Mandela spends sixth day in hospital

1 April 2013 Last updated at 04:11 ET

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People in South Africa are following Mandela's recovery closely

Former President Nelson Mandela is spending a sixth day in hospital where he is being treated for a recurring bout of pneumonia.

Doctors reported "a further improvement in his condition", South Africa's presidency announced earlier.

In a statement on Sunday evening, it said the 94-year-old "had a restful day" and continued to be treated.

This latest spell in hospital, which began on Wednesday evening, is his fourth in just over two years.

There are no details yet on much longer he will stay there.

Mr Mandela first contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained on windswept Robben Island.

His lungs are said to have been damaged while working in a prison quarry.

Prayers 'for Madiba'

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• 1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
• 1943 Joins African National Congress
• 1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped
• 1962 Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
• 1964 Charged again, sentenced to life
• 1990 Freed from prison
• 1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
• 1994 Elected first black president
• 1999 Steps down as leader
• 2004 Retires from public life
• 2005 Announces his son has died of an HIV/Aids-related illness

Over the weekend, churches across the country held prayers for Mr Mandela, who led the struggle against apartheid.

President Jacob Zuma thanked "the thousands of South Africans who prayed for Madiba at various Easter church services".

Madiba is Mandela's clan name and is widely used to refer to him.

At the Regina Mundi church in Soweto - once a focal point of the anti-apartheid struggle - several hundred people gathered to pray for Mr Mandela.

Another service, at Midvaal - south of Johannesburg - was attended by a grand-daughter of the former leader, Ndileka Mandela.

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Mac Maharaj said Nelson Mandela was ''making further progress''

On Saturday, Mr Zuma's office said Mr Mandela was breathing without difficulty and that excess fluid had been drained from his lungs.

The hospital Mr Mandela is attending has not been disclosed.

Last December Mr Mandela was treated for a lung infection and gallstones - his longest period in hospital since leaving prison in 1990.

In February, he was treated for a stomach condition.

Mr Mandela served as South Africa's first black president from 1994 to 1999 and is regarded by many as the father of the nation for leading the struggle against apartheid.

Despite his long imprisonment, Mr Mandela forgave his former enemies and as president urged South Africans of all races to work together and seek reconciliation.

In 1993 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

His main home is in Qunu, a small rural village in Eastern Cape province, where he says he spent the happiest days of his childhood.

However, doctors said in December he should remain at his home in the Johannesburg neighbourhood of Houghton to be close to medical facilities.

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Melt 'causes Antarctic sea ice rise'

1 April 2013 Last updated at 06:12 ET

Climate change is expanding Antarctica's sea ice, according to a scientific study in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The paradoxical phenomenon is thought to be caused by relatively cold plumes of fresh water derived from melting beneath the Antarctic ice shelves.

This melt water has a relatively low density, so it accumulates in the top layer of the ocean.

The cool surface waters then re-freeze more easily during Autumn and Winter.

This explains the observed peak in sea ice during these seasons, a team from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) in De Bilt says in its peer-reviewed paper.

Climate scientists have been intrigued by observations that Antarctic sea ice shows a small but statistically significant expansion of about 1.9% per decade since 1985, while sea ice in the Arctic has been shrinking over past decades.

The researchers from the KNMI suggest the "negative feedback" effect outlined in their study is expected to continue into the future.

They tried to reproduce the observed changes in a computer-based climate model.

The sea ice expanded during Southern Hemisphere autumn and winter in response to the development of this fresh, cool surface layer, which floated on the denser, warmer salty sea water below.

This fresh water is ultimately derived from enhanced melting at the base of the Antarctic ice shelves.

"Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing despite the warming global climate," said the study's lead author Richard Bintanja, from the KNMI.

"This is caused by melting of the ice sheets from below," he told the Reuters news agency.

But there are other plausible explanations for Antarctic sea-ice expansion.

Paul Holland of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) stuck to his findings last year that a shift in winds linked to climate change was blowing ice away from the coast, allowing exposed water in some areas to freeze and make yet more ice.

"The possibility remains that the real increase is the sum of wind-driven and melt water-driven effects, of course. That would be my best guess, with the melt water effect being the smaller of the two," he told the London Science Media Centre.

