Rajinikanth Meets J Jayalalithaa

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Superstar met TN CM J Jayalalithaa on Friday Jan 27,2012,their 1st meeting after he recovered from illness and handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakhs contribution to the state govt's Cyclone Thane Relief Fund
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PETA Protest

Model Sophie Barrett, painted with a butchers diagram, is asked to cover herself up by police after posing semi-nude in front of photographers and the general public at Piccadilly Circus in London. She also held a poster reading: "All Animals Have the Same Parts" to mark World Week for the Abolition of Meat

Australian dancer Kym Johnson(36),known for sexy, flesh-baring costumes on ABC's Dancing with the Stars,stripped down naked for PETA's latest campaign fighting animal testing.

Rainbow

Rainbow over  the Greek Parliament in Athen's Syntagma Square

AAAuuuuuuA rainbo

A w appears over the Greek parliament in Athens’s Syntagma SqRainuareA rainbow appears over the A rainbow appears over the Greek parliament in Athens’s Syntagma SquareGreek parliament in Athens’s Syntagma Square

African Union(AU)

The African Union(AU) is a union consisting of 54 African Countries established on July 9,2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco.

The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU.


The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament(PAP) established on March 18,2004 consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states.
The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union , a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. Initially the seat of the Pan-African Parliament was in  Addis Ababa,Ethiopia but it was later moved to Midrand,South Africa. 

The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission , is based in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.

The following countries are members of the African Union

Algeria

Angola                     

                                               

                                             

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

 Republic of the Congo 

Côte d'Ivoire 

Djibouti       

 Egypt 

Equatorial Guinea 

Eritrea

Ethiopia

 Gabon 

Gambia 

Ghana 

Guinea-Bissau 

Guinea 

Kenya 

Lesotho 

Liberia

 Libya

 Malawi

 Mali 

Mauritania

 Mauritius 

Mozambique

 Namibia 

Niger 

Nigeria

 Rwanda

 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

 São Tomé and Príncipe

 Senegal 

Seychelles

 Sierra Leone

 Somalia 

South Africa

 South Sudan

 Sudan 

Swaziland 

Tanzania 

Togo 

Tunisia

 Uganda

 Zambia

 Zimbabwe

African Union(AU) Chooses First Female Leader

 

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma(63) South, South Africa's Home Affairs Minister, was elected chair of the AU Commission on Sunday July 15,2012 at a summit of heads of state and government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The South African President, Jacob Zuma, former husband of the winning candidate, emerged from the conference hall where the voting had taken place to announce that "Africa is happy!" Her victory would empower women, he added.   

Dlamini-Zuma is the first woman to lead the continent since the Organisation of African Unity, later the AU, was founded in 1963. She is also the first from southern Africa.

Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's home affairs minister, beats incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon.

 

First Woman Chief of AU Takes Charge

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma waved an African Union flag, tapped a wooden gavel and became the first woman to take office as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) at the A.U. headquarters in Addis Ababa on Monday Oct 15,2012

 

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea  is a country located in Middle Africa which cpmprises of two parts -  a Continental Region including several small offshore islands  and an insular region containing Annobon Island(southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea) and Bioko Island (is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea) 
Formerly the Colony of Spanish Guinea , its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea.With an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest countries in continental Africa.

Equatorial Guinea got independence from Spain on Oct 12,1968.

Capital                 - Malabo
Official Language  - Spanish
Population           - 0.7 Million
Currency             - Central African CFA Franc


Government
In September 1968, Francisco Macias Nguema was elected first president of Equatorial Guinea, and independence was recognised on October 12, 1968. In July 1970, Nguema created a single-party state. Nguema’s reign of terror led to the death or exile of up to 1/3 of the country's population.

On Aug 3, 1979 Teodoro Obiang deposed Francisco Macías Nguema , in a bloody Coup d'etat.Since August 1979 some 12 real and perceived unsuccessful coup attempts have occurred.

A monument in Bata commemorates the coup

President Obiang was re-elected to serve an additional term in 2009 in an election deemed by the African Union as “in line with electoral law”. The President reappointed Prime Minister Ignacio Milam Tang and installed a new government in Equatorial Guinea on January 12, 2010


In the country there are no newspapers but many people have access to satellite TV and the Internet

The govt. wants to develop fishing and agriculture.Public Transport is better  because of new roads(built by chinese Cos.)
The country has been changing fast since Oil was discovered in the mid 1990s.The govt. is implementing a plan called Horizon 2020 with the aim of transforming the country into a emerging nation in the next 8 years.


Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Football Tournament

Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea

Gabon

Gabon officially the Gabonese Republic  is a country in West Central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.Offical Language is French.Its Currency is Central African CFA Franc.


Gabon got independence from France on Aug 17,1960.


