Vaxjo, Sweden, 05/03/2012

Ref: RPP/CE/VP-01/1743/MCM/RF12/05/JVK-VP03

H.E. President, Vladimir Putin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 President-Elect of Russia

Dear Your Excellency, Vladimir Putin

Both personally and on behalf of my party, the Rwanda People’s Party, I would like to express my most sincere congratulations upon your re-election for another 6-year terms as President of  Russia.   At this time I wish to call upon all opposition parties to accept the results and move-on to prepare themselves for the next 2018 presidential and general elections.

It is my hope that your third term as President of Russia will provide an opportunity to strengthen the political, social and economic prosperity for the resilient people of Russia.

We believe it is in the utmost interest of the RPP to partner with your government to expand our collaboration, build on our common goals and promote freedom and democracy in our sister countries.

In the true spirit of unity and collaboration we are convinced that in working together we can achieve these goals.

You are truly deserving of the victory you have received from the people of the Russia in the most recent election.

We are sure that Russia as a nation and a people will greatly continue to benefit from your wisdom and forward thinking leadership.

Yours faithfully,

John V KARURANGA, President

Rwanda People’s Party

Facebook: Rwanda Peoples Party

The African Union on Tuesday extended the mandate of its top official Jean Ping after an election, in which he was challenged by South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, deadlocked. "We have decided to prolong the mandate of the current commission until the next summit in Lilongwe Malawi" in June, bloc chairman, Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, said at the end of a two-day summit in Addis Ababa.

I told my son not to take after me; break tradition chains, remove old edicts, and create new rituals. Take after Mandela, Gates, Jobs, or Einstein. Take after someone who has changed the world. You and your peers across Zambia must create razor sharp focus and straighten the curvature of African history by doing something spectacular, something that will bring pride to Africans. Look at a piece of metal and bend it with the power of your will. Cast it into innovation so the world can see. You all can do it!

Uranium miner Paladin Energy on Tuesday reported a net loss of $120.2-million for the six months to the end of December, as it wrote down the value of its Kayelekera mine in Malawi.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $41 million funding to improve the employment prospects of graduates and students in Malawi through training and skills development.

Johannesburg – The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF) have launched a landmark case in the North Gauteng High Court to compel South Africa to abide by its legal obligations to investigate and prosecute high level Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity.

They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.

In a speech spouting western views on gay rights, The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon over the weekend insulted African leaders by suggesting they ignore long standing traditions and upbringing to support call by the west for the legalization of homosexuality on the continent. To add insult to injury, this was at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Africa is on the brink of a major transformation. Over the last decade, the continent was home to six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies, and the outlook for the region remains bright at a time when the rest of the world is facing major political and economic challenges. However, attaining Africa’s aspirations in a new global context will require bold and actionable ideas, as well as strong leadership on regional, national and industry levels.

I’m going to tell you a secret. It’s not a very well-kept secret, but it’s one that most South Africans don’t know. So here it is: the rest of Africa doesn’t like us very much. Being a South African in Africa is like being an American in the rest of the world. We’re looked upon with a mix of envy and resentment, our wealth and power relative to the rest of the continent ensuring that most of the time we get our way.

Following a deadlock during last week's Monday of African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Homa Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and current and outgoing chairperson, Jean Ping of Gabon, the caucus agreed to meet in Malawi in June for a decider.

27 January 2012 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appealed today for $1.28 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to children in over 25 countries this year, with nearly one-third of the total amount earmarked for the crisis in the Horn of Africa.

According to business news reports Rosalind Brewer has been named CEO of Sams Club.

Brewer, 49, is replacing Brian Cornell, 52, who is leaving the company so he can return to the Northeast for family reasons.Prior to joining Wal-Mart, Brewer held a number of executive positions at Kimberly-Clark Corp.

