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Jacob Zuma: ANC leaders call NEC meeting for Wednesday

By: Admin on February 06, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com/2018/02/jacob-zuma-anc-leaders-call-nec-meeting.html
South Africa's ruling party has called a meeting of its top body for Wednesday, amid growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.
In a statement, the ANC said that the meeting was called to discuss the "management of the transition" between the Zuma and Ramaphosa administrations.
On Monday, senior politicians held an emergency meeting in Johannesburg to discuss Mr Zuma's future.
The president has resisted calls to quit over corruption allegations.
Mr Zuma, 75, was replaced as party leader in December, and his deputy and successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, would step into the presidency if he were recalled by the ANC.
An ANC spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the removal of President Zuma was not on the agenda at Monday's meeting.
The president, in power since 2009, is due to make a state of the nation address on Thursday, and some in the party want Mr Zuma to leave office ahead of that speech.
On Wednesday the ANC's National Executive Committee will meet.
If the committee agrees to recall Mr Zuma, the BBC's Andrew Harding says, it would be very hard for him to resist.
He might even face a no-confidence motion in parliament the next day, our correspondent adds.
Mr Zuma, who spent time in prison for his part in the fight against apartheid, met the ANC's top six on Sunday. They are said to have failed to convince him to stand aside.
Julius Malema, an opposition leader and former ANC member, said on Twitter that Mr Zuma had refused to go early.

Other unconfirmed reports from Sunday's meeting say that Mr Zuma asked for protection from prosecution for himself and his family.

Why does the ANC want to remove him?

Mr Zuma's presidency has been overshadowed by allegations of corruption.
In recent years his links to the wealthy India-born Gupta family, who are alleged to have influenced the government through their relationship with Mr Zuma, have caused his popularity to plummet. In South Africa, it has become known as "state capture".
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny the allegations.
Then there is also the country's struggling economy, with the unemployment rate rising to about 28%. 

What are the allegations against him?

  • 2005: Charged with corruption over multi-billion dollar 1999 arms deal - charges dropped shortly before he becomes president in 2009
  • 2016: Court orders he should be charged with 18 counts of corruption over the deal
  • 2005: Charged with raping family friend - acquitted in 2006
  • 2016: Court rules he breached his oath of office by using government money to upgrade private home in Nkandla - he has repaid the money
  • 2017: South Africa's public protector said he should appoint judge-led inquiry into allegations he profiteered from relationship with wealthy Gupta family - he denies allegations, as have the Guptas
  • 2018: Zuma approves inquiry

John Mahoney: British-born Frasier actor dies aged 77

By: Admin on February 05, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

https://zeshannews.blogspot.com
The British-born actor John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane in the US sitcom Frasier, has died aged 77.
He died on Sunday while in hospice care in Chicago.
Mahoney enjoyed a distinguished career in theatre, winning a Tony award, and had a long list of film and TV credits.
But he will be best remembered for playing the unpretentious, blunt father of Frasier and Niles Crane in the hit comedy, which ran for 11 seasons from 1993-2004.
Mahoney won a SAG award in 2000 for the role, and was also nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes.
Much of the comic spark in Frasier came from the relationship between the down-to-earth retired police officer Martin Crane and his pompous sons Frasier and Niles, played by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.

Evacuee childhood

Mahoney was born in Blackpool, where his pregnant mother had been evacuated to escape Nazi bombing raids.
He moved to the US as a young man, serving in the US army for three years, which he credits with eradicating his native British accent.
It was only in 40s that he became a professional actor, after actors John Malkovich and Gary Sinise invited him to join the new Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
He was a member of Steppenwolf for 39 years - and became a well-known part of the Chicago theatre scene.
The company announced on social media that Mahoney had passed away "due to complications from cancer".
"John was a beloved member of our Steppenwolf family who was known for his extraordinary kindness, generosity of spirit and quick smile," it said in a statement.
In a 2004 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said he preferred his theatre work to the high-profile national television scene, saying: "I don't care if I never go in front of a camera again."
He also lent his voice to a number of animated projects, including Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Iron Giant, and Antz.

