The attack on Hutu Rwandan Genocide Could Considered

Johannesburg – A draft report from the UN reveal that if the army of Rwanda and its Congolese rebel groups who become allies, considered to have been a massacre of Hutu refugees in Congo Tribe.Events that took place during the 1990s can be regarded as an act of Genocide.Hearing this accusation, the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame threatened to withdraw their forces joined in the UN peacekeeping forces if such allegations are issued.

Approximately one million ethnic Hutus, including residents who survived the events of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 to flee to Congo. But the country’s military continues to hunt them down and slaughtered thousands of them in refugee camps built the United Nations. Thus the Associated Press reported on Friday (27/08/2010).Draft report released by UN Human Rights Council states, systematic attacks that took place at the same time spreading out may be causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Hutus.They were killed by various military units deployed by the Rwanda.(AP)

Rebels killed three personnel of UN peacekeepers from India

Kinshasa  Rebels killed three personnel of UN peacekeepers from India at their camp in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the military said India and the Congo, Wednesday.Besides seven Indian soldiers wounded in attack in Kirumba, the Indian military and local officials accused carried out by the Mai-Mai, a Congolese militia.

“At approximately 1:50 pm local time , under a dark situation, unity Operating Base in Kirumba approached by five civilians,” said the Indian military in a statement.”They asked for assistance in the post, while they’re bericara with guards on duty at the time, a group of about 50-60 pmberontak – possibly from the Mai-mai rebel groups – attacking the base, out of the woods,” the statement said.

The attack lasted about five minutes. Rebels had fled into the woods, in the midst of darkness.”In that incident, three Indian army personnel were killed and seven others injured.General Vainqueur Mayala, commander of military region VIII of the Democratic Republic of Congo says the attack motive is unclear.

“They did not use firearms, but machetes and knives, and they killed three Indian soldiers and three others were seriously wounded,” said the general was told AFP by telephone from Kinshasa.The victims were all serving in the Organization for the Stability in the Democratic Republic of the United Nations (MONUSCO).

MONUSCO is one of institutions and their heightened security so I do not see how the attackers entered the camp were using machetes, “he said and added that he” can not understand “why the attack was carried out.Kirumba located about 140km north of Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province.

Indian troops shot dead a Nord-Kivu in May this year, and another was killed in a firefight in the province in 2005.Leaders of the city, told the AFP Egide Karafifi that the attackers wore civilian clothes and sang songs Mai-Mai.MONUSCO spokesman, Madodje Maounoubai not be immediately reached to confirm the attack.The mission, which was previously identified natural French acronym MONUC its presence in Congo since the end of 1999 and its new mandate to consolidate peace barlangsung until June 30 next year.(AFP)

Zimbabwe auctioned 900,000 carats of rough gems Wednesday from a diamond

JOHANNESBURG Zimbabwe auctioned 900,000 carats of rough gems Wednesday from a diamond field where human rights groups say soldiers killed 200 people, raped women and enslaved children.It was the first public sale of diamonds from the notorious Marange field in eastern Zimbabwe since international regulators imposed a ban in November under rules designed to screen out conflict gems.The sale happened to coincide with the “blood diamonds” phase of the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president. Taylor’s case and the Zimbabwe sale are unrelated, but both point to the successes and difficulties facing the campaign to regulate the trade in diamonds that has helped finance wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo and now Ivory Coast.

The auction in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, went ahead after the gems were certified as conflict-free by Abbey Chikane, a monitor for the Kimberley Process that oversees trade in the diamonds. Chikane had established that soldiers were gone from two fenced-off commercial mines producing the diamonds, and that the mines were operating according to “minimum international standards.”

In the rest of the field, where Zimbabwe’s military still holds sway and abuses reportedly continue, a ban on diamonds remains in place. But there is no guarantee its product won’t infiltrate into the legitimately mined stones.The arrangement so angered American gem trader Martin Rapaport that in February he quit as president of the World Diamond Council. “The tragedy of Zimbabwe is that the Kimberley Process has started legitimizing, legalizing, kosherizing blood diamonds,” he said in a telephone interview from Israel as the auction got under way.

He said it made Kimberley participants “liars who are telling the world that these diamonds are legitimate.”The Kimberley Process was set up in 2002. Its members are 75 diamond-producing and diamond-trading countries, along with industry agencies and civic and human rights bodies such as London-based Global Witness.