The study in Nature Geoscience also asserts that the cool melt water layer may limit the amount of water sucked from the oceans that falls as snow on Antarctica. Cold air can hold less moisture than warm air.

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Tanker bomb attack at Iraq police HQ

1 April 2013 Last updated at 06:49 ET

A suicide attacker has blown up a tanker lorry at the police HQ in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing at least seven people, officials say.

A majority of the casualties and injured are thought to have been police officers, AFP news agency reports.

The city, which lies 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, was the hometown of ex-leader Saddam Hussein.

Violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but bombings are still common.

Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda have vowed to step up attacks on Shia and official targets this year, in an attempt to weaken the Shia-led government.

Last week, at least 19 people died and more than 100 were wounded in a spate of car bomb attacks in the northern city of Kilkurk.

The violence comes ahead of provincial elections scheduled to take place on 20 April.

The country is experiencing a deep political crisis, with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki sharply at odds with a range of political forces, including the Kurds, most of the Sunni groups, and many factions within his own Shia community.

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Bodies recovered in Tibet landslide

1 April 2013 Last updated at 07:56 ET

At least 36 bodies have been recovered from a landslide in Tibet, state media report, after dozens of miners were buried on Friday.

Thousands of workers continued to dig over the weekend for those thought to be buried under tonnes of mud, rock and other debris.

The disaster area is 4,600m (15,000ft) above sea level, 70km (45 miles) east from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

Some rescuers had to be treated for altitude sickness, an official said.

The landslide took place at 06:00 local time on Friday (22:00 GMT on Thursday), burying 83 miners.

Rescuers were only able to find the first body 36 hours after the disaster. Most of the others were recovered on Sunday.

One worker told China National Radio that they would continue to search "as long as there was a 1% chance" of finding bodies.

As well as altitude, the teams are also battling freezing weather and the risk of further landslides.

"There are cracks on the mountaintop and secondary disasters are possible," Jiang Yi, a police officer, was quoted by state-run news agency Xinhua as saying on Sunday.

The miners were working for a gold mine subsidiary of the state-owned China National Gold Group, the country's largest gold producer.

Most of the workers were ethnic Han Chinese from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, with two reported to be ethnic Tibetans.

Meanwhile, six people have died and 11 others are missing after a gas explosion at a coal mine in Jilin province, Xinhua says.

Three days ago, 28 miners also died at the mine after an explosion.

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Greeks block Golden Dawn handout

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:17 ET

Villagers on the Greek island of Thassos have prevented the nationalist Golden Dawn party from handing out free food and other basic goods.

To Vima newspaper said residents of Potamia did not let Golden Dawn members unload their truck and forced them to leave, shouting they were not welcome.

Golden Dawn, an anti-immigration party, has staged several "charity" food distributions for poor Greeks.

The party has 18 seats in the 300-strong Greek parliament.

One of the most right-wing parties in Europe, it is accused of anti-immigrant attacks, but denies violent activity.

To Vima says the anti-Golden Dawn protest in Potamia was organised by the cultural centre, local football team and some other residents. Thassos is in the northern Aegean Sea, near the coast of Thrace.

Earlier Golden Dawn had distributed food in the village of Limenaria, but few had accepted the charity, the report said.

Last year Golden Dawn took advantage of public anger over the financial crisis, boosting its membership.

Last August party activists distributed food to Greeks in central Athens - but obliged recipients to show their identity papers, to prove their Greek citizenship.

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Bashir orders Sudan prisoner release

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:28 ET

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has said all political prisoners in the country are to be released.

In a speech at the opening of parliament, Mr Bashir also said the government was committed to a "national dialogue" with all groups.

It was not immediately clear how many prisoners would be released under the announcement.

The move comes as tensions ease in Sudan amid improving relations with neighbouring South Sudan.

Mr Bashir said Sudan had now "guaranteed the atmosphere for freedoms and the safeguarding of the freedom of expression of individuals and groups".

"Today, we announce a decision to free all the political prisoners and renew our commitment to all political powers about dialogue," he said, without giving further details.

The government would continue to communicate with "all political and social powers without excluding anyone, including those who are armed, for a national dialogue which will bring a solution to all the issues," he said.

Mr Bashir's announcement was welcomed by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which said it hoped it would lead to an end to arbitrary detentions and torture under Sudan's strict national security laws.

