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The Muslim Lawyers Association (MLA) in Johannesburg has submitted a 600-plus page document to the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecution calling for the arrest and prosecution of President Barack Obama when he visits South Africa later this month.
The submitted document calls for authorities to “arrest Obama when he visits.” The group says Obama has ordered drone strikes that killed innocent civilians, warranting a formal investigation.

“The complaint, dubbed the ‘Obama Docket’ encourages South Africa to take seriously its domestic and international obligations and to act against International War Criminals lest they consider South Africa a safe haven and travel here freely with impunity,” the Muslim group announced in a press release.
Muslim Lawyers in South Africa Wants Obama Prosecuted for War Crimes

President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at Miami International Airport in Miami, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. The president is attending a fundraiser in Miami Beach Wednesday night. Credit: AP

Obama, who is scheduled to visit South Africa on June 29, can technically be prosecuted under the Rome Statute, which gives the country authority to prosecute a war criminal on its territory. Though even the Muslim Lawyers Association has to know the odds of the president of the United States being arrested and prosecuted overseas are infinitely small.

The MLA describes itself as “a professional, apolitical and a non-profit making body which is committed towards creating a community free of injustices as expounded by the Holy Quraan and the practice (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”

Jack Hillmeyer, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa said the embassy had “no comment.”

Meanwhile, “National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Bulelwa Makeke said the office had received the docket and was studying it,” according to Times LIVE in Johannesburg.

The Obama administration has been routinely criticized by opponents over its secretive drone program. A report from New York University and Stanford entitled, “Living Under Drones: Death, Injury and Trauma to Civilians From US Drone Practices in Pakistan,” claims Obama has ordered five times more drone attacks that former President George W. Bush.

The report also estimates that drones have killed 474 and 881 civilians, including 176 children. However, the data has not been verified.

Read a summary of the MLA’s so-called “Obama Docket” here.

Featured image via AP

Arrest Obama When He Visits’: Read the So-Called ‘Obama Docket’ That Calls for Prosecution of the President
Jun. 12, 2013 6:54pm Jason Howerton
The Muslim Lawyers Association (MLA) in Johannesburg has submitted a 600-plus page document to the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecution calling for the arrest and prosecution of President Barack Obama when he visits South Africa later this month.

The submitted document calls for authorities to “arrest Obama when he visits.” The group says Obama has ordered drone strikes that killed innocent civilians, warranting a formal investigation.

“The complaint, dubbed the ‘Obama Docket’ encourages South Africa to take seriously its domestic and international obligations and to act against International War Criminals lest they consider South Africa a safe haven and travel here freely with impunity,” the Muslim group announced in a press release.
Muslim Lawyers in South Africa Wants Obama Prosecuted for War Crimes

President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at Miami International Airport in Miami, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. The president is attending a fundraiser in Miami Beach Wednesday night. Credit: AP

Obama, who is scheduled to visit South Africa on June 29, can technically be prosecuted under the Rome Statute, which gives the country authority to prosecute a war criminal on its territory. Though even the Muslim Lawyers Association has to know the odds of the president of the United States being arrested and prosecuted overseas are infinitely small.

The MLA describes itself as “a professional, apolitical and a non-profit making body which is committed towards creating a community free of injustices as expounded by the Holy Quraan and the practice (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”

Jack Hillmeyer, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa said the embassy had “no comment.”

Meanwhile, “National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Bulelwa Makeke said the office had received the docket and was studying it,” according to Times LIVE in Johannesburg.

The Obama administration has been routinely criticized by opponents over its secretive drone program. A report from New York University and Stanford entitled, “Living Under Drones: Death, Injury and Trauma to Civilians From US Drone Practices in Pakistan,” claims Obama has ordered five times more drone attacks that former President George W. Bush.

The report also estimates that drones have killed 474 and 881 civilians, including 176 children. However, the data has not been verified.

Read a summary of the MLA’s so-called “Obama Docket” here.

Source: beforeitsnews

Cape Town has taken gold and top spot in the inaugural Vitality Fittest City Index. Announced by Discovery yesterday (SUBS: THURS), the Index rates each of South Africa’s six major metropolitan areas according to physical activity-related health and infrastructure.

Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni (East Rand), Tshwane (Pretoria), Cape Town, eThekwini (Durban) and Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) were specifically measured on personal health indicators, physical activity, transport and facilities.

Renowned University of Cape Town scientist Professor Vicki Lambert led the research, which was collated, from a number of sources including the South African Demographic Health Survey, National Household Travel Survey, Stats SA and sources with details on available facilities such as sports clubs and parks.

Interestingly Cape Town scored the worst when it came to the personal health indicators, which looked at body mass index, waist circumference, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. However, the Mother City overtook the others in the home straight scoring high in self-reported physical activity, transport (low car dependency) and physical activity-related facilities available per 100 000 people.

