S.Africa to overhaul visa rules after tourism slump

Yahoo – AFP, October 23, 2015

People walk on the beach in the upmarket suburb of Camps Bay, one of the most
popular tourist destinations in Cape Town, on January 11, 2014 (AFP Photo/
Rodger Bosch)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa said Friday it will overhaul its controversial new visa regulations after the tourist arrivals fell by six percent earlier this year, the biggest decline in six years.

Introduced in June, the new rules demanded that visitors apply for visas in person at South African embassies to have their biometric information taken.

But after months of digging in its heels, the Department of Home Affairs has announced it would ease these restrictions.

"In countries where there is no South African mission, the Department of Home Affairs will receive applications, including by post, and capture biometrics of travellers on arrival at ports of entry," the government's statement said.

"To address concerns around the geographical spread of countries like China, India and Russia, certain measures will be put in place to ease the process of application, in particular for tourists."

The decision comes after President Jacob Zuma established a committee in August to investigate reports that the tourism industry had been badly impacted by the change.

Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said in July figures for the first quarter of the year showed a "worrying drop".

According to Statistic South Africa, tourists from China decreased by 38 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous period in 2014. India was down by 13 percent.

The six-percent decline in overall tourist arrivals was the biggest fall since 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

The regulations still require children from non-visa-exempt countries to travel with unabridged birth certificates in addition to their passports when entering or leaving the country.

The rule has caused widespread confusion, but Home Affairs has strongly defended the measure as necessary in the fight against child trafficking.

The department is also considering the introduction of long-term multiple entry visas for frequent travellers.

South Africa is one of the leading tourism destinations in Africa, with officials aiming to attract 12 million international tourists by 2018.

Zambia president seeks God's help to halt currency freefall

Yahoo – AFP, October 18, 2015

Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu looks on as thousands of Zambians rally

to pray against the depreciation of the country's currency and economic crisis at the

Show grounds in the capital city Lusaka on October 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Salim Dawood)

Lusaka (AFP) - Zambia's President Edgar Lungu prayed to God to "heal" his country's ailing currency on Sunday, with bars shut and football matches cancelled on a national day of prayer to end a record slump.

Lungu ordered the prayer session last month after the kwacha fell 45 percent against the dollar since the start of the year due to a sharp drop in the price of copper, the country's main export.

Food prices have soared and crippling power shortages have also been triggered by low water-levels in Lake Kariba, where hydropower plants supply much of the country's electricity.

The kwacha's 45-percent slump against the dollar this year has been the worst of all 155 currencies tracked by Bloomberg news service.

"Our God has heard our cries, he has forgiven us our sins and we are sure he will heal our country (as) we face serious social-economic challenges," Lungu told a gathering of some 5,000 Zambians, including former presidents Kenneth Kaunda and Rupiah Banda.

He also appealed to Zambians with "brilliant ideas" to come forward and assist the government.

"There are many out there who have brilliant ideas, let them come forward, we run an open government," he told the crowd in the Zambian capital Lusaka.

"We should never seek political success on the back of our national failure or disaster. It is our people who will suffer," he said.

"You all know that God is love and I appeal to all of you to do the best and leave the rest to God."

Kaunda, Zambia's founding president, meanwhile prayed that God would help Lungu solve the country's woes.

"God continue to help us solve the problems this young man may face in future," said Kaunda as he placed his hand on Lungu's head.

The Zambian football association postponed all of Sunday's games and the government had announced that bars should not open until 6:00 pm.

Critics of the government have accused Lungu of failing to tackle the causes of country's economy troubles, saying that the prayer day was a distraction.

During the session Bishop Peter Ndlobvu hit back at the critics.

"The Bible says gold and silver belong to God. If we pray, God will restore our economy" he said.

Thousands march against corruption in S.Africa

Yahoo – AFP, 14 Oct 2015

A member of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)

 waves a baton during an anti-corruption rally in Johannesburg, on October 14, 

2015 (AFP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia)

Johannesburg (AFP) - Several thousand demonstrators marched through Johannesburg on Wednesday to protest against government corruption as public anger builds over South Africa's weakening economy.

The rally was led by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA), which has become a powerful voice of opposition to President Jacob Zuma and the ruling Africa National Congress (ANC) party.

Banners held by demonstrators read "Away with corruption. Away with Zuma government" and "Corruption taxes the poor. We say tax the rich."

"We see a very direct relationship between corruption and the state of our economy, which results in us losing jobs in the thousands," Zwelinzima Vavi, one of the organisers, told cheering crowds.

"Thirteen million people go to bed every night without anything to eat, while 50 percent of workers are earning below the poverty line. We have had enough."

According to the latest International Monetary Fund forecasts, economic growth will fall to just 1.4 percent this year in South Africa and will decline again next year.

A tumbling rand and unreliable electricity supplies have added to the country's woes, with business confidence now at its lowest level since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Zuma's private residence has become a symbol of alleged government misspending after $24 million (21 million euros) was used on "security" improvements to the sprawling homestead.

