Tag: nation

American vice president thinks Africa is one country

Vice President Joe Biden has made yet another flub. During his speech at the United States-Africa Summit yesterday, Vice President Biden referred to Africa as a “nation.”

Africa is, of course, a 54-country continent.In reference to Africa joining the status of the most lucrative nations in the world, Vice President Biden stated “there is no reason the nation of Africa cannot and should not join the ranks of the world’s most prosperous nations in the near term-in the decades ahead.”

The Ukrainian gas company that Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, just joined is a growing conglomerate that has been compared to “Exxon in its early days.”

Burisma Holdings announced Tuesday that the younger Biden will join the company as the head of its legal unit.

Burisma is a private oil and gas company founded in 2002, under joint activity agreements with Ukrainian state-owned producers, and quickly grew to become the largest private gas producer in Ukraine. The company’s average daily output stood at 10.5 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in September 2013, and could double that figure within two years. All of the company’s gas is sold to industrial customers in Ukraine.

‘We are a nation united in our grief’: Helen Zille

Helen Zille, supporting the ANC icon Mandela
Helen Zille

DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE STATEMENT BY HELEN ZILLE LEADER OF THE DA A NATION UNITED IN GRIEF

06 December 2013

Today, South Africa lost the greatest son of its soil. Today the rainbow nation lost its father.

Today, we are a nation united in grief.

It is with deep and profound sadness that we say: Lala ngoxolo Tata. Asoze sikulibale (Rest in peace Tata, we will never forget you).

Our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers are with Madiba’s wife, Graca, his former wife, Winnie, his daughters Makaziwe, Zenani and Zindziswa, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren.

May they find the strength to overcome the pain of this great loss. And may the entire Mandela family be accorded the respect they deserve at this time. May they be accorded the right to mourn in peace. The nation mourns with them.

We all belong to the South African family – and we owe that sense of belonging to Madiba. That is his legacy. It is why there is an unparalleled outpouring of national grief at his passing. It is commensurate with the contribution he made to our country.

Through his humility, moral conviction and bold leadership, Madiba gave us a gift for which we, and successive generations will be forever grateful. He gave us his vision of a free and inclusive South Africa and the unwavering belief that such a society could be achieved in his lifetime.

He was, quite simply, the greatest South African that ever lived. We shall never see his like again.

Let all South Africans join hands as we mourn Madiba’s passing and celebrate his life. Let us re-affirm his values and recapture his spirit in all we do.