Stephane Chardon, chairman of the Kimberley monitoring group, said it deserved credit for the original ban on Marange diamonds and for ensuring that the two fenced-off mines were being properly run.He noted that the Kimberley rules apply only to blood diamonds mined and sold by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at toppling legitimate governments. It has no provision for punishing governments.Chardon said the system has helped. “In quite a few countries it has contributed to changing conflict diamonds into development diamonds, in the sense that the revenues are going to the government and are used for development purposes and not for conflict.”

The Marange field was discovered in 2006 and is believed to be the biggest found in the world since the 19th century. It triggered a chaotic diamond rush until police and then the army moved in.Human Rights Watch says the Zimbabwe government still has not kept its word to withdraw soldiers completely from the Marange fields, and that it found conditions there “quite appalling” as recently as May.

“We found that people were still being forced to mine, to dig for diamonds at gunpoint by the army, by soldiers,” said senior researcher Tiseke Kasambala of the area outside the two fenced off mines. “We found children as young as 11 still working in these mines.”Buyers from Belgium, Russia, India, Israel, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates flew into Harare on private aircraft to inspect the stones and present bids in sealed envelopes. They refused to speak to reporters.

“Buyers were extremely interested and the pricing was satisfactory,” said David Castle, director of Mbada Diamonds and chairman of the South African New Reclamation Group that offered the diamonds for sale.Global Witness campaigner Elly Harrowell said that instead of expelling Zimbabwe from the Kimberley process as recommended last year by Kimberley Process investigators who were sent to Marange, “What we have instead is a weak compromise.”

She said that unless Zimbabwe kept its promise to withdraw all troops and fulfill other promised improvements, the Kimberley Process should “act very, very quickly” to prevent Marange gems from being exported.The compromise was reached after a Zimbabwe court released human rights activist Farai Maguwu, who was jailed for more than a month after publicizing abuses at the diamond fields.

Human rights groups say the deal also helped avert a crisis in the international diamond market, since President Robert Mugabe was threatening to sell stones without certification.Zimbabwe’s mines minister, Obert Mpofu, said Wednesday the country has 4.5 million Marange diamonds in stock, valued at up to $1.9 billion – one third of the national debt of a country whose economy has been ruined by corruption, mismanagement and Mugabe’s campaign against the country’s white-minority farmers.(AP)

US immigrant's dream ends with genocide allegation

CONCORD, N.H. Beatrice Munyenyezi brought her three daughters to the United States from war-ravaged Rwanda in 1998 and focused on the American Dream: private schooling for her girls, a home with a swimming pool, a sport utility vehicle.Before long, she had a $13-an-hour job at Manchester’s Housing Authority in New Hampshire, her children were enrolled in Catholic school, and she was on her way to financing a comfortable American lifestyle through mortgages, loans and credit cards.

Now the 40-year-old mother sits behind bars, held without bond while she awaits trial on federal citizenship fraud charges for allegedly lying about involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when at least 500,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.Authorities say she was an extremist Hutu who killed and enabled the rapes of untold Tutsi victims – not the innocent refugee she claimed to be in 1995 to gain U.S. entry, when she applied for a visa and for citizenship.

Munyenyezi (moon-yehn-YEH’-zee) has pleaded not guilty to two counts of lying to obtain U.S. citizenship on her refugee and naturalization applications, by denying any role in the Rwanda genocide. She is scheduled for trial in May 2011.Her dream life apparently ended, it started falling apart years earlier. She filed for bankruptcy in May 2008, walking away from hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt: a $222,000 mortgage, $14,125 in student loans, $4,198 in municipal taxes and fees and $30,000 in credit card and other unsecured debt.

“She lived here for probably two years without paying her mortgage; she didn’t pay her bills for a good two years,” said Tom Prince of Manchester, who lived across the street from Munyenezi. “We all feel she took advantage.”Assets she listed included $1,500 in a checking account, $2,000 worth of furniture and $500 in clothing. She also owned a 2000 Toyota 4Runner valued at $12,000.

Her bankruptcy lawyers did not return calls seeking comment.In early 2003, she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen and bought a three-bedroom home on Howe Street for $190,000 in November, according to city records. She refinanced it three years later for $235,000.

She worked full time from 2001-2005 as a family services coordinator for the Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Director Dick Dunfey would not comment on Munyenyezi, citing office policy.When she first moved in, Prince helped her clean out a backyard pool and get its filter in working order. Next door neighbor Scott Silver helped with moving things, including her new wide-screen TV, and cleared her walkway of snow.

