Mandela To Return To Homeland For Funeral

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Qunu

A farewell service in Pretoria is taking place for Nelson Mandela who will soon return to his rural childhood home in Qunu, Eastern Cape, to be buried on Sunday.

The coffin - draped in a national flag - has been transported to Waterkloof Military Airbase for the final African National Congress ceremony.

Mr Mandela's casket is expected to arrive in the Eastern Cape later this afternoon and will be greeted by a full military ceremony.

The return of Mr Mandela's body to his ancestral homeland is not just for sentimental reasons - it is part of Xhosa tradition that those who pass away are returned to the soil from where they came.

This weekend sees a stark shift in tempo, organisation and ceremony as the state funeral meshes with the centuries-old traditions of Mr Mandela's countrymen and women in the rural Eastern Cape.

"We feel very represented by Nelson Mandela," Mandisi Tshaka, a young Xhosa man, resplendent in his traditional robes and big beaded necklace told me.

"Everyone in the world knows the Xhosa tribe because of him and we're saluting him."

The South African government has announced the former president's state funeral is a "first for the country" and means full military ceremonial honours will be laid on and led by the armed forces.

There will be 21 gun salutes and a fly-over by the South African Air Force.

But there is a strong importance being put on performing the Xhosa rites as Mr Mandela is laid to rest.

There will be a ritual slaughtering of an ox in the early hours before receiving Mr Mandela's body at Mthatha airport in the Eastern Cape.

The AbaThembu king, Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, is expected to lead a group of traditional leaders as well as Mandela elders in welcoming him home to the village of Qunu where he spent much of his childhood.

Xhosa custom dictates a welcome ritual is performed to ensure the ancestors are iinformed of the arrival of Mr Mandela's remains.

Mr Mandela's body lay in state for three days

Mr Mandela will be called on by his praise name Dlibhunga and the AbaThembu king will shout this three times as he greets the body when he arrives home.

Despite the pomp and ceremony of the state funeral, there will be equal, if not more, importance put on the traditional Xhosa burial rituals to ensure the man they call Madiba has an easy transition into the afterworld.

The Xhosa king, Zwelonke Sigcau, told Sky News: "The Xhosa people believe Nelson Mandela is not leaving us. It is just his body which is going into the ground. His spirit will remain."

In the African culture many believe a dead person's spirit lives on beyond death and joins other ancestors who guide, help and protect the living.

It is a belief which greatly helps alleviate the pain felt by the loss of a loved one - and Mr Mandela may assume even greater importance amongst his people because of his exalted status as a spiritual ancestor now.

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Lynne Spalding Death Linked To Alcoholism

A British woman found dead in a locked stairwell 17 days after going missing from her San Francisco hospital room probably died of a chemical imbalance due to complications from alcohol abuse, a coroner has said.

Lynne Spalding, 57, disappeared from the city's general hospital on September 21 but her body was not found until October 8.

Assistant medical examiner Ellen Moffat said in a new report that the mother-of-two had been dead for days before the discovery.

The medical examiner's office said Ms Spalding was confused and delirious on the day she disappeared.

Ms Moffat said Ms Spalding, originally from Peterlee, Co Durham, didn't know the day or time or even why she was in the hospital.

She had been admitted for a bladder or urinary tract infection and arrived at the hospital thin and frail with her children worried about her condition.

San Francisco General Hospital

Although sheriff's deputies at the hospital did a "perimeter search" of the hospital's 24-acre campus within an hour of her disappearance, it was not until September 30 that they attempted a more extensive search of the grounds.

The next day, after it became clear that not all the stairwells used as fire exits had been searched, a supervisor ordered the stairwell searches to continue, yet "only about half the stairwells" ever were, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said.

Ms Spalding's friends and relatives spent days scouring the streets of the Californian city with flyers because they were "under the assumption that San Francisco General had been searched and Lynne was not here".

On October 4 a hospital staff member told the sheriff's department that someone had reported seeing a body in a locked stairwell of the building where Ms Spalding had been a patient.

