Border strike threatens to disrupt Olympics
The British government has warned
unions that they risk public anger if strikes by train drivers and passport
officials, which threaten to cause major disruptions to the London Olympics, go
ahead.The Aslef rail union announced on Thursday that 450 of its members in
central England would walk out between August 6-8 in a dispute over pensions,
affecting passengers travelling from cities such as Sheffield, Nottingham and
Derby to the capital.The decision coincided with a move by border officials to
strike on July 26, the day before the start of the Games, potentially delaying
thousands of visitors arriving for the showpiece event."They are holding a
strike on what is one of the key days for people coming into this country for
the Olympic Games," Home Secretary Theresa May said."They risk
damaging people's enjoyment of coming through into the UK," she told Sky
News. "We will of course put contingency arrangements in place to ensure
we can deal with people coming into the country as smoothly as
possible."The threat of transport chaos added to pressure on the
government, which has already had to call in thousands of extra soldiers to
guard the Games after a failed private sector recruitment drive left an
embarrassing hole in security.The wet weather, too, has dampened spirits ahead
of the sporting showcase, which has earned the nickname the "Soggy
Olympics" in the British media.Perhaps it was no coincidence that Police
lyrics "sending out an SOS", from the song "Message in a
Bottle", blared out before the daily news conference at the Olympic Park
in east London.Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected accusations that the
buildup to the Games had been a shambles, arguing that for such a major
operation preparations had been remarkably smooth."Actually I think it has
been a very smooth process," he told reporters, after a barrage of
questions on issues ranging from security shortfalls to sanitation at the main
Olympic site. "I think it has been an encouraging first week."I think
it is very important that people understand that of course you are going to
have a few hitches on a project of this scale, but actually things have gone
pretty smoothly, and the athletes are getting a fantastic welcome in the
village, and I think morale is very high."On the issue of the strikes, he
said "It would be completely out of tune with the mood of the British
public. This is a moment when Britain wants to show its best face to the world, and that is what the vast
majority of the public wants as well."I would strongly counsel any unions
thinking of disrupting this very important period, I think they would lose huge
amounts of public support if they really tried to do this."The security
glitch came after G4S said it could not provide a promised 10,400 security
guards to staff Games venues, forcing the defence ministry to call up an extra
3,500 troops to take the armed forces contribution to 17,000.A further 2,000
troops may be required if G4S fails to find a minimum requirement of 7,000
staff, and on Thursday the government said 1,200 soldiers had been put on
standby as a precaution.Hunt reiterated government assurances that the Games
would be safe in a city where suicide bombers killed 52 people in attacks on
the transport system in July 2005.Wednesday's suicide bomb attack on a bus
carrying Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in Bulgaria could raise further
concerns."Obviously we are monitoring the whole time what's happening with
respect to the changing security situation, and we have extremely competent
intelligence services who are giving us advice and we are responding to that on
an ongoing basis," Hunt said when asked about the Burgas attack."The
world can be absolutely certain that we will deliver a safe and secure
Olympics. It has always been our number one priority."
China bolsters Africa ties with $20bn loans
Chinese President Hu Jintao on
Thursday offered $20bn in loans to African countries over the next three years,
boosting a relationship that has been criticised by the West and given Beijing
growing access to the resource-rich continent.The loans offered were double the
amount China pledged for the previous three-year period in 2009 and is the
latest in a string of aid and credit provided to Africa's many poverty-stricken
nations.The pledge is likely to boost China's good relations with Africa, a
supplier of oil and raw materials like copper and uranium to the world's most
populous country and second-largest economy.But the loans could add to
discomfort in the West, which criticises China for overlooking human rights
abuses in its business dealings with Africa, especially in Beijing's desire to
feed its booming resource-hungry economy.Hu brushed off such concerns in his
speech at the Great Hall of the People, attended by leaders including South
African President Jacob Zuma and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema, a
man widely condemned by rights groups as one of the world's most corrupt
leaders."China wholeheartedly and sincerely supports African countries to
choose their own development path, and will wholeheartedly and sincerely
support them to raise their development ability," Hu said.China will
"continue to steadfastly stand together with the African people, and will
forever be a good friend, a good partner and a good brother", he added at
the summit held every three years since 2000.Hu also pledged to "continue
to expand aid to Africa, so that the benefits of development can be realised by
the African people". He did not provide an amount.Hu said the new loans
would support infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and development of
small and medium-sized businesses in Africa. Critics say China supports African governments with dubious human
rights records as a means to get access to resources.The EU has rejected what
they call China's "cheque book" approach to doing business with
Africa, saying it would continue to demand good governance and the transparent
use of funds from its trading partners. Such criticism draws rebukes from China that the West still
views Africa as though it were a colony. Many African countries say they appreciate China's no-strings approach
to aid."Africa's past economic experience with Europe dictates a need to
be cautious when entering into partnerships with other countries," Zuma
told the forum."We are particularly pleased that in our relationship with China we are equals and
that agreements entered into are for mutual gain," Zuma added."We
certainly are convinced that China's intention is
different to that of Europe, which to date continues to intend to influence African countries for
their sole benefit."China's friendship with Africa dates back to the
1950s, when Beijing backed liberation movements in the continent fighting to
throw off Western colonial rule.Chinese state-owned firms in Africa also face
criticism for using imported labour to build government-financed projects like
roads and hospitals, while pumping out raw resources and processing them in
China, leaving little for local economies. "Certainly quite a number of us
are thinking we need to move into more value addition," South African's
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told Reuters."We need to export
mineral products in a more processed form ... We need to bite this bullet very
seriously." Trade has jumped in the past decade, driven by Chinese hunger
for resources to power its economic boom and African demand for cheap Chinese
products.China's trade with Africa reached $166.3bn in 2011, according to Chinese statistics. In the past
decade, African exports to China rose to $93.2bn from $5.6bn.Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China, for example, the world's most valuable lender, has
invested more than $7bn in various projects across the continent.
