Eagleclopedia: Mandela critical, days before Obama visit

Eagleclopedia: Mandela critical, days before Obama visit

Mandela critical, days before Obama visit

From CNN Throughout the night, crowds of people stood outside the hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela isbeing treated, and among the balloons, posters and cards early Tuesday were dozens of news crews and broadcast vans. More than 40 vehicles crowded the parking spacesoutside the Medi-Clinic HeartHospital in Pretoria, the South African Press Association reported. Generators hummed and the area was brightly lit for the news organizations doing regular live broadcasts. Mandela's daughter Makaziwe Mandela left the hospital Monday night, SAPA reported. Other family members, including ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and daughters Zindzi Mandela-Motlhajwa and Zenani Mandela-Dlamini, left earlier in the day. Government officials paid visits as well. Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, spends every night at the hospital, where the former president has been since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. Previously, authorities had described his condition as serious but stable. But over the weekend, his health took a turn for the worse, with the South African president's office saying he was in critical condition. "The doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," President Jacob Zuma told the nation Monday. The former president's health will not affect U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to the country this week, Zuma said, according to the press association. Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail over the years and has not appearedin public since South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010. Outside the hospital Monday, a security wall was awash with get-well cards, balloons, flowers, cards andpaintings, the press association reported.

Smartphone app that could replace your credit card: Banks claim new service will protect consumers from fraud

Culled from; dailymail Millions of shoppers will soon be able to pay at the till with their mobile phone, thanks to a new app. Britain’s biggest banks have backed Zapp, which will launchearly next year. The system is designed to work with the apps already offered by HSBC,Natwest, Nationwide and Lloyds, among others. When they reach the checkoutof a shop that accepts Zapp payments, customers will havea special code sent to their mobile phone. They will then confirm the transaction with one tap of the finger. Banks claim the technology willbe safer than using a debit card, as the unique code for that purchase will expire afterthree minutes. In addition, only retailers signed up to the scheme will be able to generate the codes. And unlike chip and pin cards, Zapp will never hand over sensitive information such as card numbers and expiry dates that can be used by criminals to commit fraud. Peter Keenan, Zapp’s chief executive, said the app ‘will allow millions to leave their wallets at home’. He added: ‘When you pay witha card in a shop or online, you give the merchant all sorts of details that would be dangerous in the hands of a fraudster. With Zapp, nothing is revealed, so it’s much moresecure.’ However, experts warn it is too early to rule out safety fears.Justin Modray, of finance website Candid Money, said: ‘Paying by smartphone obviously appeals to some and is growing in popularity. ‘However, it remains to be seen whether this throws up any major security issues. ‘The new technology will haveto be extremely fool-proof or it will cause more problems than it solves.’The success of Zapp will rely on shops, restaurants, and small businesses signing up tothe scheme. The app, which is still in development, will follow in the footsteps of Pingit, a similar service run by Barclays Bank. Pingit has more than a million users and allows customers tosend money another person or business by text message.

