SENEGAL, MALI , SOUTH AFRICA ,GHANA

Blending Malian, American and “Dirty South” influences into a sound
all its own, Toubab Krewe “has set a new standard for fusions of rock
‘n’ roll and West African music,” says Banning Eyre at Afropop
Worldwide.

Since forming in early 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has
been credited with bridging the gap between West African and American
music unlike any group before them, quickly winning a diverse and
devoted following at top venues such as the Bonnaroo and Vegoose
festivals to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Their
live shows and self-titled debut album have won international acclaim
from the New York Times, Global Rhythm, fRoots, NPR and more.

The members of Toubab Krewe developed their unique sound over the
course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast,
where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and
performed with luminaries such as Lamine Soumano, Vieux Kante, Madou
Dembele and Koungbanan Conde. The band kicked off 2007 in Essakane,
Mali, where they played the legendary Festival of the Desert, known as
the most remote festival in the world.

The band is currently working on their sophomore album with Grammy
winning producer Steven Heller, slated for an early 2008 release.

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CAPE TOWN — A Chinese factory has halted production of World Cup 2010 mascot toys after an investigation into alleged sweatshop conditions, the merchandise company for world football body FIFA said Tuesday.

Global Brands Group, master licensee for all FIFA World Cup 2010 merchandise, withdrew manufacturing approval after an audit of the factory showed standards had been flouted.

“The audit identified a number of non-conformances against Global Brands CSR (corporate social responsibility) policy,” the company said in a statement.

“In the interim, the approval for this factory to manufacture these figurines has been temporarily suspended, affording them the opportunity to put in place corrective actions and measures.”

The group launched the probe after reports that the factory, which produced figures of the event’s dreadlocked leopard mascot Zakumi, employed teenage workers, ran 13-hour shifts and paid just three dollars (2.2 euros) a day.

The reports outraged South Africa’s largest labour federation Cosatu, which on Tuesday argued that 2010 merchandise should be sourced locally for Africa’s first World Cup tournament.

The factory, Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products, was contracted by a South African licensee which is owned by a member of parliament from the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

“It is outrageous that a public representative of the ANC, which is committed to policies to create decent work, can take such a callous decision which has deprived South African workers of employment,” Cosatu said.

“Cosatu is adamant that the work should never have been outsourced to China in the first place,” it added.

Conditions at the Chinese factory will be re-assessed after the suspension, with the South African licensee working to ensure compliance with ethical standards, the Global Brands Group said.

“A corrective action plan has been put together with the manufacturer to close the gaps and make the necessary improvements,” it said.

The president of the Ghanaian FA has made it clear that Appiah is still part of Ghana’s plans…

Highly rated midfielder Stephen Appiah is continually being plagued by various injuries and has yet to make his official debut for Bologna. Nevertheless, his lack of regular first team action doesn’t affect his position in Ghana’s national squad.

“Captain Stephen Appiah is still a key player for us. He received a call-up for the international friendly game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but he picked up a knock during a training session which prevented him from coming,” said Ghana FA chief Kwesi Nyantakyi to Asempa FM.

“He has made progress on the injury front. He was even on the verge of making his official Bologna debut earlier this month. He is still key to the team and we’re full of confidence he will make it to South Africa.”

The 29-year-old Appiah has made well over 50 international appearances for the Black Stars and is widely expected to represent his nation at this summer’s World Cup

Lance Armstrong, the cyclist, was almost blocked from entering South Africa as he arrived for a race – because he didn’t have enough room in his passport for a visa

The seven times Tour de France winner, 38, was held by immigration officials in Cape Town following the blunder on Monday.
The star wrote of his frustration on Twitter after being denied entry to the country as he arrived ahead of a race this weekend.
At 8.56pm he wrote: “Well, made it to Cape Town but can’t get in the country since my passport is full and there’s no room to stamp it. So … stuck.”
The posting sparked an outcry with dozens sending messages of support to the athlete, who battled testicular cancer.
An hour later Armstrong posted an update to his situation to tell his fans he had finally been allowed in.
He wrote: “Well, made it in to SA. Not the friendliest welcome I’ve ever received but we’ve all seen immigration officers like that.”
Armstrong is in South Africa to compete in the Cape Argus on Sunday.
The race is the largest mass participation cycling event in the world.

Tags: LANCE AMSTRONG, South Africa

DAKAR, Senegal — Officials and human rights groups in Nigeria said Monday that about 500 people had died in weekend ethnic violence near the central city of Jos, considerably more than what had initially been reported.

A government spokesman said Sunday that the dead numbered more than 300. The victims were Christians killed by rampaging Muslim herdsmen, officials and human rights workers said, apparently in reprisal for similar attacks on Muslims in January.

The head of a leading Nigerian rights group, Shehu Sani of the Civil Rights Congress, said in a telephone interview on Monday that his organization had counted 492 bodies, mainly in the village of Dogo Nahawa.

A spokesmen for the government of Plateau State, Gregory Yenlong, said the number of dead was about 500. “Those that were injured have been dying,” he said. “The communities are taking inventory.”

Those figures, however, did not seem to represent the final tally.

Shamaki Gad Peter of the League for Human Rights, who was in the Dogo Nahawa area, put the provisional death toll at around 250.

In Abuja, the Nigerian capital, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it could not yet give an estimate of the number of dead as its representatives had not been able to reach all of the villages that were attacked.

The killings took place in Plateau State near the city of Jos, for years a hotbed of ethnic and religious violence near the dividing line between the country’s mainly Christian south and Muslim north.

Hundreds on both sides were killed as recently as January, though the victims this time were Christians, according to the information commissioner for Plateau, Gregory Yenlong, and a local human rights organization.

Many appeared to have been cut down with machetes after being driven from homes set ablaze by attackers in the predawn darkness, said Shamaki Gad Peter of the League for Human Rights, a Nigerian group.

Mr. Yenlong said the attackers were “hoodlums, Fulani herdsmen” — Muslims from a neighboring state, Bauchi, who were going after Christian members of Plateau’s leading ethnic group, the Berom, in the villages of Ratt and Dogo Nahawa.

“They attacked those villages and killed well over 300 people, mostly women, children and the aged,” Mr. Yenlong said. “They killed them unprovoked. Innocent people were massacred.”

Witnesses, including Mr. Peter, spoke of bodies littering the streets of Ratt. One victim was less than 3 months old, he said.

“I’m seeing more than 20 corpses right now, women and children who have been killed,” Mr. Peter said. “Virtually every house has been burned down. Corpses of people are littered about. They were slaughtered with machetes. I can see the cuts on their head and neck.”

Mr. Peter said the attacks began around 2 a.m. and lasted around four hours.

The attacks come at a time of political crisis in Nigeria. The acting president, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, was appointed by the National Assembly to rule in the place of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is gravely ill. Mr. Jonathan sent troops to Jos in January to quell the violence, but his authority in the country is uncertain.

Mr. Peter said security forces were scarce on Sunday. “There are two military personnel just hanging around,” he said.

One man who was present during the attacks said the killers began firing guns, then poured gasoline on the roofs in Ratt.

“We saw the Fulani coming, and they started shooting,” said the man, Yohanna Kudu. “They used machetes to kill our women and children. Some of the children were burned inside the houses.”

He added, “We thought the military would protect us.”