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World News
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
July 20 - 26, 2013
Mandela spends 95th birthday in hospital NELSON Mandela spent his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria on Thursday, but events took place around the world and in South Africa in his honour. South Africans are being urged to mark the former president and antiapartheid leader’s 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts. Mr Mandela, who is in critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection, entered hospital on 8 June. President Jacob Zuma said his health was “steadily improving”. “We are proud to call this international icon our own as South Africans and wish him good health,” said Mr Zuma in a statement. “We thank all our people for supporting Madiba throughout the hospitalisation with undying love and compassion,” he said, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name. Mr Mandela’s daughter, Zindzi, said he was making “remarkable progress”, and that she had found him watching television with headphones on and communicating with his eyes and hands when she visited him this week. “We look forward to having him back at home soon,” the South African Press Association quoted her as saying.
Gay campaigners drive a bus past the Houses of Parliament.
As Nelson Mandela spends his 95th birthday in a Pretoria hospital, South Africans are being urged to mark the former president and anti-apartheid leader’s 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.
Mr Mandela’s birthday is also Nelson Mandela International Day, a day declared by the UN as a way to recognise the Nobel Prize winner’s contribution to reconciliation. The former statesman is revered across the world for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa. He went on to become the first black president in the country’s first multiracial elections in 1994. The governing African National Congress (ANC) said that on this Mandela Day homage was being paid to 95 years of “life well-lived”,
dedicated to the liberation of South Africans and people all over the world. Activities throughout the day included: School-children across the country singing a synchronised Happy Birthday to the former president Mandela family members handing out gifts to Mamelodi township residents before holding a birthday lunch with Nelson Mandela. They have prepared 95 cupcakes in his honour
Trayvon Martin parents fell verdict was unfair THE mother of Trayvon Martin has described her shock and “disgust” after a neighbourhood watchman was cleared of killing her unarmed son. Sybrina Fulton was giving her first televised interview since the verdict, alongside her ex-husband Tracy Martin. “I really didn’t believe that he was not guilty,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America. George Zimmerman, 29, said he opened fire in self-defence on the 17-year-old in Sanford, Florida, in February 2012. Saturday’s not-guilty verdict from the all-female jury of six prompted nationwide protests, with further demonstrations planned for this weekend. “As parents, understanding how they reached the verdict, I’ll never grasp that concept,” said Mr Martin, Trayvon’s father. “We just continue to pray that whatever was in their heart was what they intended to do. But we didn’t feel it was fair and, of course, it was devastating.” The couple reiterated their calls for a review of the laws surrounding the case. The US Department of Justice has
Trayvon Martin’s parents say they were “shocked and disgusted by the verdict” (Interview from ABC)
said it will resume its investigation into whether Trayvon Martin’s civil rights were breached during the fatal confrontation. In order to file civil rights charges, it would have to be shown that Mr Zimmerman was motivated by racial animosity. Trayvon Martin’s parents say he was racially profiled, although no evidence of racial bias was presented during the trial. On Wednesday, US Attorney
General Eric Holder cited the case as he urged a nationwide review of “stand your ground” laws, which permit the use of deadly force if a person feels seriously threatened. The issue was never raised during the trial, though the judge included a provision about the law in her instructions to the jury, allowing it to be considered as a legitimate defence. A civil rights conference is set to be held next week to address the “stand your ground” issue.
England, Wales set for gay marriages in 2014 A BILL to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales is now law, though the unions aren’t expected to take place until 2014. Queen Elizabeth II has given her assent to the landmark bill, which the British House of Commons passed Tuesday, the house’s speaker, John Bercow, said Wednesday. The first same-sex wedding could be held as early as next summer. The law does not come into force immediately because government departments need time to make changes. New processes must be drawn up for registrars, and new forms will also have to be drawn up. The government expects to announce a more formal timetable for the implementation of the law in the fall. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill cleared the House of Lords and the House of Commons this week, just before the summer recess. The monarch’s assent -- a formality in the United Kingdom -- makes the measure official. The bill had the backing of British Prime Minister David Cameron, but his commitment to it put him at odds with many in his Conservative Party and its grass-roots supporters. The Conservatives govern in coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The bill was also opposed by religious groups, including the Church of England. The Catholic Church in England and Wales said that the law’s passage “marks a watershed in English law and heralds a profound social change,” and that it regretted that the bill had been “rushed though” Parliament. “With this new legislation, marriage has now become an institution in which openness to children, and with it the responsibility on fathers and mothers to remain together to care for children born into their family unit, are no longer central. That is why we were opposed to this legislation on principle,” a statement said. The debate over the legislation became heated at times in the House of Commons, where the issue
exposed divisions within Cameron’s party. Conservative MP Gerald Howarth angered many when he referred to “the aggressive homosexual community” that would “see this is as but a stepping stone to something even further.” Responding to the news that the law had passed, Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant tweeted: “The Queen has given Royal Assent to Same Sex Marriage. Aggressive homosexuals, please note. Go forth and propose.” The new law will allow same-sex couples to marry in civil or religious ceremonies. However, religious organisations must explicitly “opt in” if they want to perform such ceremonies, and the religious minister conducting the ceremony must also agree. The law also protects religious organizations and their representatives who don’t wish to conduct marriages of same-sex couples from being challenged in the courts. It will allow couples in civil partnerships to convert to marriage if they wish. The new law also allows married men or women who wish to change their gender to do so without ending their marriage. A law recognizing civil partnerships in England and Wales was passed in 2004. The issue of same-sex marriage has also divided other nations. A law that allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt was passed by France this year, despite large street protests and vocal opposition from religious groups. The move made it the ninth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage. In the United States, two landmark rulings by the Supreme Court last month gave the gay and lesbian rights movement huge political and legal momentum. The justices said legally married same-sex couples will now enjoy the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples, striking down a key provision in the Defense of Marriage Act.