championships when he competes at the Sainsbury's British Championships in Birmingham in July."
England knocked out after Egypt defeat
England have been knocked out of the Under-20 World Cup at the group stage following a 2-0 defeat by Egypt.
Peter Taylor's side needed to win to reach the quarter-finals in Turkey but were beaten by late goals from Trezeget and Hassan Ahmed.
Their exit follows a disappointing performance from the Under-21s,who lost all three games at the European Championship.
England drew their first two matches - 2-2 with Iraq and 1-1 with Chile. Egypt goalkeeper Awad Mossad made fine saves from Larnell Cole, Conor Coady and Harry Kane to deny England a first-half lead.
Defender Eric Dier then cracked a 20-yard free-kick against the crossbar midway through the second half.
And England were punished for missed opportunities when Trezeget curled in a brilliant 80th minute strike before Ahmed added a second in injury time.
Following the game Taylor said: "I was disappointed with our performance in open play, but we created more chances."
And reflecting on the tournament he added: "We could have won our first match, we were 2-0 up and then I thought we played exceptionally well against Chile when we could have won too.
"I thought we would win tonight to be honest, because I thought we were improving as a team.
"I think we're very disappointed tonight because they didn't do as well but the experience of playing in the U20 World Cup will have been fantastic for everybody."
England have now gone 16 matches without a victory at the Under-20 World Cup - their last win was in 1997.
Australia complete victory over Somerset
Australia completed a routine victory over Somerset by mid-afternoon on the final day of their game at Taunton.
Chasing 260 to win, the tourists began day four on 36-0 against a weakened attack as tendonitis prevented paceman Jamie Overton from taking the field.
Ed Cowan (46) shared an opening stand of 86 with Usman Khawaja (73), who then added 76 with Phillip Hughes (50).
Spinner George Dockrell (3-78) delayed the victory charge but Brad Haddin (52 not out) won the match with a six.
Vice-captain Haddin raced to his half century from only 40 balls, hitting three fours from a Gemal Hussain over before hoisting Dockrell over the ropes for the second time to reach his fifty and secure his side's victory. Shane Watson, who had made 90 in the first innings, was not required to bat as the other batsmen - notably top scorer Khawaja - pressed their Ashes claims while Somerset toiled.
Hussain removed Cowan when he induced an edge to keeper Alex Barrow, but left-handers Khawaja and Hughes made their way to 153-1 by lunch before Dockrell began to profit from bowling into the rough outside off stump.
The Ireland left-arm spinner had Hughes dropped at short leg on 38 before Khawaja edged to captain Marcus Trescothick at slip.
As the Aussies pressed ahead, Dockrell bowled Hughes and Aussie skipper Michael Clarke (26) in successive overs as they tried to take him on, but Haddin saw the tourists home without further hindrance.
The Aussies now head to Worcester for their final warm-up before the Ashes - a four-day match beginning on Tuesday, where the hosts' batting line-up will be boosted by England opener Nick Compton.
Before then, England - without Compton, and with Joe Root opening in his place alongside captain Alastair Cook - take on Essex in a four-day game at Chelmsford, starting on Sunday.
Region urged to reduce deficits
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments have been told there must be sustained economic diversification if they are to successfully reduce their fiscal deficits.
Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart gave the advice as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 31st Annual Caribbean Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean.
He said it was imperative for the region to overcome some of the global challenges that had emerged, while continuing to maintain “a reasonably adequate safety net”, and social development system.
He outlined a six-pronged strategy, which, he said, would put the Caribbean back on a path of development and expansion.
Stuart, who the day earlier addressed a national consultation on the Barbadian economy, explained that the plan would involve diversifying the sources of “our economic drivers to align them more with faster growing areas of the world, through expanded and more intensive tourism marketing and product development”.
He said “expanded and more focused international business marketing, more and faster product development, increased labour content of our international business, and intensive work on the removal of foreign administrative hurdles to international business” would help Caribbean nations chart a path to recovery.
“We must restructure the energy basis of the economy and improve the competitiveness of production through greater energy efficiency; greater use of alternative renewable energy; an enhanced technological platform for the economy; and greater availability of requisite labour skills.
“We must improve the productive capacity of our economies through infrastructure development. We must rationalise and consolidate the fiscal sector by reducing wastage; cutting unnecessary programmes; confronting the ‘entitlement’ mentality in our countries; providing public goods and services more efficiently; and improving the facilitation role of Government,” he told the delegates.
Prime Minister Stuart said the economies of the Caribbean had suffered along with the rest of the world over the last six years from a generally low level of economic activity and had continued for this period because of increasing uncertainty about likely changes in global economic fortunes.
He said the global uncertainty had “badly shaken business and consumer confidence”, and as a consequence, there had been less investment and spending than usual throughout the world.
He said consequently regional states had to “shift the locus of investment and growth more towards the private sector”.
Stuart also suggested that both the public and private sectors needed to cooperate more on a regional basis on economic matters and deepen regional economic relations, by increasing regional cooperation in tourism and investment marketing, especially in new markets, in order to diversify the countries of origin of the economic drivers.
He said that this could be achieved by collaborating with airlines to increase intra-regional airlift and to increase and diversify airlift to the region; and by multi-destination marketing; tourism marketing and product development; international business marketing and product development.
Prime Minister Stuart also called for greater collaboration on security matters; more intra-regional trade in food; more intra-regional tourism; increased intra CARICOM trade in both goods and services, and more direct and portfolio investment in each other’s economies.
Figures released here show that Caribbean economies had been underperforming since 1990, with growth stagnating in the last two decades, except for commodity producers.
The figures show that since 2008, economic activity grew by less than one per cent in tourism oriented economies, and that slower economic growth was compounded by competitiveness issues, widening external current account deficits, declining share of world exports, and falling tourist arrivals and tourist receipts.