"There is a chronic pattern of human rights abuse in Sudan," said HRW's Sudan researcher Jehanne Henry.

She said the organisation heard of cases every month where "people perceived to have political opinions not in keeping with those of the government" were detained.

But analysts said it was unclear how the government would define political prisoners, and whether the release would include rebel fighters and government officials currently on trial for plotting a coup.

Sudan has been facing a heightened security situation since South Sudan became independent in 2011.

Tension between the new neighbours has been strained, with rebellions breaking out on either side of the border and a dispute over oil which escalated to the brink of war in April.

However, in September the leaders of both nations signed a deal, mediated by the African Union, to resume oil sales and set up a demilitarised buffer zone.

Last month, Mr Bashir, who came to power in a coup in 1989, said he would step down at the next election in 2015 because Sudan needed "fresh blood".

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S Korea pledge over North threats

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:51 ET

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Lucy Williamson reports from the heavily-guarded inter-Korean border

South Korea has promised a "strong response" to North Korean aggression, amid high tensions on the peninsula.

Speaking to defence officials on Monday, President Park Geun-hye said that she took the series of threats from Pyongyang "very seriously".

North Korea said on Saturday that it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea.

On Sunday, the US sent stealth fighters to South Korea, as North Korea pledged to build up its nuclear arsenal.

Meanwhile, North Korea has announced it has appointed a new premier, Pak Pong-ju. He was sacked from the same post in 2007.

Military drills

In her comments, Ms Park said: "If there is any provocation against South Korea and its people, there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations,"

In recent days North Korea has issued multiple warnings of attacks on US and South Korean targets - to which the US has responded with an apparent show of military hardware.

The communist state has been angered both by UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in February and the joint US-South Korea annual military drills.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is expected to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in Washington to discuss North Korea, Yonhap news agency reports.

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• 12 Dec: North Korea fires three-stage rocket, in move condemned by UN as banned test of long-range missile technology
• 12 Feb: North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test, its third after tests in 2006 and 2009
• 7 Mar: UN approves fresh sanctions on Pyongyang; North Korea says it has the right to a "pre-emptive nuclear strike" on the US
• 11 Mar: US-South Korea annual joint military drills begin; North Korea says it has scrapped the Korean War armistice (the UN says the pact cannot be unilaterally scrapped)
• 19 Mar: US flies B-2 nuclear-capable bombers over Korean peninsula, following several North Korean threats to attack US and South Korean targets
• 20 Mar: Broadcasters and banks in South Korea hit by cyber attack, the origin of which remains unknown, days after North Korea says some of its sites were hacked
• 27 Mar: North Korea cuts military hotline with South, the last official direct link between the two
• 28 Mar: US flies stealth bombers over Korean peninsula; showcasing ability for precision strike "at will"
• 30 Mar: North Korea says it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea

The US flew F-22 planes from Japan to South Korea's Osan Air base on Sunday, as part of ongoing joint military exercises with South Korea, officials said.

"[North Korea] will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the US military command in South Korea said in a statement reported by Reuters news agency.

In March, the US deployed both B-2 and B-52 planes, which have nuclear capabilities, over South Korea. It said this demonstrated its "capability... to provide extended deterrence to [its] allies in the Asia-Pacific region".

It is not the first time F-22s have been used drills with South Korea, but the move came as North Korea's Central Committee held a rare high-level meeting on Sunday.

The committee described nuclear weapons as "the nation's life" and vowed to further develop its nuclear programme, state-run news agency KCNA said.

"Only when the nuclear shield for self-defence is held fast, will it be possible to shatter the US imperialists' ambition for annexing the Korean Peninsula by force," the report added.

North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly - the rubber-stamp parliament - convened on Monday for a day-long annual session.

While the group normally focuses on making economic decisions, this meeting will be keenly watched given the current high tension.

Few think the North - which last week cut a military hotline which was the last official direct link with Seoul - would risk full-blown conflict.

But in recent years there have been deadly incidents such as the sinking of a South Korea warship (in which Pyongyang denies any role) and the shelling of a South Korean island.

However the jointly-run Kaesong industrial park, which is located within North Korea's borders, remains in operation.

Workers from South Korea were crossing into the park - which is a key money-maker for North Korea - as normal on Monday, reports said.

The complex is seen as a barometer of North-South tensions, observers say, and a move to close it would be seen as an escalation of current tensions.