“She knew nothing about owning a home,” Prince said. “She never said, ‘Thank you.'”When she didn’t need their help, Munyenyezi was quiet and kept to herself. They described her three daughters as polite, smart girls who played basketball. Now teenagers, they are living with relatives in the U.S.Both men said they saw large scars on Munyenyezi’s shoulders and arms when she wore halter dresses. At least once a year she traveled to Africa for two to four weeks at a time, they said. Her Rav4 vanity plate was “Shalom,” her husband’s name.

Silver, a real estate agent, said he was shocked when Munyenyezi refinanced her modest home. He said she had consulted him in advance about refinancing, and he told her he didn’t think she had a shot.”How in the world she ever did that, I don’t know,” Silver said. “She knew how to work the system.”In a 2005 interview with New Hampshire Public Radio, Munyenyezi gave a glimpse of her determination.”I am a fighter,” she said. “I like to be independent. I worked so hard to be here. I do what I have to do to survive.”Last year, Munyenyezi obtained an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Manchester Community College.

By the time she filed for bankruptcy, Munyenyezi was working at Elliott Hospital in Manchester as a nurse’s aide. Leanne Quartorchi of the medical staffing firm MAS Home Care of New Hampshire considered her reliable.Quartorchi said she was “floored” by Munyenyezi’s indictment. “She was so quiet and mild-mannered.”Cathy Chesley, director of immigration and refugee services for Catholic Charities of Manchester, said the agency provided Munyenyezi a standard refugee allotment when she became their client in 1999.

“We didn’t provide relief to Beatrice,” Chesley said. “We didn’t have any background information (on her). We rely on the federal government for clearance of all refugees who come through.”Federal prosecutors decline to say how Munyenyezi came to their attention. But in court documents, immigration agents describe interviews with alleged witnesses to the atrocities. A federal affidavit says Munyenyezi and her husband, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, were extremist Hutus who participated in roadblocks and ID checks that resulted in numerous Tutsi rapes and killings.Court papers give a graphic account of Munyeynezi allegedly striking a young Tutsi boy so hard in the head with a wooden club that he died instantly.

Ntahobali and his mother, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, are prominent defendants in the United Nation’s international crimes tribunal on Rwanda, both charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Incarcerated in Tanzania, they await a verdict this fall.Munyenyezi testified as a defense witness at her husband’s trial in 2006. In her bankruptcy filing, she described herself as single but her criminal attorney, David Ruoff, said last month she was still married.

Ruoff said he may depose witnesses in Rwanda to prepare her defense.”I’m obviously concerned about the legitimacy of any witness statements coming out of Rwanda, from what I’ve heard anecdotally from other prosecutions,” Ruoff said. “If she’s convicted and her citizenship is stripped, she’ll be deported to Rwanda and she’ll be in custody the rest of her life.”(AP)

http://www.youtube.com/v/yezmNCQk_S4&rel=0&fs=1

U.N. Security Council extended the stay of peacekeepers in Sudan's western Darfur region by another year on Friday

The U.N. Security Council extended the stay of peacekeepers in Sudan’s western Darfur region by another year on Friday, telling the force to focus primarily on protecting civilians and aid deliveries.The 15-nation council unanimously approved the extension in a resolution that also condemned a recent upsurge of violence in Darfur and called on Khartoum to stop hindering the work of the joint African Union/U.N. peacekeeping force, or UNAMID.

The force, which currently stands at some 21,700 troops and police, has been struggling for three years with the Darfur crisis, which erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglect.The government responded by mobilizing mostly Arab militias accused of a campaign of rape, murder and looting which created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. U.N. officials say up to 300,000 have died, while Khartoum says 10,000.

Extending UNAMID’s mandate until July 31, 2011, the Security Council called on it to give priority to protection of civilians and ensuring “safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access” to an estimated 2 million refugees.It instructed U.N. officials in Sudan to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to achieve those targets.

Western diplomats said the force should put those goals ahead of reconstruction projects or a direct role in attempts to negotiate a political settlement, which they said UNAMID had been straying into and which Sudan’s government favored.Peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels are going on in Qatar, but have made little progress in the absence of the two main rebel groups.

