BAMAKO: Mali’s presidential hopefuls entered a final day of behind-the-scenes preparations yesterday for a crunch election intended to turn the page on a political crisis following a coup that led to an Islamist insurgency and French military intervention.
Campaigning wrapped up Friday with former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse both saying they were confident of victory in today’s runoff, called after none of the 27 candidates achieved an outright majority on July 28.
The election, the first since 2007, is crucial for unlocking more than $4bn in aid promised after international donors halted contributions in the wake of a military mutiny in March last year.
The days leading up to the vote have been largely uneventful, with cities and towns deserted as Malians — over 90 percent of whom are Muslim — stayed at home to celebrate the Eid festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Keita, who is considered the favourite, has refused to participate in a television debate offered by Cisse, saying he preferred to spend his time meeting voters.
Gibraltar toll to help fishermen: Madrid
MADRID: A proposed ¤50 ($66) toll to enter or leave Gibraltar would only be used to help fishermen who have suffered from the creation of an artificial reef by the British outpost, Madrid said Saturday, in a bid to defuse a spiralling row.
The mooted charge is the latest salvo in a tit-for-tat dispute with Gibraltar, but Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo played down fears the border fee could affect the thousands of people who cross the 1.2km frontier every day.
“This tax would not in any way affect those workers, regardless of their nationality, who go to work in Gibraltar or those from Gibraltar who come to Spain,” he was quoted as saying on Spanish public television. He said the border fees would serve to offset the losses suffered by Spanish fishermen because of Gibraltar’s controversial concrete reef, which the tiny territory says is aimed at stopping alleged incursions by Spanish fishing boats.
Mandela’s health improving, says daughter
JOHANNESBURG: Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s health is improving daily and he is now able to sit up for minutes at a time, his youngest daughter told state broadcaster SABC.
The 95-year-old has been in a Pretoria hospital for two months for treatment of a recurrent lung infection. The government said late last month his condition remained critical but was showing improvement. Zindzi Mandela told SABC on Friday her father was becoming increasingly alert.
“He’s fine. Tata now manages to sit up, like now he sits up in a chair for a few minutes in a day, every day you know he becomes more alert and responsive. Tata is determined not to go anywhere anytime soon, I cannot stress this enough,” she said, referring to him by the Xhosa word for father. Agencies