"Zuma has brought a culture of corruption into this country," Enoch Mthembu, a 50-year-old unemployed man from KwaZulu-Natal province, told AFP at the march.

Several thousand demonstrators hold an anti-corruption rally in Johannesburg, 

on October 14, 2015 (AFP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia)

"We used to think he is the guy who would liberate us, the poor. But he decided to become a thief."

Zuma led the ANC to an easy victory in last year's general election, but could face defeats in several cities at municipal elections in 2016.

Last week, he admitted that the party was seen as having a corruption problem and was losing support after being in power since 1994.

The ANC is due to choose a new leader in 2017, with the battle likely to be between deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and Zuma's ex-wife and current African Union Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Two weeks ago another march in nearby Pretoria also attracted thousands of marchers in what civil society activists hoped would develop into a broad-based campaign against corruption.

Tunisia activists win Nobel Peace Prize in boost to fledgling democracy

Yahoo – AFP, Hazel Ward, 9 Oct 2015

President of the Tunisian Human Rights League, Abdessattar Ben Moussa, in Tunis

 on October 9, 2015 after he was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize with other 

members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)

Oslo (AFP) - Tunisian civil society groups won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for helping rescue the only democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring, in a hugely symbolic show of support for the country after a wave of jihadist attacks.

The award won praise from around the globe, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon hailing the groups' work as "an inspiration to the region and the world" while one winner said it was a tribute to those who had died in the struggle to move from dictatorship to democracy.

Announcing the award in Oslo, Nobel committee chairwoman Kaci Kullman Five saluted the quartet's "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011."

The quartet had succeeded in establishing a "broad-based national dialogue" and must be given much of the credit "for ensuring that the benefits of the Jasmine Revolution have not been lost," she said.

President of the Tunisian employers union (UTICA), Wided Bouchamaoui, in her

 office in Tunis on October 9, 2015, after she was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize 

with other members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee hopes that this year's prize will contribute towards safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world," the panel said.

The prize was awarded nearly five years after a desperate Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire, touching off a wave of unrest which left more than 300 people dead and eventually toppled the dictatorial president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, inspiring uprisings across the region.

Formed in 2013 when the process of democratisation was in danger of collapsing because of widespread social unrest, the quartet established an alternative, peaceful political process as Tunisia was on the brink of civil war, the committee said.

It is made up of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

The honour took observers by surprise as the Tunisians had not been mentioned in the weeks of frenzied speculation in the runup to the announcement.

Tunisian General Labour Union secretary general, Houcine Abassi, speaks with

 journalists at his office in Tunis on October 9, 2015, after he was awarded the 2015

 Nobel Peace Prize with other members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet 

(AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)

A people's honour

The UN chief said the award also belonged to the Tunisian people.

"This recognition belongs to all those who gave birth to the Arab Spring and are striving to safeguard the sacrifices of so many," he said.

"The Arab Spring began with great hopes that were soon replaced with grave doubts. Tunisia has managed to avoid the disappointment and dashed hopes that have tragically emerged elsewhere."

The winners themselves were quick to recall the cost in human life, with the country's powerful labour union saying it was a "tribute to martyrs of a democratic Tunisia".

"This effort by our youth has allowed the country to turn the page on dictatorship," said UGTT chief Houcine Abassi in words echoed by fellow winner, the UTICA trade confederation.

"We are here... to give hope to young people in Tunisia that if we believe in our country, we can succeed," UTICA head Ouided Bouchamaoui said.

On the streets of Tunis, people welcomed the Nobel as a boost for democracy.

Tunisian lawyer Fadhel Mahfoudh poses at the courthouse in the capital Tunis on 

October 9, 2015, after he was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize with other

members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)

"It's an encouragement for the parties in opposition and those in power so they can believe in democracy and not just grab power," Tunis resident Shukri ben Nasif told AFP.

'A very important example'

Since the Tunisia uprising, the Arab world has been rocked by massive upheaval that has toppled leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen and plunged Syria into a brutal civil war.

Tunisia was able to adopt a constitution in January 2014 and held its first democratic elections at the end of last year.

But its democracy remains fragile, with the country rocked by a series of high-profile political killings and bloody recent attacks by Islamic State militants that killed 22 people, mostly tourists, at a Tunis museum in March, and another 38 foreigners in a beach resort massacre in June.

In an interview with AFP after the announcement, the Nobel committee chief said the quartet's work proved that political compromise between secular and Islamist groups could result in meaningful democracy.

A photo taken on March 29, 2015 shows Tunisians waving their national flag and 

chanting slogans during a march against extremism outside Tunis' Bardo Museum

(AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)

"It is possible, it has been done and it can be done again if the people forming different political movements -- either Islamists or secular -- want to cooperate in the best interest of their people," Kullman Five said.

"This has been a very, very important result that we think is an example."

As Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi said his country had "no other solution than dialogue, despite ideological disagreements", EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the quartet's work had shown the region "the way out" its crises -- through national unity and democracy.

France's President Francois Hollande said it "rewards the success of the democratic transition" and British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tunisia was a "beacon of hope" for the region.

The prize will be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

WHO: No new Ebola cases in West Africa last week

The World Heath Organization has reported no new cases of Ebola in West Africa last week. The health body has said this is the first time there have been no new cases for a week since the outbreak spread in March 2014.

Deutsche Welle, 8 Oct 2015

The World Health Organization has said there were no new cases of Ebola reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the week to October 4, the first time since March 2014 a week has passed without any new cases being reported.

The healthy body said in a report on Wednesday that there "remains a near-term risk of further cases" of the deadly virus, which has killed 11,297 people out of 28,421 infected since the outbreak began.

Over 500 contacts remain under follow-up in #Guinea. There is still risk of further #Ebola cases https://t.co/ynpg1HaJHq

— WHO (@WHO) 7 oktober 2015

There have been less than 10 confirmed cases per week for the past 11 weeks across the West African countries, while instances of transmission have been geographically limited to small areas. WHO said this marks "a transition to a distinct, third phase of the epidemic."

In Guinea, more than 500 people remain under follow-up and some 290 people who may have had contact with someone infected with the virus remain untraceable, WHO said.

Sierra Leone has gone three consecutive weeks without a new case of Ebola. The last person to receive treatment in the country was released on September 26, but two high risk contacts remain untraced. The country must now wait 42 days to be declared free of the virus.

Liberia was declared free of Ebola on September 3.

Related Article:

"Revelations of Darkness" - Oct 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ .. The Role of Gaia in Human Consciousness

One of those times might be frightening for you to know about, since it was a full cooperation with Gaia for your termination, and a pandemic almost wiped humanity off the map. A pandemic! Now, you say, "What has that got to do with Human consciousness, Kryon?" Pay attention, dear ones, because this is the day where the teaching was given by my partner, and he put together the Nine Human Attributes. One of the attribute sets included three Gaia attributes and one of them was the consciousness of the planet. Gaia is related to Human consciousness!

Are you starting to connect the dots? You are connected to this planet in a profound and spiritual way. As goes humanity goes the planet's consciousness. Gaia, Mother Nature, whatever you want to call it, cooperates with Human consciousness. If you spend 1,000 years killing each other, then Gaia will do its best to cooperate with your desires! Gaia will look at Human consciousness and try to help with what you have shown you like to do! Did you know this role of Gaia with you? It's a partner with you, fast tracking what you give to it. You may wish to review what the indigenous of the planet still understand. Gaia is a partner!

Pandemic: Don't you find it odd that in the last 50 years, when you have a population of seven billion Human Beings, with up to 2,000 airplanes in the air at any given moment, going between almost every conceivable place, that there has not been a pandemic in your lifetime? There have been five starts of potential pandemics over the last 20 years, yet none became serious. Did any of you put this together? Dear ones, when the world was far less populated a few hundred years ago, with no mass travel to spread a virus, there were still millions wiped out by a pandemic. With the increased population and mass travel, there is far more danger today than before. It doesn't make sense, does it? What happened to stop it?

When you know humanity's relationship to Gaia, it makes sense. Gaia is a life-force that is your partner, watching you change the balance of light and dark and reflecting what Humans want. It has polarity, too! Perhaps it's time to start your meditations with thanking your planet Earth for supporting you in the spirituality of your Akash, for always being with you, a life-force that is always present. The ancients started their ceremonies in that way. Have you forgotten?

Ebola

Now, I've just set the stage for the next subject, haven't I? Ebola. Are you afraid yet? Gaia is a life-force that is a part of Human consciousness. My partner put it on the screen today so you could see the connections [during the lecture series]. Now it's time to connect the dots. Dear one, Gaia is in the battle, too, for here comes something scary that you haven't had in your lifetime and you're afraid of it - the potential of a pandemic on the planet.

There's a very famous film that has some dialogue that my partner will quote. Some of you will know it and some of you won't, but here it is: "Have a little fire, scarecrow?" What are you afraid of? Darkness? Gaia is in the battle with you and is actively pursuing solutions through light. The energy of the planet is with you in this fight! The ebola virus is a shock and a surprise. It is propelled by ignorance and fear, so it can flourish. Look at where it started and look at how it gets its ability to continue. It expands its fear and power easily with those who believe it's a curse instead of those who understand the science.

Villages are filled with those who refuse to leave their family members because they believe the disease is a curse! FEAR! Instead of understanding that they should be in isolation from the virus, the family dies together through ignorance and fear. This represents how darkness works. Are you going to become afraid also? Dear ones, ebola will be conquered. Know this and be at peace. Pray for light for those in the villages who are afraid, that they can know more about how to keep the spread of this disease and live to see their families. .”