A sheriff's dispatcher told hospital officials the department would respond, but "there is no indication that any one was dispatched to that stairwell".

Ms Spalding had lived in the city for more than 20 years and had two grown-up children, a 19-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter, who both live in the US.

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North Korea Executes Leader's 'Traitor' Uncle

The once-powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been executed for a string of alleged crimes.

State news agency KCNA announced his death early on Friday, branding the once-powerful General Jang Song-Thaek a "traitor".

Gen Jang was executed on Thursday shortly after a special military trial, the agency reported, after committing such a "hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state".

South Korean media say they believe he was killed by machine gunfire - a relatively common form of execution in the North.

Gen Jang was removed from a party meeting by soldiers

The announcement comes days after Pyongyang announced that Gen Jang had been removed from all his posts because of allegations of corruption, drug use, gambling, womanising, generally leading a "dissolute and depraved life" and "dreaming different dreams".

He was once considered the second most powerful official in the North.

He was seen as helping Mr Kim consolidate power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, two years ago.

Gen Jang is the latest and most significant in a series of personnel reshuffles that Mr Kim has conducted in an apparent effort to bolster his power.

Gen Jang pictured with Kim Jong-Un

In a viciously-worded attack, the regime accused Gen Jang of betraying the trust of both Mr Kim and his father, saying he had received "deeper trust" from the younger leader in particular.

Branding Gen Jang "despicable human scum ... worse than a dog", the regime accused him of attempting to stand in the way of Mr Kim's succession, according to KCNA.

Gen Jang, who was married to the sister of the late Kim Jong-Il, played a key role in cementing the leadership of the inexperienced new leader.

But analysts say the 67-year-old's power and influence had become increasingly resented by his nephew, who is aged around 30.

Gen Jang - seen as Mr Kim's political regent and the country's unofficial number two - had earlier been stripped of all posts and titles, with the regime accusing him of corruption and building a rival power base.

Kim Jong-Un is seen looking suspiciously at his uncle in July

State TV this week showed photos of Gen Jang being dragged out of his seat at a meeting by two officers, in an extremely rare public humiliation of a figure who was then demonised as a drug-taking womaniser.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Tuesday accused Mr Kim of resorting to extreme violence to cement his leadership.

"North Korea is now engaged in a reign of terror while carrying out a massive purge to consolidate the power of Kim Jong-Un," she told a cabinet meeting, according to her office.

The Kim family has ruled the North for six decades with an iron fist, regularly purging those showing the slightest sign of dissent. Most are executed or sent to prison camps.

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Food Poverty: 1.5m UK Pensioners Struggling

By Ashish Joshi, Sky News Correspondent

More than 1.5 million British pensioners are now living in food poverty - and the situation is set to worsen this winter, according to new research.

The Centre for Economics and Business says a quarter of over-65s have had to make cutbacks on food over the past three years, and over one million are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition because they are struggling to afford basic nutritious food.

The reason is that while the cost of living has continued to rise, incomes have not kept pace.

Increasing food prices in particular have hit the elderly the most.

The study shows over-65s will spend an average of £699 on food between October and December this year - that's an increase of £138 compared to the same quarter five years ago.

And by 2018 there will be an additional increase of £297 on top of that bill. It all adds up to the over-65s being harder hit than any other demographic.

Members describe the lunch clubs as a lifeline

Raina Barnes, 82, from Perivale, Middlesex, has been attending the Age Concern lunch club in Greenford for the past few months. Hot meals and warm company are provided by the charity.

Mrs Barnes, who was widowed last year, remembers when a £30 shop would easily last a few weeks. These days, she says, you get "hardly anything" for that amount.

"I think the supermarkets are taking us for a ride. One minute they're putting their prices down. The next they're going higher. You've only got a certain amount of money to spend," she says.

"All the basics like bread, milk and eggs are the things you need all the time. I mean eggs have just gone up terrible. You just have to see how it goes."

