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{{Some 80,000 gold miners in South Africa have gone on a strike to call for higher pay, but their union has significantly scaled down its demands.}}

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is now calling for a 10% wage rise, down from earlier demands for increases of up to 60% for some workers.

Workers last week rejected an offer of a 6% rise – the same as the current annual rate of inflation.

South Africa’s gold industry is one of the biggest in the world.

But it has been in decline in recent years, while the platinum sector is still recovering from violence during last year’s strikes.

It has been estimated that the gold miners’ strike could cost South Africa more than $30m (£20m) a day in lost output.

Mine owners are warning it could lead to gold mines closing and thousands of jobs being lost, following a fall in the price of gold.

They say that their production costs have increased as they have had to dig ever deeper to extract gold.

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{{Ghana’s Supreme Court last week on Thursday declared President John Dramani Mahama “validly elected” as the court dismissed all claims of voter fraud, mismanagement and irregularities in the West African nation’s December 2012 presidential election.}}

After the election, Ghana’s Independent Electoral Commission declared Mahama the winner with 50.7% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff with his main challenger, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

But challenges followed, with allegations of widespread mismanagement and voting irregularities at more than 10,000 polling stations. Akufo-Addo and two other officials of his New Patriotic Party sued and the case went to the Supreme Court.

Mahama, from the ruling National Democratic Congress party, was sworn in as president, and Thursday’s court ruling means he will retain the office.

The Supreme Sourt dismissed all six claims alleging fraud and irregularities, with judges ruling unanimously against claims that certification forms had duplicate serial numbers, that votes from phony polling places were counted, and that there was duplication of polling station codes, meaning that votes from a particular voting station might have been counted twice or more.

Akufo-Addo made a statement after the ruling was announced, saying he will not seek a court review of the decision, congratulating President Mahama and calling on Ghanaians to work out their “differences, ease tensions between us and come together and build our country.”

The famously easy-going people of Ghana had been on edge awaiting Thursday’s decision by the court.

Nine Supreme Court justices spent 48 days hearing the case, which had riveted the nation.

The proceedings were broadcast live on Ghanian television and radio, the first time the court has allowed such broadcasts. They have been immensely popular.

Ghana is one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies. It is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, after Ivory Coast, and the continent’s second biggest gold miner, after South Africa, according to the United Nations.

But critics say that despite the rich resources that bring billions of dollars annually, the wealth is not trickling down to the rural poor who live on the land where the gold is mined.

In March 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan European colony to declare independence from a colonial ruler, in its case, Britain. It endured four military coups in the first 14 years, after one of which, three former presidents were executed.

Then, in the election of 2000, it had its first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents. The incumbent won a second term in 2004, but term limits prohibited him from seeking a third term in 2008.

In that election, John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress narrowly defeated Akufo-Addo. But Mills died in office last year, elevating his vice president, Mahama to the presidency.

Last December, Mahama ran for a full term against Akufo-Addo, setting off the Supreme Court battle.

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{{Four senior Zimbabwe National Army officers have been conferred with United Nations medals in recognition of their outstanding service during the peacekeeping observer mission in Syria last year.Lieutenant Colonel Shadreck Vezha, Lt Col Chadokweenda Gota, Lt Col Hamilton Ndlovu and Lt Col Douglas Gwite served under the UN Syria mission.}}

Conferring the medals yesterday at KG VI in Harare, Chief of Staff Administration Staff Major General Trust Mugoba commended the quartet for conducting their duties well.

“The awarding of these medals to the ZNA officers is a clear indication that they managed to raise not only the Zimbabwe Defence Forces flag high, but the Zimbabwean flag at large,” Maj Gen Mugoba said.

“This alone shows the level of discipline, professionalism and dedication to duty that was displayed by the senior officers during their deployment.”

The ZDF and other security services in the country, said Maj Gen Mugoba, continued to perform obligations as mandated by the UN.

He said the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Mugabe, was proud of the army officers and had through ZNA Commander Lt Gen Philip Valerio Sibanda agreed to the awards, which reflects the country’s efforts to ensuring peace in the world.

Maj Gen Mugoba said the ZDF contributed immensely to a peaceful environment enjoyed in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Lesotho and many other countries.

“No wonder, therefore, that the desire and obligations of ZDF to maintain peace internationally also reflected in our ability to maintain peace in the country and the just-ended harmonised elections were done in a peaceful environment,” he said.

“This is a reflection of ZNA and ZDF’s commitment to ensure peace and stability in the country.”
The four senior officers were deployed for two months in 2012 as part of 300 military officers drawn from 50 countries following the establishment by the UN Security Council Resolution 2043 of April 21, 2012 to monitor the cessation of armed violence in Syria.

The mission ended on July 24, 2012 and the unarmed 300 peacekeepers were withdrawn after the UN Security Council decided to terminate the mission upon realising that diplomatic peacekeeping efforts had failed as the rebellion against the government of President Bashar al-Assad was worsening.

Herald

{{A military court in Egypt has given supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi lengthy prison sentences after convicting them of attacking the army.}}

One person was jailed for life, three people to 15 years and 45 others to five years, a military statement said.

The defendants were accused of opening fire at soldiers during riots in the port city of Suez last month.

The riots followed a deadly crackdown by security forces on two pro-Morsi protest camps in the capital, Cairo.

Hundreds of people, mostly members of Mr Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, were killed when the sit-ins outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque and at Nahda Square were cleared on 14 August.

The unrest in Suez, 140km (87 miles) to the east of Cairo, on 14 and 16 August left more than 30 dead.

It is not clear if those convicted on Tuesday are Brotherhood members. But if they are, the verdicts would be the first affecting the Islamist group since the military launched a campaign against it after ousting Mr Morsi.

Earlier, military sources said 11 Morsi supporters had got life sentences.

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