Head of Vitality Dr Craig Nossel said the Index essentially rewarded Cape Town for creating potential for the citizenry to be active.

He added that the investments in infrastructure that encouraged physical activity were fairly recent while the data looking at personal health was fairly dated and that the next round of research would likely show the benefits of having an active citizenry in Cape Town.

“There is a hope that if you build it, they will come. Cape Town is a city that is ready for you to be active, you just need to embrace it,” said Lambert.

Lambert agreed that the equitable distribution of facilities and green space in the city was also an important consideration, adding that they were hoping to improve the facilities audit in the next round although there was proof that Cape Town was creating such facilities in areas such as Mitchells Plain and planning more.

Cape Town initiatives singled out as contributing factors to keeping Capetonians fit include the MyCiti Bus Rapid Transit System, the cycle path between Paarden Island and Table View, outdoor gyms and the Green Point Urban Park.

Increasing levels of physical inactivity is recognized as a pandemic with non-communicable diseases causing 35-million deaths worldwide.

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, asthma, cancer and high-blood pressure account for more than a third of all deaths in South Africa with more than 80 per cent of adolescents not meeting physical activity recommendations.

Source: health-e.org.za

South African bishops held a prayer vigil on Friday outside the Pretoria hospital where former President Nelson Mandela is being treated. There was no update on his condition. South Africans gathered to pray for Nelson Mandela Friday, as the South African freedom hero market almost one week in hospital.

Mandela, 94, was admitted to a hospital in Pretoria last Saturday (08.06.2013) to receive treatment for a recurring lung infection. On Friday (14.06.2013), a dozen South African bishops held a prayer vigil outside the hospital. "Thank you (God) for the speedy recovery of Nelson Mandela", AFP news agency quoted Bishop Abraham Sibiya of the Christ Centred Church Episcopal Soshanguve.

The clerics, sporting flowing purple robes and white collars stood hand-in-hand to say prayers for Mandela. Bishop Sibiya told AFP that church leaders had come out in response to a call by South African President Jacob Zuma to pray for "Madiba," as he is fondly known in the country.

At his home village Qunu, schoolchildren sang in his honor.
President Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj told AFP news agency on Friday that he had no update on Mandela' condition. On Thursday, Zuma had visited Mandela and later said that he remained in a serious condition.

We regret that due to a technical error, DW earlier published a report claiming that Nelson Mandela had died.

Source: dw​

An eight-day family trip to sub-Saharan Africa for President Obama will set the U.S. government back between $60 million and $100 million, according to a report from The Washington Post. 

The Post obtained an internal planning document for the first family's travel itinerary with information on the cost of the trip set for the end of June. The family will make stops in Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa.

According to a press release from the White House concerning the trip, the president will hold meetings with "a wide array of leaders from government, business, and civil society, including youth," and seek to "underscore the commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity."

The story points out that any presidential trip is costly, mostly due to the resources needed for security. President Bill Clinton's trip to Africa in 1998 cost $42 million.

The memo the Post quoted includes the cost for "Hundreds of U.S. Secret Service agents to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania." 

The story went on to quote the memo calling for: "A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, with a fully staffed medical trauma center, will be stationed offshore. Military cargo planes will airlift in 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. Fighter jets will fly in shifts, giving 24-hour coverage over the president's airspace, so they can intervene quickly if an errant plane gets too close."

People are already responding to the story on Twitter. Most express shock at the cost of the trip, others complain that the money should be spent on other things.

Source: al

1,200 years ago the ancient Egyptian city of Heracleion disappeared beneath the Mediterranean. Founded around 8th century BC, well before the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC, it is believed Heracleion served as the obligatory port of entry to Egypt for all ships coming from the Greek world.

Prior to its discovery in 2000 by archaeologist Franck Goddio and the IEASM (European Institute for Underwater Archaeology), no trace of Thonis-Heracleion had been found (the city was known to the Greeks as Thonis). Its name was almost razed from the memory of mankind, only preserved in ancient classic texts and rare inscriptions found on land by archaeologists.

The Discovery
With his unique survey-based approach utilising sophisticated technical equipment, Franck Goddio and his team from the IEASM were able to locate, map and excavate parts of the city of Thonis-Heracleion, which lies 6.5 kilometres off today’s coastline about 150 feet underwater. The city is located within an overall research area of 11 by 15 kilometres in the western part of Aboukir Bay.

Findings to date include:

- The remains of more than 64 ships buried in the thick clay and sand that covers the sea bed

- Gold coins and weights made from bronze and stone
- Giant 16-ft statues along with hundreds of smaller statues of minor gods
- Slabs of stone inscribed in both ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian
- Dozens of small limestone sarcophagi believed to have once contained mummified animals
- Over 700 ancient anchors for ships

Source: twistedsifter