Attention To all!!!The Bursaries Committee will be arriving in Moscow soon. As part of the programme, all Moscow students have been invited to attend the meeting to be held on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 16:00 hrs sharp. The agenda for the meeting is obvious I guess!!! The venue for the meeting will be communicated to you as soon as possible. For more information, contact Robert on 8-926-544-21-86.
The Dark Continent… wildlife safaris… apartheid… starvation… Our first impressions of Africa are often formed by news stories, adventure movies, or magazine photos. But Africa — the real Africa — is a continent of magnificent treasures of rich cultures and ancient civilizations. These have remained unknown to many in the most western countries - from the breathtaking stone architecture of 1,000-year-old ruins in South Africa, the mighty Victoria Falls in Zambia to an advanced 16th century international university in Timbuktu. In most cases, many of these African wonders have been hidden from the world, lost to the ravages of time, nature and repressive governments.
It is for this reason that we, as Africans and indeed Zambians, during the African Week should organize ourselves to promote our culture and arts. The week will begin with exhibitions at different faculties within the People's Friendship University (Lumumba), followed by exhibitions in the main administrative block. Later on the last friday of April, we will have the Dancing Show to demonstrate our different dancing skills. We also be participating in the 'All countries' exhibition on the 1st of May, 2008. however, there other events already taking place- the Girls Football Tournament. MiniFootball, football and basketball will knick off soon- usually by early Ap... Read more »
There will be a meeting for RUDN students on the 16 th of March 2008 (Sunday) at 15:30 pm at Chikondi's place. All are kindly requested to turn up on time. For further information, please call Chikondi on 89263197985.
Administration would like to inform all its users that the site will not be accessible on the 5 th of March for several hours (From about 8:00 PM - London) due to maintenance work on our server. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.
Administration
OSLO -- The fossil of a 15-meter-long "sea monster" found in Arctic Norway was the biggest of its kind known to science, with daggerlike teeth in a mouth large enough to bite a small car, researchers said Wednesday.
The 150-million-year-old pliosaur, a fierce marine reptile, was about 5 meters longer than the previous pliosaur record holder, which was found in Australia.
"It's a new species and the biggest proven pliosaur," Joern Hurum, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Oslo who led the expedition to dig up the fossil on the archipelago of Svalbard, 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole.
"A small car could fit inside its mouth," he said, adding that the lower jaw was about 3 meters long.
"Something like a Morris Minor would fit perfectly," Hurum said, referring to a vintage British car.
The museum said pliosaurs were the top marine predators of the Jurassic era -- roughly 150 million to 200 million years ago, preying upon squidlike animals, fish and other marine reptiles.
Another type of fossil marine reptile, the ichthyosaur, was bigger, reaching up to 23 meters.
"The pliosaur is not the biggest sea monster, but it's probably the most fierce," Hurum said, adding that the fossil has jagged teeth the size of cucumbers.
"The front flipper of our pliosaur alone is 3 meters long. We've laid it out downstairs in the basement," he said.
Earlier estimates had been that the Norwegian pliosaur, popularly dubbed "The Monster," was abou... Read more »
Bloomberg Red Square, a favorite tourist destination and the site of a military parade planned for Victory Day on May 9, will close soon for resurfacing.
Workers will lay a new foundation before replacing the paving stones. The appearance of the square will be preserved, Kremlin property chief Vladimir Kozhin said, Interfax reported. Kremlin
officials are still working on plans for the resurfacing and plan to close the square for the shortest possible time, he said.
Kenya's
government has agreed in principle to the creation of a Prime
Minister's post sought by the opposition but the terms and duties are
still being discussed, a government negotiator said today.
"That is more or less agreed on. What we are discussing now is the
post's functions, responsibilities, nature of appointment and so on,"
Mutula Kilonzo, a negotiator at talks led by former UN chief Kofi Annan
said. "This will be an interim measure."
And chief mediator and former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan said the end of his difficult mission was in sight. "I'm
beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
Both teams were to meet with their leaders on "a joint
proposal that had been largely agreed on the governance
structure" before returning on Friday, Annan's statement added. The opposition has demanded the post of PM and a 50-50 split in cabinet positions.
It has further threatened new street protests if there is no political solution
within a week, raising fears of more bloodshed after violence over the
disputed December 27 election that has killed more than 1 000 people.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate surged to a record 100 580.2% in
January, marking another setback to President Robert Mugabe's efforts
to reverse a deep economic slide in the once prosperous African nation.
Mugabe has made the battle against inflation the cornerstone of his
government's bid to halt the country's economic meltdown, which many
critics blame on mismanagement and his controversial policies,
including seizures of white-owned farms.
Last year his government ordered businesses across the country to
freeze the price of milk, bread, cooking oil and other basic
commodities in a bid to halt runaway price increases that have
devastated the lives of millions of Zimbabweans.
But the country's state-run Central Statistical Office (CSO) reported, that annualised inflation rate had risen past the six-figure
mark from 66 212.3%in December.
The data came amid a presidential election campaign that sees Mugabe facing the first serious challenge to his rule
since coming to power after independence from Britain in 1980.
Zambia's economy is 56.4 percent free, according to a 2008 assessment by the Heritage Foundation, which makes it the world's 99th freest economy. Its overall score is 0.8 percentage point lower than last year, mainly reflecting a much-worsened score in labor freedom. Zambia is ranked 15th out of 40 countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is slightly higher than the regional average.
Zambia scores better than the world average only in terms of government expenditures, which are low in formal terms. This is likely a sign of government weakness, not efficiency. Personal and corporate tax rates are moderately high, but overall tax revenue is relatively low as a percentage of GDP. Total government expenditures equal about one-fourth of national GDP.
All of Zambia's other scores are equal to or below the world average. The judicial process is slow, and many courts cannot arbitrate commercial suits effectively. Corruption is widespread. The regulatory environment hinders business activity, and labor regulations are especially difficult. The government has streamlined foreign investment procedures, but capital is still subject to extensive restrictions.
Background: The former British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zambia in 1964. Popular demand for multi-party democracy led President Kenneth Kaunda, who had ruled since independence, to remove restrictions on political p... Read more »
It is for this reason that we, as Africans and indeed Zambians, during the African Week should organize ourselves to promote our culture and arts. The week will begin with exhibitions at different faculties within the People's Friendship University (Lumumba), followed by exhibitions in the main administrative block. Later on the last friday of April, we will have the Dancing Show to demonstrate our different dancing skills. We also be participating in the 'All countries' exhibition on the 1st of May, 2008. however, there other events already taking place- the Girls Football Tournament. MiniFootball, football and basketball will knick off soon- usually by early Ap... 
And chief mediator and former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan said the end of his difficult mission was in sight. "I'm
beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
It has further threatened new street protests if there is no political solution
within a week, raising fears of more bloodshed after violence over the
disputed December 27 election that has killed more than 1 000 people.