Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, whose 28-year rule has brought widespread hunger to his country, on Tuesday defended the seizure of land from white farmers, saying he is undoing a legacy of Zimbabwe’s former colonial masters. Mugabe spoke to world leaders at a United Nations summit on the global food crisis against a backdrop of sharp criticism over his participation.
The Dalai Lama accused China of ”suppression” and demanded autonomy for Tibet as he arrived Thursday in Germany to start a Western tour ahead of the Beijing Olympics. ”The Chinese political authorities’ reaction, as before, was suppression. So it is very sad,” he said of China’s military crackdown.
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/ 2 December 2007
South African cleric Desmond Tutu was on Sunday awarded one of Germany’s most prestigious honours, the Marion Doenhoff Prize for International Reconciliation and Understanding. The retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town has become ”a symbol for peace and justice in the world”, German Economic Assistance Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said.
Climate change is already happening in South Africa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday during a visit to a biodiversity centre in Cape Town. ”You can see that climate change is already a reality here,” said Merkel, as she visited Biota Africa, a centre where German and South African scientists conduct research on African climate change.
Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to Africa on Wednesday with the message that Germany is keen to step up cooperation with the continent to help combat poverty and disease. The chancellor’s trip to Ethiopia, South Africa and Liberia from October 3 to 7 will focus on economic development, social issues and business ties.