'Remember him well'

Tributes to the actor have been pouring in. Actor Gary Sinise, who co-founded Steppenwolf, said: he remembered "so many wonderful plays together over the years. A wonderful actor, I'll never forget his 1985 performance in Orphans."
Jeff Greenberg, the casting director for Frasier, called him a "brilliant actor"
Director Greg Berlanti tweeted that Mahoney had been "so kind and supportive of me early in my career", helping to get the film The Broken Hearts Club made.
"He never wavered in his belief in me - a first time director," Berlanti wrote. "And he was even more kind than he was brilliant."
Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle in Frasier, tweeted a photo of Mahoney singing at her wedding

Cuba: Fidel Castro's son 'takes own life'

By: Admin on February 01, 2018 / comment : 0 , ,

The 68-year-old son of Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro has died in Havana after taking his own life, according to Cuban state media.
Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart was found on Thursday morning and is said to have suffered from depression.
The first-born son of the late president was nicknamed "Fidelito", or Little Fidel, because of the family resemblance.
He was a nuclear physicist, trained by the former Soviet Union.
"Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, who had been treated by a group of doctors for several months due to deep depression, took his life this morning," Cuba's official newspaper Granma reported.
State television said he had been receiving medical treatment as an outpatient in recent months, following a hospital stay.
At the time of his death, he was a scientific adviser for the Cuban Council of State and he served as vice president of Cuba's Academy of Sciences.
He headed the island's nuclear programme from 1980 to 1992, before it was suspended after the Soviet Union's collapse.

Castro Díaz-Balart was born during his father's brief first marriage to Mirta Díaz-Balart, the daughter of a prominent pre-revolution politician.
His maternal family went on to become prominent figures in the anti-Castro community in Florida. His cousin Mario Díaz-Balart is a US congressman.
The television announcement said his funeral would be planned by his family, but no further details were given.

'Dramatic' moment Putin critic detained

By: Admin on January 28, 2018 / comment : 0 ,



Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained by police in Moscow after joining a rally in support of a presidential election boycott.
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg witnessed the moment Mr Navalny was taken away by authorities.

Australia aims to become 'top 10' defence exporter

By: Admin on January 28, 2018 / comment : 1 ,

Australia has said it plans to become one of the world's top 10 defence industry exporters within a decade.
The nation currently sells about A$2bn (£1.15bn; $1.6bn) in defence equipment each year, making it the 20th largest arms exporter.
Manufacturers would now be offered government-backed loans to stimulate the industry, PM Malcolm Turnbull said.
Aid groups said the move would not help global efforts to build peace, an assertion rejected by the government.
The nation said it would primarily focus on boosting exports to the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, but it would also target markets in Asia and the Middle East.
"This is all about Australian jobs," Mr Turnbull told reporters on Monday, adding that "the goal is to get into the top 10".
The expansion includes setting up a A$3.8bn loan scheme to help Australian companies sell defence equipment overseas.
The government will also establish separate agencies to better co-ordinate and promote industry exports.

'Price of liberty'

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said prospective buyers would face stringent checks to ensure "[we] don't get into markets where we don't want to be".
Critics said Australia should not deepen its investment in defence exports.
"We should not be getting into the game of marketing weapons which kill, maim, and bring great sorrow and destruction to communities around the world," Marc Purcell, chief executive of Australian Council for International Development, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
However, Mr Turnbull said nations could not forgo defence spending because the "price of liberty is eternal vigilance".
"So that is why every nation, responsible nation, including our own, sets out to have the capabilities to defend itself, whatever and however circumstances may develop in the future," he said.
The US is the world's largest arms exporter, making up a third of all sales, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The next biggest exporters are Russia, China, France and Germany and the UK.

Steve Wynn: US casino mogul quits as Republican finance chair

By: Admin on January 27, 2018 / comment : 0 ,

US casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned as finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) amid sexual harassment allegations.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday alleged that the 76-year-old billionaire harassed massage therapists and forced one staff member to have sex with him.
Mr Wynn has denied wrongdoing, calling the stories "preposterous".
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel told US media she had accepted his resignation.
Mr Wynn has blamed his ex-wife, whom he is fighting in court, for the "slander".
"The instigation of these accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife Elaine Wynn, with whom I am involved in a terrible and nasty lawsuit," the billionaire said in a statement that his public relations team sent to the BBC on Friday.

