"Africa vies for agreement on stronger UN role"

IMF gives Zimbabwe reprieve
Out of the 184 member-countries, four - representing 31,33 percent of the votes - voted for Zimbabwe's expulsion while 19 directors - representing 179 countries - voted in favour of Zimbabwe.

Africa vies for agreement on stronger UN role
The diplomatic jostling for an African voice at the UN Security Council heads into overdrive when 15 African foreign ministers try to come to agreement next week on Africa's place at the top echelon of the United Nations.

Thatcher answers to Equatorial Guinea prosecutors
Mark Thatcher appeared in court in South Africa on Friday to answer questions from prosecutors in Equatorial Guinea over an alleged foiled coup there early last year.

Cosatu Pushes Ahead With Zim Border Blockade
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is to blockade Zimbabwe's borders early next month as part of an intensive protest campaign to press for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe on 31 March, an official told IRIN.

Non-racialism the priority - Mbeki
President Thabo Mbeki pledged on Thursday to continue leading South Africa on the path of non-racialism, cohesion and reconciliation. Replying in the National Assembly to points raised during debate on his state-of-the-nation address, Mbeki said the goal of transformation away from South Africa's racist past, while simultaneously pursuing the objectives of national reconciliation and cohesion, had to be realised.

SA will not appeal nuclear plant suspension
South Africa's department of environmental affairs said today it will not appeal a court decision suspending a government plan to develop a highly advanced nuclear power reactor near Cape Town. Instead, it said it will address the court's concerns, which include allowing environmental groups more time to make their views heard.

US to boost military co-operation with SA
The United States plans to step up military co-operation with South Africa in 2005, the current edition of the Africa Armed Forces Journal reports.

False Pride of the 'super outlaw state'
Of all the war crimes committed by America, the mass murder of millions of Native American Indians stands out as one of the most poignant examples of genocide in human history. In 1838 Government troops enforcing the "Indian Removal Act", captured or killed every Cherokee American in North Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama.

What do the imperial mafia really want?
After what was humorously designated an "election" in Iraq, there was a marked increase in calls for the United States to announce a timetable for withdrawal from that unhappy land. Senator Kennedy, The Brookings Institution, and a British government official were amongst numerous of the influential class to propose such action. The rationale behind the timing of these requests, one would assume, is that now that Iraq has displayed a measure of what the White House calls "democracy", the United States can and should declare, once again, "mission accomplished" and leave, without loss of face.

Sword Play
"You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force ... the public to turn to the state to ask for greater security."

Bush to Sign Bill Curbing Lawsuits
President Bush is wasting no time signing a bill that he says will curtail multimillion-dollar class action lawsuits against companies. The first legislative triumph of Bush's second term is a historic step toward "breaking one of the main shackles holding back our economy and America's work force — lawsuit abuse," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

The House approved the bill by a 279-149 vote Thursday as businesses finally saw success after a decade of efforts to reduce their legal liability from cases where a single person or a small group can represent the interests in court of many thousands of people. While businesses failed to get the measure to apply to suits already in the courts, Bush planned to offer immediate help by signing the bill Friday.