Brazil leader Dilma Rousseff promises reform referendum

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country. She also promised to boostspending on public transport and focus on health and education as part of what she called "five pacts" with the people. She later met regional mayors and governors, who agreed to her plans. But some activists promised to carry on with the largest protests Brazil has seen for at least two decades. Ms Rousseff said the reforms would be broad and focus on five areas: *.Fiscal responsibility: guaranteeing economic stability and curbing inflation *.Education: investing 100% of Brazil's oil royalties in education *.Health: hiring foreign doctors to provide medical services in remote and under-developed areas *.Constituent Assembly: establishing an assembly to eventually amend Brazil's constitutionto ensure reforms make it "from paper to practice" *.Public transport: investing more than 50 billion reias ($25bn, £16bn) for new investments in urban mobility projects and to improve public transport Mayara Longo Vivian, a leader of the Free Fare Movement, said there had been "concrete measures" among the president's proposals and that the "fight would continue". Analysis ByGary Duffy Executive editor, BBC Brasil, Sao Paulo The most headline-catching part of her proposals was to suggest a referendum to establish a constitutional assemblyto consider political reform. It has the advantage of handing a decision back to the people, but is also a commitment to what will be a long drawn out process that will allow the government time todraw breath. It is either a bold moveor a very clever one. Some are already arguing it could be unconstitutional - others are complaining that political reform didn't need such an elaborate proposal andcould have been done more effectively and with greater speed. In a country plagued by dodgy deals few are going to argue with theidea of making corruption a more serious offence. However Brazilians aremore likely to be impressed when the corrupt are actually convicted and jailed. Brazil leader plays hand over protests On Monday evening, there were fresh demonstrationsin several cities, although they appeared to be smaller than those that ledto clashes with police last week. The BBC's Julia Carneiro inRio de Janeiro says exactly a week ago 100,000 people marched down the city's Rio Branco Avenue, but on Monday just a few dozen were chanting in front of the Candelaria church. More people joined in as they marched, and soon a few thousand demonstrators had poppedup and were occupying thecity centre's main avenue. Street vendors were selling Brazilian flags and Anonymous masks for those who came unprepared, she says. In other protests, hundreds of people blocked the main road to Brazil's busiest port, Santos, and hundreds more came out to protest against corruption in the capital, Brasilia. Two women were killed at a protest in the central state of Goias, not far fromBrasilia. Police said they were killed by a driver who sped through a roadblock they had set up with other protesters. The deaths bring to four the total number of lives lost in the unrest.

Brazil leader Dilma Rousseff promises reform referendum

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country. She also promised to boostspending on public transport and focus on health and education as part of what she called "five pacts" with the people. She later met regional mayors and governors, who agreed to her plans. But some activists promised to carry on with the largest protests Brazil has seen for at least two decades. Ms Rousseff said the reforms would be broad and focus on five areas: *.Fiscal responsibility: guaranteeing economic stability and curbing inflation *.Education: investing 100% of Brazil's oil royalties in education *.Health: hiring foreign doctors to provide medical services in remote and under-developed areas *.Constituent Assembly: establishing an assembly to eventually amend Brazil's constitutionto ensure reforms make it "from paper to practice" *.Public transport: investing more than 50 billion reias ($25bn, £16bn) for new investments in urban mobility projects and to improve public transport Mayara Longo Vivian, a leader of the Free Fare Movement, said there had been "concrete measures" among the president's proposals and that the "fight would continue". Analysis ByGary Duffy Executive editor, BBC Brasil, Sao Paulo The most headline-catching part of her proposals was to suggest a referendum to establish a constitutional assemblyto consider political reform. It has the advantage of handing a decision back to the people, but is also a commitment to what will be a long drawn out process that will allow the government time todraw breath. It is either a bold moveor a very clever one. Some are already arguing it could be unconstitutional - others are complaining that political reform didn't need such an elaborate proposal andcould have been done more effectively and with greater speed. In a country plagued by dodgy deals few are going to argue with theidea of making corruption a more serious offence. However Brazilians aremore likely to be impressed when the corrupt are actually convicted and jailed. Brazil leader plays hand over protests On Monday evening, there were fresh demonstrationsin several cities, although they appeared to be smaller than those that ledto clashes with police last week. The BBC's Julia Carneiro inRio de Janeiro says exactly a week ago 100,000 people marched down the city's Rio Branco Avenue, but on Monday just a few dozen were chanting in front of the Candelaria church. More people joined in as they marched, and soon a few thousand demonstrators had poppedup and were occupying thecity centre's main avenue. Street vendors were selling Brazilian flags and Anonymous masks for those who came unprepared, she says. In other protests, hundreds of people blocked the main road to Brazil's busiest port, Santos, and hundreds more came out to protest against corruption in the capital, Brasilia. Two women were killed at a protest in the central state of Goias, not far fromBrasilia. Police said they were killed by a driver who sped through a roadblock they had set up with other protesters. The deaths bring to four the total number of lives lost in the unrest.