PERMANENT CEASEFIRE SOUGHT

The renewal of UNAMID’s mandate came as violence has risen in Darfur, a region the size of France. Eight people were reported killed and dozens injured this week at fighting in refugee camps between supporters and opponents of peace talks.UNAMID reported earlier this month that 221 people had died in tribal fighting and other violence in Darfur in June after nearly 600 deaths in May. UNAMID itself has lost 27 troops and police since it first deployed.The Security Council called on all parties to the conflict in Darfur to immediately end the violence and commit themselves to a “sustained and permanent ceasefire.”

The council was to discuss the violence in closed-door consultations later on Friday, diplomats said.The council also urged all parties to let UNAMID do its work and called on Khartoum to carry out promises to the United Nations on flight and equipment clearances and remove all obstacles to the use of the force’s aircraft.

In a report this month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused both Khartoum and rebel groups of restricting access to areas where there had been fighting. Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem said his government had placed “no restrictions whatsoever” on UNAMID.Aid group Oxfam agreed with the Security Council that UNAMID should focus on security and stay out of reconstruction. “Mixing the work of blue helmets (peacekeepers) with aid groups will confuse Darfuris,” El Fateh Osman, Oxfam’s country director in Sudan, said in a statement.

Separately, U.N. Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra told reporters that the United Nations was preparing to expand its presence in semi-autonomous South Sudan to help prepare for next year’s referendum on possible secession for the South.She said U.N. personnel would also help with training of local security forces and monitoring for the referendum.(Reuters)

The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus

LONDON, The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus, according to a new report by a U.N. agency.The number of young people infected with HIV dropped by at least 25 percent in a dozen countries, the U.N. AIDS report said. In Kenya, the infection rate among people aged 15 to 24 fell from about 14 percent in 2000 to 5.4 percent in urban areas.The drop in HIV rates coincided with a change in sexual behavior, like having fewer sexual partners or increased condom used, UNAIDS said. But the agency could not say the drop was because of recent U.N. policies, which have mainly focused on buying AIDS drugs rather than preventing infections.Some experts said new focus on prevention was too little, too late.

“Thanks to the U.N.’s strategic blunder, many more people are now infected than would have otherwise been the case had they focused on prevention much earlier,” said Philip Stevens, a health policy expert at International Policy Network.The UNAIDS data were based on population surveys and mathematical modeling, and come with a significant margin of error.

“Young people have shown that they can be change agents in the (AIDS) prevention revolution,” UNAIDS wrote in its report.The research provides further evidence the AIDS outbreak peaked more than a decade ago and that the disease is on the decline. In a report last year, the agency said the number of people infected with HIV had remained unchanged – at about 33 million – for the last two years.

UNAIDS also called for more money to combat the epidemic. In 2008, the world spent more than $15 billion on AIDS, with about half of that coming from the United States. In its report, UNAIDS said that “what’s been good for the AIDS response has been good for global health in general.”But a study published last month found there was little correlation between U.S. money spent on AIDS and improvements in other health areas across Africa.UNAIDS called for countries to invest more in their own HIV programs. It noted South Africa and Nigeria, two of Africa’s wealthiest countries, receive the most money from international donors.

Stevens said that while some recent AIDS investments – like putting more people on drugs – have clearly saved lives, it has also distorted health spending. Despite only causing 4 percent of deaths, AIDS gets about 20 cents of every public health dollar.”The same amount of money that we spend on AIDS could save many, many more lives more cheaply by vaccinating children or distributing cheap treatments for diarrhea,” he said.”Aid agencies have a responsibility to ensure they save the most lives possible with the amount of money they have available,” he said. “Spending the lion’s share on HIV clearly does not do that.”(AP)

White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus

A new White House strategy for fighting AIDS domestically will focus on preventing the spread of the virus, perhaps with the broader use of drugs and testing but also with a campaign to reduce stigma.Obama administration officials will release the strategy on Tuesday and said it would focus on prevention, care and reducing disparities.”The plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, partners in prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said in a statement on Monday.AIDS advocates predicted the program would not have funding to buy drugs or tests. Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity, released in May, included 70 recommendations but no funding.More than 1.1 million people in the United States are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 56,000 new infections over the past decade.

While only about 5 percent of patients infect someone else, this is enough to keep levels of the virus stable in the United States, the CDC says. The fatal and incurable virus is spread during sex, in blood and breast milk and by contaminated needles.The U.S. government has a program to fight AIDS globally — PEPFAR or President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — but there has not been a similar coherent domestic strategy.

While the administration of former president George W. Bush was praised for coming up with PEPFAR, it was widely criticized for promoting abstinence-only education in place of more comprehensive programs stressing condom use. AIDS groups said they hoped the Obama plan would do more to promote such education.