Government
Gabon is a Republic with a Presidential Form of Government under the 1961 constitution (revised in 1975, rewritten in 1991, and revised in 2003). The president is elected by universal suffrage for a 7-year term; a 2003 constitutional amendment removed presidential term limits and facilitated a presidency for life. The president can appoint and dismiss the prime minister, the cabinet, and judges of the independent Supreme Court. The president also has other strong powers, such as authority to dissolve the National Assembly, declare a state of siege, delay legislation, and conduct referenda.
The country has a bicameral legislature with a National Assembly and Senate. The National Assembly has 120 deputies who are popularly elected for a 5-year term. The Senate is composed of 102 members who are elected by municipal councils and regional assemblies and serve for 6 years.
The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Leon M'ba with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president.

When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president.In March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving the BDG and establishing a new party—the Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG). 

 Bongo was elected President in February 1975; in April 1975, the position of vice president was abolished and replaced by the position of prime minister, who had no right to automatic succession.
 Bongo was re-elected President in both December 1979 and November 1986 to 7-year terms.
Following President Omar Bongo's re-election in December 1993 with 51% of the vote, opposition candidates refused to validate the election results.
Facing a divided opposition, President Omar Bongo coasted to easy re-election in December 1998, with large majorities of the vote. While Bongo's major opponents rejected the outcome as fraudulent.
In November 2005, President Omar Bongo was elected for his sixth term. He won re-election easily, but opponents claim that the balloting process was marred by irregularities.
On June 8, 2009, President Omar Bongo died of cardiac arrest at a Spanish hospital in Barcelona, ushering in a new era in Gabonese politics. In accordance with the amended constitution, Rose Francine Rogombe, the President of the Senate, became Interim President on June 10, 2009.
The first contested elections in Gabon’s history that did not include Omar Bongo as a candidate were held on August 30, 2009 with 18 candidates for president.Omar Bongo’s son, ruling party leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, was formally declared the winner after a 3-week review by the Constitutional Court; his inauguration took place on October 16, 2009

Provinces

For administrative purposes, Gabon is divided into 9 provinces, which are further divided into 36 prefectures and 8 separate subprefectures. The president appoints the provincial governors, the prefects, and the subprefects.


Revenue
Oil revenues comprise roughly 46% of the government’s budget, 43% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 81% of exports.


Religion
Major religions practiced in Gabon include Christianity, Bwiti,Islam and  indigenous animistic religion.


Education
Education is compulsory for children ages 6 to 16 years under the Education Act.

Kingfisher Calendar 2012

Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN is the main international association football competition in Africa  sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF)and was first held in 1957 with only three participating nations - Egypt,Sudan and Ethiopia.Since 1968 it has been held every two years. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition.


Winners Details


Egypt is the most successful nation in the  Africa Cup of Nations history, winning the tournament a record 7 times(1957,1959,1986,1998,2006,2008 and 2010)
Ghana have won 4 titles ( 1963,1965,1978 and 1982) and
Cameroon have won 4 titles ( 1984,1988,2000 and 2002)

Trophy


Throughout the history of the Nations Cup, three different trophies have been awarded to the winners of the competition. The original trophy, made of silver, was the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, named after the first CAF president, Egyptian Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem.
The second trophy was awarded from 1980 to 2000, and it was named "Trophy of African Unity" or "African Unity Cup" given by the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa to the CAF prior to the 1980 tournament and it was a cylindrical piece with the Olympic Rings over a map of the continent engraved on it.
In 2001, the third trophy was revealed, a gold-plated cup designed and made in Italy.


Future Conduct of the Cup


In May 2010, it was announced that the tournament would be moved to odd-numbered years from 2013. This will mean the tournament will not take place in the same year as the World Cup . It also means there will be two tournaments within twelve months in January 2012 (co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea )

and January 2013 (hosted by South Africa )

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

 

The competition was co-hosted in two countries,namely,Equatorial Guinea and Gabon from Jan 21 to Feb12 ,2012

14 teams were selected for participation via continental qualification tournament  that began in July 2010.

The matches were played in  4 stadiums in 4 host cities around the two countries, with the final played at the newly built Stade d'Angondje  in Gabon's largest city, Libreville.

 

In the final, unfancied ,Zambia defeated third time finalist Cote d'Ivoire(Ivory Coast)after a dramatic penalty shootout (8-7)giving Zambia their first continental title, becoming the fourteenth nation to win the tournament

 

 Zambia have climbed to 43rd in the Fifa world rankings after winning the Africa Cup of Nations

 

 

Player of the tournament                     - Christopher Katongo(Zambia)

 

Top goalscorer of the competition       - Emmanuel Mayuka(Zambia)

 

Fair Player of the competition          -  Jean Jacques Gosso(Ivory Coast )

Fair Play award                                - Ivory Coast