On 20^th October 2011, Africa lost one of its longest serving dictators. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s 42 year rule came to a mild halt mid August and he was eventually killed 2 months later in his hometown of Sirt, which was also the last of his strong-holds. His son Mutassim was also killed that day. They were both captured alive but it’s still not clearly known who gave the captors a ‘go-ahead’ signal to put bullets on the two Gaddafis’. To most Libyans it marked the end of the 8 month-war between NATO and Libya though the National Transition Council may come in to claim it was their victory.

The US and its Allies are Positioned to "Take" Much of the Continent

As the U.S. and its NATO allies move southward to further consolidate their grip on Africa, following the seizure of Libya and its vast oil fields, most of the continent’s leadership seems to welcome re-absorption into empire. “Africa is the most vulnerable region in America’s warpath, a continent ripe for the plucking due to the multitudinous entanglements of Africa’s political and military classes with imperialism.” AFRICOM is already in the cat-bird seat, placed there by Africans, themselves.

Paladin (Africa) Limited, owner and operator of the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga District, northern Malawi, wishes to inform the people of Malawi of its position in relation to comments made during the past week by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Dr. Perks Ligoya.

Do African immigrants make the smartest Americans? The question may sound outlandish, but if you were judging by statistics alone, you could find plenty of evidence to back it up. In a side-by-side comparison of 2000 census data by sociologists including John R. Logan at the Mumford Center, State University of New York at Albany, black immigrants from Africa averaged the highest educational attainment of any population group in the country, including whites and Asians.

Paladin Energy Ltd ("Paladin" or "the Company") (TSX:PDN)(ASX:PDN) notes that, on Friday, 25 November, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Dr Perks Ligoya, made some statements which have caused the Global Investment Community some concern in relation to Paladin and its considerable investment in Malawi. His remarks regarding renegotiation the Development Stability Agreement (DSA) were reported by many news outlets.

Press Release

WASHINGTON, November 28, 2011—As the United Nations conference on climate change opens in South Africa, a new World Bank study demonstrates that women, when fully empowered, can be an important force for change as countries and citizens grapple with the impacts of climate change and prepare to adapt to them.

For immediate release:

Washington D.C. – As Greece edges closer to default, confidence in the Euro and the dollar declines and global food prices soar, ActionAid called on G20 finance and development ministers meeting today to put serious reforms in motion.

Although global food security is among the top agenda items for today’s meeting, there are serious concerns that despite continued hikes in the price of staple foods, ministers will not take steps to prevent the trend from becoming another global food crisis.

“Ministers must approve the pilot program for emergency food reserves in West Africa,” says Marie Brill, Senior Policy Analyst for ActionAid USA. “These food reserves could be the difference between life and death for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people. At the same time, the whole range of steps to reduce food price volatility, including buffer stock deployment, must be further explored.”

ActionAid notes that the G20 has thus far been supportive of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which channels support to the smallholders and women farmers who supply most of the food in Africa and other regions.  But Neil Watkins, Director of Policy and Campaigns for ActionAid USA adds, “Warm words aren't enough - with food prices on the rise and hunger rising unabated we are calling on additional donors to fill the remaining needs by pledging support for the GAFSP’s public sector window now.”

Eroding confidence in both the dollar and the euro mean that the danger of financial crisis will not fade until serious reform of the international monetary system are underway. Soren Ambrose, ActionAid’s International Policy Manager, says “A well-functioning global economy should use a neutral global reserve currency to eliminate distortions. Initiating an orderly global process now would avert a rushed and chaotic one later. ”

ActionAid is also calling on ministers to address tax policy and domestic resource mobilization so that poor countries can better weather the crisis. “The G20 needs to take decisive action to put a stop to the financial abuses made possible by shadow banking systems and tax havens,” says Watkins. “The G20 needs to stop letting corporations off the hook from paying taxes in countries they are operating in.”

###

ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in 50 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty and injustice together. Together with more than 2,000 civil society partners worldwide, ActionAid works with and supports the poorest and most vulnerable people to fight for and gain their rights to food, shelter, work, basic healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. View the website at www.actionaidusa.org.