G8 Summit Photos

Canada denies Winnie Mandela visa

Canada has denied a visa to the South African anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, was to have attended the premiere of an opera about her life in the Canadian city of Toronto.
In 1991 she was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to murder.

Canadian authorities can refuse entry into the country on the grounds of a criminal record, although it is not clear that has happened in this case.
Her application was turned down a day before she was to arrive in Toronto, for a gala fundraising dinner.
The organisers, the arts group MusicaNoir, said they were devastated and do not know why her visa was withheld.

They said Mrs Madikizela-Mandela's daughter and two security guards did receive visas.
The decision was made by the Canadian embassy in South Africa.
Canadian immigration officials in Ottawa have not given any reason why the visa application was denied.
MusicaNoir pointed out that Mrs Madikizela-Mandela was permitted to visit the United States two weeks ago to receive an award for her work with Aids organisations.
Known as one of South Africa's most famous anti-apartheid activists, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is also a controversial figure.

A six-year prison sentence for kidnapping a young activist who was later murdered was suspended on appeal.
In 2003 she was found guilty on charges of fraud and theft.

Somanya goes gay as NDC marks June 4 Uprising

Somanya the capital town of Yilo-Krobo went gay on Monday as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) staged one of their spectacular fiestas in recent memory.A large crowd comprising the old and the young gathered at the main Somanya Lorry Park as loudspeakers blared the NDC anthem and various Party songs.The Park was decorated with June 4th and NDC flags with adherents wearing tee shirts of the various groups within the Party.

On the main street and alleys of Somanya various groups within the Party displayed their colours and danced to the music while the town's folks waited patiently on trees and in storey buildings around Park for the arrival of Former President Jerry John Rawlings and Professor John Evan Atta Mills, NDC Presidential Candidate for Elections 2008. Former President Rawlings and Prof Mills were escorted by a large crowd from the outskirts of the Township first to the palace of Konor of the Yilo-Krobo Traditional Area and then to the rally grounds.

As they made their way to the Lorry Park the crowd got excited and went into frenzy. The excitement continued throughout the rally, which ended at 1830 hours.Among one of the unusual faces that surfaced at the rally was General Arnold Quainoo, Former Member of the Provisional National Defence Council. Some retired Amy Officers; Former District Chief Executives in the NDC era and NDC Members of Parliament were also present.
Source:GNA

Nigeria sues drugs giant Pfizer

Nigeria has filed charges against the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, accusing it of carrying out improper trials for an anti-meningitis drug.
The government is seeking $7bn (£3.5bn) in damages for the families of children who allegedly died or suffered side-effects after being given Trovan.

Kano state government has filed separate charges against Pfizer.
The firm denies any wrongdoing, saying the trials were conducted according to Nigerian and international law. Pfizer - the world's largest pharmaceutical company - tested the experimental antibiotic Trovan in Kano during an outbreak of meningitis which had affected thousands in 1996. Some 200 children died and others developed mental and physical deformities.
These allegations... are highly inflammatory and not based on all the facts
Pfizer Q&A: Nigeria sues Pfizer
The government says the deaths and deformities were caused by Trovan and that the children were injected with the drug without approval from Nigerian regulatory agencies.
A Pfizer spokesman in New York, Bryant Haskins, reiterated the company's position that its trial of Trovan was conducted with the full knowledge of the Nigerian government and in a responsible way.

"These allegations against Pfizer, which are not new, are highly inflammatory and not based on all the facts," he told Reuters news agency.
He also said the trial had helped save lives.
The company has previously said that "verbal consent" had been obtained from the parents of the children concerned and that the exercise was "sound from medical, scientific, regulatory and ethical standpoints".

Suspicion
This is the first time Nigeria's federal government has filed charges against Pfizer but individual families have previously taken legal action.
The separate case in Kano - in which the state is seeking $2.7bn in compensation - has been running for more than two years.
On Monday, judges postponed that trial by a month, to allow the firm to appear before the Kano court.

Trovan has been approved for use by adults, but not children, in the US.
The BBC's Alex Last in Nigeria says the case has added to suspicion of western medicine and drug trials in northern Nigeria and that has had a damaging effect on attempts to get the whole population to accept polio immunisation.
Kano was one of the Nigerian states which refused to take part in a World Health Organization vaccination programme, leading to a re-emergence of polio in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.