Calls for peace in the Holy Land

Amid another gloomy Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land, top Roman Catholic official, Michel Sabbah, has appealed Palestinians to halt infighting and for an end to Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed during his homily at midnight Mass in Jesus' birthplace.

"The conflict here has lasted too long. It is high time that the leaders who have our destinies in their hands in this land, specifically, the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as well as those of the international community, it is time for all of them to take new measures that will bring an end to the long phase of death in our history and lead us into a new phase in the history of this Holy Land," Sabbah said in a fervent appeal.

The Latin Patriarch called upon leaders of all hues to "examine their conscience in order to enter a new path that puts an end to bloodshed, death, and in these days to new internal quarrels"."Christmas is saying to us to put down your arms," Sabbah asserted.

The Manger square in front of the Church of Nativity saw more activities than the past years despite internal strife but the foreign tourists seem to have deserted the city."Jerusalem and Bethlehem are like twin cities. If you try to separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem it will be dead and that's what is happening.

The Israeli wall has turned it into a jail and restricted tourists", Raja Zachariah, a catholic christian from Bethelehm's old city told PTI.He shows a whole street with most of the shops shut down, including his own, to drive home his contention. The Israeli tourism ministry took several measures to facilitate the entry of tourists into Bethlehem but locals said it is not a a matter of one time thing."We have tried to make the checkpoint leading to Bethlehem as friendly as such a place could be made friendly, in discussion with Palestinians.

We have also arranged free shuttles for tourists from Jerusalem to the Church of Nativity", Oren Drori, Director of Marketing at Ministry of Tourism told PTI."The city survives on tourism and the wall has broken its backbone. No such measure is going to cheer up this city", Zachariah's friend, George, quipped in response when pointed out with Israeli measures.Hathem, a gift shop owner in a prime location close to the church of Nativity said,' it is the worst Christmas for me.

Not many tourists have come and those who are around are mostly students who have already been living here. It doesn't help".Despite all the hindrances marching bands, children dressed as Santa Claus, clergymen in magenta skullcaps, foreign tourists, including Indians, gathered in the Manger Square for the Christmas Eve celebrations.

"I had put up an application some three months back for an entry pass for the Midnight Mass. When I was told last week that I can come and collect it I was thrilled. It is like a dream come true for me", Sajan Stelas from Kerala said. Sajan had come down from the southern Israeli coastal city of Eilat especially for the celebrations.

"I can't find words to express my feelings at being here", Franklin Titus fom Mumbai said.Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas attended the Midnight Mass and was specially blessed by the Latin Patriarch.
Source:GNA

Christians mark the birth of Jesus Christ

Thousands of Christians in the Cape Coast municipality on Monday attended church service and conventions to mark the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago.

Many of the churches were filled to capacity and extra seating places were created outside the church halls to accommodate the congregation.In a sermon at the St Francis de Sales Cathedral, His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson said the celebration of Christmas should not be used for only merry making, but rather should be used as a period for reconciliation and for people to change their ways to ensure peace and development.

He said people normally 93harden their hearts=94 to the word of God because of the fear of change, stressing that the time had come for Christians to use the word Christ brought to live decent lives and eschew all social vices to enable them enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Cardinal Turkson urged all to use the celebration to share their love, experience, blessing and joy with their neighbours, just as Christ shared the word of God with the world."Christmas is a gift from God and people should endeavour to share this gift with others"At the Varrick Memorial AME Zion church in Cape Coast, reverend Joseph Hammond, assistant pastor of the church, said the birth of Christ was a proclamation of Jesus as the Saviour.

He charged Christians to have faith in Jesus, love one another and follow his footsteps.He advised Christians to eschew hatred, envy and black mailing to promote peaceful co-existence.Rev. Hammond said when this is done, God the father would continue to bless the citizens of the country and 93we may continue to know peace in the country to ensure rapid developments in all spheres of our lives and blessings in all our endeavours=94. 25 Dec 06
Source:GNA

Public Alert From The CPP Patriots

It has come to the attention of the CPP-Patriots, a group of Nkrumaists solely dedicated to the rebuilding of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) into a formidable force in Ghanaian politics, that certain individuals claiming to be members of the CPP are going around various constituencies and asking party officials to complete a form simply titled “Political Movement” and asking these officials to forward the forms to Accra for action.

This group, which we have reliably learned is financed by a foreign government that fears the reincarnation of the CPP, is seeking to destroy the CPP in order to create a new party to serve the selfish interests of its leader, a prominent CPP member of hybrid political affiliation.

They typically send their agents to constituencies where the Patriots are in the process of opening offices (or have opened offices), thus creating the impression that somehow we are affiliated with them. We are not.

Indeed, we repudiate their nefarious activities and condemn them in the strongest possible terms.We use this opportunity, therefore, to call on all members of the Nkrumaist family, especially the CPP, to be on the alert and stand fast in this period of rejuvenation, transition and hope, and fend off these and other subversive forces that seek to pursue their narrow political interests at the expense of the nationalist and Pan-Africanist agenda of the CPP.

