22.4.060310_VOA News

June 3, 2010060310.01South Africa Police Train to Face World Cup Emergencies Scott Bobb | JohannesburgIn a simulation, South African police confront violent demonstrators outside Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium, one of the two arenas in the city that will host World Cup matches. It is an exercise aimed at preparing law enforcement officers for one of the sporting world's largest events.The police are training to deal with anysecurity threat, from politicaldemonstrations and angry fans tohooligans and terrorist attempts.The government has spent nearly $200million on training and new equipment. Itplans to dedicate 40,000 police officers,one-fourth of its total force, to World Cupevents.Each of the nine host cities has beendivided into sectors, including areas around the stadiums, transportation hubs, hotels and tourist attractions.Special courts are being created, with their own judges and legal staffs, to handle arrests near the 10 stadiums hosting World Cup matches. Officials say they will speed up legal procedures so that any visitors accused of a crime can complete the legal process before the tournament ends.A special forces soldier walksdown an office wall during anexercise showing the securityforces capability for theSoccer World Cup,Johannesburg, 17 May 2010Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa says his forces have been preparing since South Africa was chosen to host the World Cup six years ago."We have been reiterating since May 2004, when we won the bid, as South Africa we are confident the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be safe and secure," said Mthethwa.He says his group has been working with intelligence agencies in the 31 nations that are sending teams to South Africa to counter terrorist threats."Every precaution has been taken against international and local terror threats for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," he added. "Since 2004 we have been working closely with international agencies to gather intelligence to overcome any potential terrorism act."There have been media reports that international terrorist groups may be planning attacks during the World Cup.Mthethwa says these have been checked and proven to be false. He says it would be unwise to proclaim that no terror attack could occur in his country, but he said there is no known threat at this time.In another exercise, police practice clearing demonstrators blocking a stadium access road. National Police Chief Bheki Cele is overseeing the exercise. He is asked if his forces are ready."I am not ready for today," he said. "I am not ready for tomorrow. I am ready for yesterday. If you wanted to start your World Cup yesterday, I would have said I am ready."As dusk begins to gather the day's training ends. But Cele says preparations will continue until the World Cup kick-off on June 11. 060310.02Ethnic Minorities Make Inroads in British PoliticsSelah Hennessy | LondonDiane Abbott launched her bid for the Labor Party leadership at a school in North London. More than 20 years ago, she became Britain's first black female member of parliament.She says she is ready to break newboundaries with her bid to become Labor'sleader."I think it is important in modern Britain,which has so changed and is so diverse,that they see diversity in the top ofpolitics," Abbott said.The Labor Party ruled Britain for the past13 years, first under Tony Blair and thenGordon Brown. In the May 6 election,Labor lost power and Mr. Brown steppeddown as party leader.Abbott is one of 27 people of African, Asian, or Caribbean descent who were voted into parliament on May 6, almost double the previous number.Ashok Viswanathan, from the campaign group Operation Black Vote, credits the increase, in part, to a record number of ethnic minorities who voted."Turnout went from 61 percent to 65 percent overall, and within the black minority ethnic communities it went from around 45 percent to around 55 percent," Viswanathan said. "So a greater increase in turn out amongst black minority ethnic communities than the increase by the wider electorate."In January, a survey found that almost half of the young black people in Britain were unemployed, compared to 20 percent of white people of the same age.British Labour MP DianeAbbott, seen here in thisNovember 30 1994, filepicture, defended herselfWednesday Nov. 28, 1996against accusations of racismafter criticising theappointment of blonde,blue-eyed Finnish nurses ather local hospital.Ethnic minorities voted this year to change inequalities like these, says Viswanathan."It was clear in black minority ethnic communities that there were many issues at stake in their lives that would be decided by whoever won the election in 2010," Viswanathan said.Anthony Kalu is a 20-year-old student who, this year, voted for the first time in a national election. He says it is important for young ethnic minorities to see people from their own ethnic group in politics."It is all about who is most like you," Kalu said. "If you are not interested in politics, you want to see someone who you believe is closer to you. Whether that be through color or be through class or be through gender."He says ethnic minority parliament members serve as role models for black and Asian young people.Back at the North London school where Abbott launched her campaign, she told VOA even if her leadership bid is not a success, she hopes it may inspire young ethnic minorities to join the political arena.For one student called Sade, Abbott's plan seemed to be working."I will be prime minister one day hopefully," Sade said. "I think if you put your mind to it and you really want to do it, you can actually get somewhere."Women hold about 20 percent of Britain's 650 parliament seats, and 27 seats are held by members of ethnic minorities.060310.03Mining Driving TB Epidemic in Sub-Saharan AfricaJoe DeCapuaSome of the main driving factors of sub-Saharan Africa’s growing tuberculosis epidemic can be found deep underground in its gold, diamond and precious mineral mines. A new Oxford University-led study warns of the health risks faced by miners and their families.The study says Africa's mining industry "may be implicated" in as many as 760,000 new cases of TB every year.Lead author, Oxford researcher Dr. David Stuckler, says, "It's well known that miners have the highest risk of tuberculosis of any occupational group in the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. But the striking finding of our study was that not just miners are at risk. But through a system of circular migration, these risks are spread to their families, communities and entire countries."Dust, crowding, HIV"In gold mines, such as those in South Africa, there are high levels of silica. This is known to create risks over the long-term of silicosis, which damages the lungs and puts miners and workers at risk of contracting or activating tuberculosis," says Stuckler.The miners' poor living conditions also make them more vulnerable to TB."Miners travel long distances and seasonally, living in barracks and hostels at the mines. Often these are cramped and poorly ventilated quarters sometimes referred to by researchers as prison-like in their size and scope. This creates conditions that are conducive for spreading an airborne disease rapidly," he says.And then there's HIV/AIDS, the spread of which is now linked to TB. Stuckler says the study shows that African countries with the greatest intensity of mining activity also have the greatest rates of tuberculosis and HIV.Stuckler says, "Due to the transitory nature of the work, miners are often away from their families for extended periods. This can lead torisky sexual activity. Sexworkers locate often alongside mines and peripheral mining communities and in a setting where HIV prevalence is very high. In some cases as many as 2 out of 5 people are infected."Early treatment not enoughMany mining companies have health clinics that can diagnose miners with TB and start treatment. However, the study says that doesn't go far enough to stop the spread of the disease."When that miner travels home," he says, "often the medicines and medical records of the miner do not. So when the miner reaches Swaziland or Lesotho, a doctor recognizes signs of tuberculosis. He or she is often working blind, not knowing what medicines the miner has or hasn't taken. In this case, there's potential for treatment disruptions, medical mismanagement that can breed drug resistant strains. Those drug resistant strains threaten us all."The Oxford researcher adds, "One study in Lesotho found that 1 out of 4 cases of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis – this is a strain of the disease that's virtually resistant to our main tuberculosis drugs –one quarter of those cases was occurring in miners, ex-miners and their families. We're seeing strong evidence that through migration a disease becomes an epidemic."The study of sub-Saharan African mining and TB was a joint effort by researchers at Oxford and Brown Universities, the University of California at San Francisco and the London School of Hygiene and tropical Medicine. It recommends that mining companies and governments work together to ensure "transparent, accountable standards" of cross border care. The study also calls for early screening of miners."A policy of simply dismissing miners from work when they show signs of tuberculosis will not work and creates a broad set of costs and risks to entire societies," he says.The study says over the past 20 years, there's been a doubling of theyearly annual incidence of TB. It now infects about 350 out of every 100,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa. That's despite the spending of tens of billions of (US) dollars on TB-related programs.The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health.。