What he is accused of

According to the Wall Street Journal, which said it had interviewed dozens of people who worked with Mr Wynn, he is accused of engaging in a pattern of abuse in which he often harassed massage therapists while alone in his private office.
The gambling industry giant paid $7.5m (£5.2m) to one manicurist who alleged she had been forced into sex by Mr Wynn, the paper claims citing court documents.
  • Why the US has so many sexual harassment cases in the US?
Female employees would fake appointments in order to avoid seeing him, or enlist others to pretend to be their assistants in order to avoid being alone with him.
Some would even hide in bathrooms or closets if they heard he was coming to their salon, the paper claimed.

Democrats attack Republican 'silence'

Mr Wynn is also a Republican Party donor and fundraiser.
After harassment allegations were made against Hollywood executive producer Harvey Weinstein last year, Ms McDaniel and other leading Republicans called for the Democratic Party to return his donations.
Now some Democrats are asking if the same rules should apply regarding allegations against Mr Wynn.
The Democratic National Committee has attacked the RNC for remaining silent.
In an October statement, Ms McDaniel wrote: "If Democrats and the DNC truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no brainer." 

Who is Steve Wynn?

  • The son of an East Coast bingo parlour operator, he is now worth an estimated $3.5bn, according to Forbes magazine
  • He made his fortune in construction and operation of major Las Vegas casinos, including the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio, all of which he later sold to MGM Grand Inc
  • He has been locked in legal battles with his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn, for more than seven years. The pair co-founded Wynn Resorts
  • He famously accidentally elbowed a hole in the middle of his Picasso painting when preparing to sell it for a record $139m (£74m) in 2016

There have been 11 US school shootings this year. Is it time to arm teachers?

By: Admin on January 27, 2018 / comment : 0 ,

Two schoolchildren died on Tuesday and 14 others suffered bullet wounds when a classmate opened fire outside a school in Benton, Kentucky. It was the third US school shooting in 48 hours and the 11th in the three weeks since the start of the year.
The victims were Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. A 15-year-old boy was arrested and charged with the attack.
The story fell somewhere into the middle of the day's news agenda. "Americans have accepted these common atrocities as part of life here," wrote one commenter on the New York Times website. "Another day, another shooting spree, and no political will to do anything about it."
But there is political will building behind a certain sort of gun legislation — reforms that aim to increase, rather than decrease, the number of firearms in schools and other public buildings, and arm teachers and school staff as a means of defence.
Hours after the shooting in Kentucky, Republican State Senator Steve West rushed to file a bill that would allow Kentucky schools to have armed school marshals patrol the site. His bill joins another in the state which seeks to loosen gun restrictions around college campuses.
The bill received cross-party support from state Democratic Senator Ray Jones. "We need armed officers in every school in Kentucky," he said. "That is a small price to pay if it saves one child's life."
Mr West's bill received cross-party support from state Democratic Senator Ray Jones. "We need armed officers in every school in Kentucky," he said. "That is a small price to pay if it saves one child's life."
The bill joins a raft of state legislation in recent years designed at putting more guns in schools. Most recently, the Michigan State Senate passed a bill in November which would allow teachers at primary, middle and high schools to carry a concealed handgun in class. Similar bills have been filed this year in Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia.
If successful, those states would join at least nine that already allow some form of concealed carry in high schools. Each school shooting prompts fresh calls for more guns, and opponents say lobby groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) are putting significant resources behind trying to make them a success.

Good guys, bad guys

Efforts to arm teachers and school staff were jumpstarted in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six teachers died. Facing a public outcry at the massacre, and renewed calls for gun control, the NRA pushed heavily in the opposite direction.
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun," said the NRA's Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre a week after the shooting, and the catchphrase morphed into a key legislative priority for the NRA — removing safe zones and getting "good guys" with guns into schools and public buildings
The lobby group published a report calling for armed officers or staff in every school in America, and in 2013, the year after Sandy Hook, seven states enacted laws permitting teachers or school staff to carry guns.
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