On Monday, KCNA reported that Mr Pak had been elected to the role of premier of the North Korean cabinet.

He was dismissed in 2007, reportedly after proposing the country adopt a US-style wages system.

The premiership holds little actual power, but analysts say his appointment indicates that he will again be taking a central role in economic decision-making.

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India rejects Novartis patent plea

1 April 2013 Last updated at 08:56 ET

India's Supreme Court has rejected a plea by Novartis to patent an updated version of its cancer drug, Glivec.

The Swiss drugmaker had been denied a patent by Indian authorities on the grounds that the new version was only slightly different from the old.

The decision means generic drugmakers can continue to sell copies of the drug at a lower price in India, one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets.

Novartis said the decision "discourages future innovation in India".

"This ruling is a setback for patients that will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options," said Ranjit Shahani, vice-chairman and managing director of Novartis India.

Glivec, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, costs about $2,600 (£1,710) a month.

The generic equivalent is currently available in India for just $175.

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"Start Quote

Some 40% of the drugs produced by India's $11bn pharmaceutical industry are exported"

End Quote

There were concerns that, if granted, a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of life-saving drugs in poorer countries.

"This will go a long way in providing affordable medicine for the poor," said Anand Grover, a lawyer representing Cancer Patients Aid Association, adding that he was "ecstatic with the ruling".

Long battle

Novartis applied for a patent in 2006 for its new version of the drug, arguing that it was easier to absorb and therefore qualified for a fresh patent.

However, the Indian patent authority rejected the application based on a law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents by making only minor changes to existing drugs, a practice known as "evergreening".

Officials also turned down a subsequent appeal by the company three years later.

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Analysis

There were celebrations outside the Supreme Court as the landmark decision was read out. One charity, Doctors Without Borders, called it a victory for poor patients not just in India but across the world.

The bone of contention was Section 3D of India's patent laws and the court argued that Novartis had to demonstrate that Glivec represented more than just a small improvement to an existing substance. In its ruling, the court said it wanted to discourage "repetitive patenting".

The decision is seen as a major boost for generic drugmakers in India who supply cheap medicines to poor people across the developing world.

India exports generic drugs worth $11bn (£7.23bn), including crucial anti-retrovirals supplied to Africa.

Experts say Monday's court order will set a precedent for the so-called "patent cliff" - a phrase used to describe the expiry of pharmaceutical patents across a range of blockbuster drugs.

It is estimated that drugs with combined annual sales of $150bn will go off-patent by 2015 and that could help companies here earn millions of dollars in profits.

On Monday, India's Supreme court rejected the firm's appeal to get patent protection for the drug.

The AFP news agency quoted the court as saying that the updated drug "did not satisfy the test of novelty or inventiveness" as required by the law.

Setting a precedent?

Patents usually protect the companies for 20 years of exclusive sales. After that, it is open to other firms who can make cheaper copies of the original drug.

Once the protection expires, the first company to challenge the patent gets an exclusive right to sell the copy for 180 days.

After 180 days, more companies can sell the generic versions, potentially resulting in a further price drop.

It is estimated that drugs with combined annual sales of $150bn will go off-patent by 2015.

India's generic drug makers are among the biggest in the world and many expect them to benefit from these patents expiring in the coming years.

However, there have been concerns that if firms are granted patents for updated versions of their drugs, it may not only deny access to cheaper medicines to poor people, but also hurt the makers of generic drugs.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, said the ruling had set a precedent that would prevent international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs.

"Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug,'' she said.

Shares of Novartis India fell almost 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while stocks of generic drugmakers such as Cipla and Natco rose after the judgement.

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Afghan head set for Qatar talks

31 March 2013 Last updated at 00:47 ET

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in the Gulf state of Qatar on a two-day state visit for talks with the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

The possibility of the Taliban opening a political office in Qatar is expected to be discussed, officials say.

The setting up of an office in Qatar is regarded as a key step in formalising a channel for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

US-led Western troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

The Taliban itself has so far refused to talk to Mr Karzai, describing him as an American puppet, although it did hold inconclusive discussions with United States officials last year.

Last month, President Karzai issued an order banning Afghan security forces from calling in foreign air strikes in residential areas, because of heightened tensions about the extent of civilian casualties.