“The National HIV/AIDS Strategy is a comprehensive plan focused on: 1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and 3) reducing HIV-related health disparities,” the White House said.Experts have disagreed on how best to do this but recent studies have supported theories that treating HIV patients with drugs can not only keep them healthier, but help reduce the likelihood that they will infect someone else.

Some AIDS activist groups began criticizing the policy even before it was released, saying it did not come close to doing what they had hoped.”This strategy is a day late and a dollar short: 15 months in the making and the White House learned what people in the field have known for years,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There is no funding, no ‘how to,’ no real leadership.”

The CDC estimates that 79 percent of Americans with HIV know it and experts say people who know they are infected can take steps to avoid infecting others. The CDC recommends testing everyone for HIV, with an option to refuse the test, instead of forcing people to ask to be tested.The new U.S. strategy likely will include recommendations to broaden testing.

The AIDS virus infects 33 million people globally and has killed 25 million since the pandemic began in the 1980s.In Africa, most new AIDS patients are women infected by men during sex. In the United States HIV disproportionately affects men who have sex with men, blacks and Hispanics. (Reuters)

World Cup organizers promise a high-tech closing ceremony featuring pop star Shakira

JOHANNESBURG World Cup organizers promise a high-tech closing ceremony featuring pop star Shakira, compared to the more traditionally African ceremony which opened the tournament.Organizing committee spokesman Jermaine Craig says Sunday’s show at Soccer City will be “more youthful and a bit more technologically advanced” than the June 11 opening ceremony.

Craig says the nighttime event has “nice lighting effects and special effects planned.”The closing ceremony is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. local time, two hours before the final match kicks off.Colombian star Shakira will perform the official tournament anthem “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” Shakira also performed the song at a June 10 World Cup concert in Soweto.(AP)

Mexico enter the cooking pot for Cup start

The once-improbable dream of a World Cup in Africa kicks off on Friday when Mexico face the home team in the deafening cauldron of Johannesburg’s 90,000-seat Soccer City stadium.The Mexicans will have to contend not only an army of jiving supporters in a frenzy of patriotic fervor but an ear-splitting blast from the biggest array yet of vuvuzela trumpets, the loudest fan instrument on the globe, which severely curtails communication between players and coach.The stadium, biggest in Africa, has been shaped like a calabash or cooking pot and the Mexicans may feel they have been put on the fire when they meet Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s much improved national team.

Once mocked by even their compatriots as hopeless under-achievers, and still one of the lowest-rated World Cup hosts, at 83rd in the rankings, South Africa come off a run of 12 unbeaten matches and are new national heroes.Their performance has added to an unprecedented rush of nationalistic excitement in South Africa, which was tormented for years by negative and even domestic pessimism that the world’s most watched sporting event was too big for Africa to handle.

That pessimism has been transformed in recent weeks, encouraged by FIFA’s belated decision to sell tickets for cash, and South Africans of all races can scarcely contain their excitement and pride at being in the world spotlight.Successfully hosting this tournament for the first time in Africa will mean much more for the hosts than just sport.

RACIAL RECONCILIATION

Racial reconciliation, the affirmation of an often troubled post-apartheid nation, future investment and millions of tourist dollars are at stake.African leaders believe this tournament, a massive logistical undertaking, will enable the continent to overturn stereotypes of disaster, conflict and failure and prove it is a vibrant can-do region ripe for investment and development.

A string of comparatively minor crimes against journalists and three Greek players in recent days have been reminders that security in one of the globe’s most violent countries outside a war zone is one of the tournament’s biggest concerns.And six people were injured in a crowd crush at Cape Town’s main World Cup fan zone on Thursday when thousands of people tried to get in.But none of this will dent South African euphoria.

The weight of expectation and the joyful street parades of the last few days could however undermine South Africa’s concentration.Their Brazilian manager, Carlo Alberto Parreira, said on Thursday they had expected calmness and focus but he could understand the distracting party on the streets.

“I don’t want my players to be affected by all of that. Now we have a World Cup game…we want to make this country proud.”If they can hold their nerve in the midst of the noise and atmosphere — Soccer City’s bowl design is likely to boost the sound levels — Mexico do not intend to be a pushover.

Manager Javier Aguirre told reporters they would love to spoil the giant party. “My team has come here to play football, not make friends and do some sightseeing,” he said.

