Nelson Mandela "looks well"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20657105

I am sure many of you have hard about the recent hospital visit of Nelson Mandela. I posted this article because Mandela was such a big part of South Africa and what it has to offer. South Africa looks at Mandela as a God, he has done a lot of great things for his country and I wonder what will happen when he eventually kicks the bucket. Will South Africa be any different with him gone? Will any other president be able to live up to the standard he left? He is 94 years old, a nobel peace prize winner and was the first black president of South Africa. Mandela has had his share of medical problems lately and it is just something to keep on top of. I think it is funny that this article talks about him "looking well" while in the hospital, I mean really, who looks well when they are in a hospital?

"Mr Mandela was taken from his home in the rural village of Qunu, in Eastern Cape province, to hospital in the capital on Saturday. Local media report that the decision to move him was taken so quickly, some family members and his own foundation were initially unaware it had happened.

Mr Zuma's office said on Saturday that Mr Mandela was doing well and that there was "no cause for alarm", but did not give details about the reasons for his admission. Mr Mandela needs medical attention "from time to time which is consistent with his age," the statement added."

Morphine: The cheap, effective pain-relief drug denied to millions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20625482

This article was interesting to me because I did not know that Morphine was a cheap drug. Considering how strong and powerful it is I would have thought it would have been one of the more expensive drugs. It is also painful to hear that these people with cancer and being deprived of pain medication. I have been in so much pain before that I was on morphine and if I hadn't of been I have no idea what my outcome would have been. I feel for these people.

"In an open ward at Mulago Hospital in Uganda's capital city, Kampala, an elderly woman named Joyce lies in the fifth bed on the left.
She has twisted the sheets around herself, her face contorted by pain. Joyce's husband, thin and birdlike, hovers over her.
Joyce has cancer - it has spread throughout her body - and until a few days ago, she was on morphine. Then it ran out.
"She's consistently had pain," says a nurse. "And she describes the pain to be deep - kind of into her bones."
The Ugandan government makes and distributes its own morphine for use in hospitals, but poor management means the supply is erratic."

Google cash buys drones to watch endangered species

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20625578

I have posted a lot of articles about endangered animals and after reading this article it give me hope that these animals with thrive. Google really can do just about anything. The technological advances in our world can make endangered species live longer.

"Controlled via a tablet computer, the small autonomous aircraft will photograph poachers and track animals via smart radio tags. The World Wildlife Fund added the $5m (£3.1m) grant would also fund software that could map where poachers strike. And it was developing a mobile DNA sampling kit to match body parts with animals. The WWF said poaching and trafficking of body parts was having a devastating effect on the wild populations of some species, setting back decades long conservation efforts."

Africa's Savannahs - and Their Lions - Declining at Alarming Rates

http://allafrica.com/stories/201212051568.html

After reading this article it reminded me a lot of the Mountain Gorillas. The increase of rapid population growth is causing the decline of lion population because people are taking their land. Unfortunately the lions are still increasing while the gorillas are increasing. Hopefully these beautiful creatures wont continue to decline.

"The word savannah conjures up visions of vast open plains teeming with wildlife. But the reality is that massive land-use change and deforestation, driven by rapid human population growth, has fragmented or degraded much of the original savannah. Only 25 percent remains of an ecosystem that once was a third larger than the continental United States," said Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment."

Zimbabwe: MDC-T Activists Abducted and Tortured By Zanu-PF in Chegutu

http://allafrica.com/stories/201212051575.html
This article talks about a "thug" abducting 3 MDC-T members, two of them teenagers. They were taken to a torture base. It is hard and upsetting to read an article like this. The two teenagers are still unable to return to school because they are so traumatized.

"Mashonaland West is a very volatile province where ZANU PF has deployed large numbers of youths trained at the so-called Border Gezi youth militia camps. Trusted sources have told us that after graduation, the youths were incorporated into the army, but live at home with their families in order to spy on other villagers."