Mr Karzai's office said the talks in Qatar would focus on bilateral cooperation and on Afghanistan's peace process.

Last month Mr Karzai and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said that they would work towards a peace deal for Afghanistan within six months.

"The opening of the Taliban office in Qatar is not related to Karzai, it is a matter between the Taliban and the Qatar government," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

"Our representatives who are already in Qatar won't see or talk to him."

As the Afghan president's visit began on Saturday, there were reports that two children and nine suspected Taliban militants had been killed in an air strike by international forces close to the south-eastern city of Ghazni.

A Nato spokesman quoted by Reuters news agency said an Afghan police patrol had come under attack and had called in a helicopter for support.

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Odinga vows peaceful Kenya struggle

31 March 2013 Last updated at 02:41 ET

Defeated Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga has said he will seek peaceful ways to end a row over poll results, which gave a narrow first round victory to rival Uhuru Kenyatta.

He was speaking after Kenya's Supreme Court upheld Mr Kenyatta's victory, rejecting Mr Odinga's challenges.

He said he accepted the court verdict because he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

But two people died and 11 were hurt as Odinga supporters clashed with police in his western stronghold of Kisumu.

There was an angry mood in the Nairobi slums of Kibera, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in the city, and police briefly used tear gas to chase away protesters outside the courthouse. Tensions were reported in another slum, Mathare.

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At the scene

Once the dust settles on this period of uncertainty, there will still be questions about how this election was conducted, and the implications of the failings of the IEBC, the electoral commission, for future polls.

Meanwhile, Uhuru Kenyatta has been receiving the customary international congratulations. In the run-up to the election, some had warned of "consequences" if Kenya elected a president indicted by the International Criminal Court.

That has now become a reality. The key test will be to what extent diplomats, and indeed Mr Kenyatta himself, can mitigate those consequences.

But our correspondent says that dire predictions of a return to the violence of five years ago has not yet come true, and any lingering questions over the conduct of the election have been subordinated to an overwhelming national imperative: peace.

The violence that followed a disputed election in 2007 left more than 1,200 people dead.

The presidential, legislative and municipal elections held on 4 March were the first since the 2007 poll.

Official results said Mr Kenyatta beat Mr Odinga - who is currently prime minister - by 50.07% to 43.28%, avoiding a run-off by just 8,100 votes.

Mr Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, are expected to be sworn in as president and vice-president on 9 April.

But they are facing trial on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly fuelling unrest after that election. They deny the charges.

'Wounds opened'

In a BBC interview, Mr Odinga said he wanted to avoid the kind of bloodshed that had occurred five years ago.

"I am going to tell my people to look at peaceful ways of resolving this issue," he said. "The Supreme Court is just one step, there are many other avenues.

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Uhuru Kenyatta

• Born October 1961, son of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta
• Heir to one of the largest fortunes in Kenya, according to Forbes magazine
• Groomed by former President Daniel arap Moi to be his successor, but heavily lost 2002 election to Mwai Kibaki
• Second African president to be indicted by ICC, after Sudan's Omar al-Bashir

"Wounds have not been healed, in fact they've been opened up by what's happened."

He hinted that if nothing was done there could be a return to violence.

"I fear that five years from now, there will be voter apathy. This will lead people to explore other means to resolve this issue," he said.

Some of Mr Odinga's supporters were less diplomatic.

"We cannot trust the court, democracy is dead in Kenya," one man protesting outside the courthouse told the BBC.

Earlier the court, in a unanimous decision, declared the elections free and fair and said Mr Kenyatta had been "validly elected".

Supporters of Mr Kenyatta took to the streets of central Nairobi after the verdict, tooting their horns, blowing on vuvuzelas and chanting.

The president-elect made a televised victory speech hours after the announcement, vowing to work with and serve all Kenyans "without any discrimination whatsoever".

Mr Odinga responded to the verdict with a speech expressing "dismay" at the conduct of the election but saying he fully respected the court's decision.

Petitions had been filed to the court by the prime minister and by civil society groups, who claimed irregularities had affected the election result and called for fresh elections. However, much of their evidence was dismissed by the court.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has insisted that the vote was credible, despite technical failures with an electronic voter ID system and the vote counting mechanism.

International observers said the poll was largely free, fair and credible, and that the electoral commission had conducted its business in an open and transparent manner.

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