But the history book favors South Africa. Mexico have a poor record in opening games, while the two previous starting matches featuring African teams resulted in shock triumphs for Cameroon over Argentina in 1990 and Senegal over France in 2002.

CONFIDENCE BOOST

Mexico’s confidence has been boosted by a win over defending champions Italy in Belgium last week and good performances against England and the Netherlands in other recent friendlies.The opening match, starting at 1400 GMT (10 a.m. EDT), is likely to see both teams going forward to end a tradition of cautious and dull starts to the tournament.

In Friday’s other game, France are likely to make a nervous start against Uruguay in Cape Town after a series of unimpressive warm up games which ended with a worrying 1-0 defeat by China. They look a far cry from the dominant team that won the World Cup in 1998 and the European trophy two years later.Uruguay on the other hand, though one of the tournament underdogs, have had an impressive warm-up with wins against Switzerland and Israel.(Reuters)

world cup 2010 match preview: Mexico vs south africa

14:00 GMT, June 11, 2010
Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa

With the eyes of the world trained upon the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, the opening match of the FIFA World Cup offers South Africa a unique opportunity to make a statement of intent, both for their own team and for the tournament as a whole.Bafana Bafana will take to the stage after the usual extravagant, drawn out opening ceremony and will find it tough to focus their attention on overcoming their opponents after being part of such a scene. However, buoyed by the sound of around 90,000 vuvuzelas, Carlos Alberto Parreira’s men will have the entire nation – perhaps even continent – behind them as they walk out onto the pitch and you can never rule out the benefit of having a ’12th man’ in the stands.

Coach Parreira boasts all the experience needed to succeed at the highest level, however few have given the South Africans much of a chance of getting out of a group that also includes France and Uruguay. Led by the likes of Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena, Bafana Bafana have, though, been in great form of late. Unbeaten since mid-October, the side have recently beaten Colombia, hammered Guatemala, and overcome Denmark in their warm-up games and have an excellent fourth-placed campaign in the 2009 Confederations Cup (held in South Africa) to draw upon should they need to.

Their opponents, Mexico, have also been on a good run. Unlucky to lose to England after a first-half showing that suggested coach Javier Aguirre will place his emphasis on attacking football, Mexico will have confidence flowing their veins after beating reigning world champions Italy 2-1.

It is something of a turnaround considering that, under Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Mexicans were on the verge of missing out on the tournament altogether, and Aguirre now has the team playing with a freedom that brings out their self-belief. With a mixture of veteran performers like Rafael Marquez and young talent in the form of Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela, they will be a tough proposition for the hosts to overcome.

South Africa player in focus: Katlego Mphela. South Africa left Benni McCarthy out of the squad for a reason and one of them is the form of Mphela. With four goals in his last two starts, the Mamelodi Sundowns striker has made a first-team place his own and, on the back of an incredible goal in the Confederations Cup against Spain, his star is on the rise.

Mexico player in focus: Javier Hernandez. Having just moved to Manchester United in a deal reported to be around £10 million, the spotlight will well and truly be on the young striker. Quick, agile and with a good eye for goal, he has scored seven goals in 12 games for his country. Will need to perform better than he managed in the friendly at Wembley though, if he is to prove his doubters wrong.

Key Battle: Steven Pienaar vs. Andres Guardado. Pienaar’s form is crucial if South Africa have any hope of getting out of the group and his work on the wing will set up chances for his team-mates. A great season at Everton has raised expectation, but then Guardado’s form for Deportivo has also raised the bar on the other side. Both wide men are creative, quick and their battle down the flanks will be a deciding factor in how the game goes.

Trivia: This year’s opening match is the first ever in Africa and it will be the third opener to feature an African team. On both previous occasions the African sides picked up shocks wins as Cameroon beat holders Argentina 1-0 in 1990 and Senegal beat champions France by the same score in 2002.

Stats: South Africa coach Parreira will take charge of a side at his sixth World Cup. Kuwait (1982), United Arab Emirates (1990), Saudi Arabia (1998) and Brazil (1994 and 2006); while Mexico have been sent home in the Second Round stage in the past four World Cup tournaments.

Odds: A 2-2 draw comes in at 17.00, while Mphela looks a good bet to score first at 7.50 with Bet 365.Prediction: You can’t rule out the importance of the crowd in the first game. Players at the Confederations Cup complained of hearing what sounded like a swarm of bees on the pitch – in fact it was the vuvuzela noise – and Mexico could be stunned. It should be enough for South Africa to claim at least a draw.