We should never entertain such traitors.Forward Ever, Backward Never!Issued by the:The Patriots (cpppatriots@yahoo.com) AccraDecember 23, 2006
Source:The Patriots (cpppatriots@yahoo.com)

"Afii Aya ni eba nina wo"

In Ghana, Christmas season runs from December 20th to the first week in January. This coincides with the end of the cocoa harvest, the most prosperous time of the year, which contributes to the festive atmosphere.

Ghanaians who labor far from home, in the cities, on cocoa farms, and in the mines, return home for the holiday to spend it with family and friends. Houses, schools, and vehicles are decorated with paper ornaments and crepe paper. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, families and friends gather to feast on rice, chicken, goat, lamb and "fufu" (a cassava-plaintain paste)

On Christmas Eve there's often an outdoor procession, perhaps led by local musicians. On Christmas Eve and Day people go caroling house-to-house, singing traditional carols in one of Ghana's 66 local languages. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services feature carols and retellings of the Christmas story.

After church, children get small gifts from "Father Christmas", perhaps sweets, new clothes or a diary. People say Afishapa to one another, using an Akan (a major Ghanaian language) word that translates to "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year".
Father ChristmasThe children of Ghana might find it difficult to relate to the harsh cold of the North Pole, so their "Father Christmas" arrives instead from the tropics to play his part in the Christmas festivals.

His gifts are simple - good things to eat mostly - but his outfit is very elegant. Sandals peek out from under his bright red robe trimmed in golden fabric.
A traditional African patterned sash unites the colors of his outfit, and he wears a pale-colored cloak with a hood over his red cap.

While "Father Christmas" is a holdover from Ghana's colonial days, this was the first Black African country to gain its independence. Thus the people there have chosen the traditions they wish to keep from among the European customs, and expanded to encompass their own.

In Ghana the Christmas festival includes a special, religious service after which young people are given imported chocolates, and cookies and crackers prepared especially for this event. These are said to come from "Father Christmas". Christmas also coincides with harvest time for cocoa, which also is generally known as a time of abundance and good cheer.

Friends and relations travel to visit each other, celebrate the Christmas story, and share a wonderful feast.
Source:GHP

Genetics of eye colour unlocked

Scientists have made a breakthrough in their understanding of the genetics behind human eye colour.
They found that just a few "letters" out of the six billion that make up the genetic code are responsible for most of the variation in human eye colour.



The research, by a team of scientists from Queensland, Australia, will appear in a forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.



The findings are based on a genetic study of nearly 4,000 individuals.
One of the changes is like switching the light on and off, while the other is like changing the light bulb from brown to green Richard Sturm, University of QueenslandDifferences in eye colour are largely down to "single nucleotide polymorphisms" (SNPs - pronounced "snips"); variations in the sequence of letters that make up a single strand of human DNA.


SNPs represent a change of just one letter in the genetic sequence. These changes, or mutations, in our DNA can have important consequences for how the gene gets physically expressed.
All the SNPs are located near a gene called OCA2. This gene produces a protein that helps give hair, skin and eyes their colour. And mutations in OCA2 cause the most common type of albinism.

Brown and blue

The study, which focused on twins, their siblings and parents, shows - conclusively - that there is no "gene" for eye colour.
THE DNA MOLECULE




The double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by chemical components called bases
Adenine (A) bonds with thymine (T); cytosine(C) bonds with guanine (G)
Groupings of these "letters" form "code of life"; there are about 2.9 billion base-pairs in the human genome wound into 24 distinct bundles, or chromosomes


Written in the DNA are about 20-25,000 genes which human cells use as starting templates to make proteins; these sophisticated molecules build and maintain our bodiesEveryone has two copies of a SNP. So there are several possible combinations, some of which are more heavily associated with, for example, blue eyes, than with brown eyes.



In short, these combinations strongly influence the colour of a person's eyes, but they are not the final word.
Dr Richard Sturm and his colleagues found three SNPs near the start of the OCA2 gene that were linked to blue eye colour.



"The SNPs we've identified in themselves are not functionally causing the eye colour change, but they are linked very, very closely to something that is," Dr Sturm, from the University of Queensland, told BBC News.
"When OCA2 is knocked out, there is a loss of pigmentation. The position of these SNPs right at the start of the gene means it is possible we're looking at a change in the regulation of the gene in people with blue eye colour."
Functional change



So these SNPs, at the start of OCA2, probably regulate how much of the pigmentation protein is produced by the gene. People with brown eyes might have a lot of this protein, while people with blue eyes have less.
However, the single letter changes involved in green eyes may actually produce functional changes in the pigmentation protein.



The researchers found SNPs at another position in the OCA2 region - linked to green eyes - that resulted in changes to amino acids (the building blocks of a protein).
"To use an analogy, one of the changes is like switching the light on and off, while the other is like changing the light bulb from brown to green," said Dr Sturm.



Altogether, the single letter changes identified in the study accounted for 74% of total variation in eye colour, the researchers said. The study was a collaboration between researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the University of Queensland, both in Brisbane.
source bbc

iPhone surprises technology world

A net phone called the iPhone has been launched by Linksys just weeks before analysts were expecting Apple to release a similarly-named device.

The wireless iPhone allows users to make free or low-cost internet phone calls using the Skype service.
It joins a growing market of phones which use wi-fi to make telephone calls instead of traditional mobile networks.

There has been intense speculation about Apple entering the mobile market for the last few months. Wireless net telephones are growing in popularity because they offer a low-cost alternative to making mobile phone calls.

The phones can connect to wi-fi networks - which are often free or low-cost to access - and access the net to make telephone calls, using Voice over Internet Protocol (Voip).
Analysts predict Increasingly, mobile phone manufacturers and operators are incorporating Voip services into handsets.

Apple has neither confirmed nor denied that it is working on a mobile phone but speculation has continued for months with many analysts predicting it will be unveiled in January in San Francisco.

Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg said the speculation around the Apple product - which was expected to be called iPhone - showed there was "pent up demand for something from Apple".

Many analysts predict that Apple will launch a device which combines the features of a mobile phone with its popular iPod. But there is uncertainty over whether the device will simply be a Voip handset or will also connect to mobile networks.

Jupiter analyst Thomas Husson, told the BBC News website, that he did not expect any Apple phone, if one were launched, to have an immediate impact on the mobile market.
'Disruptive'
"It's a very competitive market. It will take time for Apple to be disruptive."
He said that any Apple phone would most likely be sold direct to consumers, rather than through a mobile operator.

That would mean customers would have to pay a premium for the phone, as it would not then be subsidised. "Apple would need to offer a compelling phone experience," he said.
The Linksys iPhone comes in two models - a $180 (£92) model which can make Skype phone calls and a $200 (£102) model which is a dual Skype and landline phone.

President Declares 2007 Year Of Action

President J.A. Kufuor has declared that 2007 will be a year of action.He, therefore, asked Ghanaians to change their attitudes and rise up to meet the challenges and the programmes lined up for the year.

The President was responding to remarks made by the Chairman of the Council of State, Professor Daniel Adzei-Bekoe, at the last quarterly meeting between him and the Council of State at the Castle, Osu, yesterday.

After the opening remarks by the President and Professor Adzei-Bekoe, the meeting retired into a closed-door session.The President said 2007 would begin with Ghana playing host to the President of Germany, other African leaders and representatives of youth groups from all over the world at a forum intended to discuss the vision and arrangements for the emerging global village.

The forum, he said, would be followed almost immediately with a lecture by the outgoing United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, to kick-start the country’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

He said Mr Annan, who had had a distinguished diplomatic career and also brought honour to the country, needed to be given a hero’s welcome to Ghana when he retired home next year.Besides the celebration of the country’s Golden Jubilee, the country would also be the venue for the African Union Summit and Conference on the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) to be attended by all beneficiary countries of the facility to map out strategies to maximise benefits under the facility.

The year 2007, he said, would be the period for the country to complete its preparations towards hosting the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 2008.Again, he said, the year would witness the earnest implementation of the programme drawn up to utilise the $547 million facility given to the country under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) of the US.

The President said all those events, as well as other engagements, had been lined up at a time when the sanitation situation was not the best, while crimes such as cocaine trafficking posed a threat to the international image of the country.

He said such challenges could be best overcome with the active participation of all Ghanaians and, therefore, called for co-operation from all citizens to contribute their quota towards dealing with those difficulties for a successful year.As part of efforts to deal with the cocaine menace, the President said, the security agencies had busted another group of people suspected to be dealing in cocaine.

Reports submitted to his office, he said, indicated that some officials of a reputable company on the Spintex Road in Accra noted for rice importation had been busted for allegedly dealing in cocaine.Earlier, Professor Adzei-Bekoe commended the President for the progress that the country had made in the year 2006.

“We have maintained our economic stability, in spite of the frightening hike in oil prices and the impact that this has had on the cost of transportation and electric power for industrial and for domestic use,” he stated.“Fortunately, prices have come down significantly and the trend continues, though the downward trend has not been as dramatic as the increases months ago,” he added.

Professor Adzei-Bekoe said by the participation of the President in various forums and negotiations which had gone on with the host countries, he had secured for Ghana positive indications of support which could bring much needed relief in the short and medium terms.

He, however, expressed concern about some issues, including Dagbon and cocaine trafficking, and appealed to the parties involved in the Dagbon case to follow the road map which they had already signed for peace to prevail.
Source:Graphic