Sharing the dinner table with Mrs Barnes is 88-year-old Harry Thomas, a World War Two veteran. Mr Thomas says he shops around to compare the best prices in local supermarkets.

"It's a very hard thing these days for people, the price of things. You go to one shop and the price might have been dropped and you go to another and the price goes up a little bit.

"You never know what to buy. All I do is look at the price and say 'too high' and I don't bother."

Danny Woolcott, 87, has been a regular at the lunch club for more than six years. The retired mechanic, from Southall, visits three times a week.

He blames the Government for "letting pensioners down".

"I would like to see any government looking after the elderly people of this country.

"The people who brought this country along are being neglected badly and I think it's disgusting the way things have been left, honestly and truthfully."

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Border Force Criticised By MPs Over Failings

People could be sneaking into the country illegally on private boats and planes because Border Force officials are too busy checking airport passengers, MPs have warned.

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report said the body tasked with securing Britain's air, sea and rail ports was failing to protect national security properly because of poor planning and outdated IT systems.

It said the agency admitted it was failing to meet eight of its 19 performance targets.

Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said freight went unchecked for illicit goods and illegal immigrants were able to sneak in while officers focused on checking every single passenger coming into Britain.

"The Border Force prioritised passenger checks on arrival at the expense of other duties and weakened the security of our borders," she said.

"The force neglected to examine freight for illicit goods, neglected to check lorries in Calais for concealed illegal entrants, and failed to check passengers coming into Britain on private planes or boats, potentially letting billionaire gangsters off the hook.

"The morale of staff is at rock bottom, threatening the prospect of achieving the increases in productivity and flexibility of workforce which the Border Force so sorely needs. Senior management must provide strong and stable leadership capable of providing a sense of purpose."

The PAC said the Border Force needs to set out plans for how it will meet all its obligations from now on.

A clear timescale should also be laid out for improvements to the IT systems assisting the work of officers, the MPs concluded.

Mrs Hodge added: "(Border Force) has a big task ahead of it, given the limited resources it has and the significant growth in demand from forecast increases in passenger numbers and air freight.

"The planning of the Border Force's workforce has been extremely poor. A cut in staff of 500 between 2010 and 2012 was immediately followed, when 100% passenger checks were introduced, by spending to increase the number of frontline staff from 7,600 to 8,000.

"Paying out redundancy and then rehiring staff is bad value for money and demonstrates poor planning."

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Nelson Mandela Memorial: World Leaders In SA

Nelson Mandela: Obituary Of An Icon

Updated: 6:30am UK, Friday 06 December 2013

Nelson Mandela's long but ultimately successful struggle to liberate South Africa's oppressed black majority made him a figure of hope and inspiration for millions of people around the world.

Feisty young lawyer, determined founder of the ANC's youth movement, militant commander, prisoner, president - his role in the fight for freedom was constantly evolving throughout his life.

Alongside mentor Walter Sisulu and great friend Oliver Tambo, he brought focus to the anti-apartheid campaign where it was needed, but became an enemy of the state in the process.

In 1963, already behind bars and facing the death penalty during a sabotage trial, Mr Mandela gave his famous "speech from the dock".

The words - combative, but measured and full of hope - signalled the emergence of the statesman who would become an icon of the 20th century.

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He said: "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.

"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

The apartheid government jailed Mr Mandela and his comrades for life in 1964 but they could not lock away the ideas he embodied and the righteousness of his cause.

To allies of South Africa's racist regime - including some in Britain - Mr Mandela remained for many years a "terrorist".

But for campaigners Mr Mandela's 27-year ordeal behind bars, often in a cramped cell on Robben Island or in solitary confinement, represented all that was wrong with apartheid.

Pressure to free "prisoner 46664" went hand-in-hand with diplomacy and sanctions as the world set its sights on ending the injustice of South Africa's racial rule.

The beaming smile and joyful raised fist as he walked free from Paarl's Victor-Verster Prison with his wife Winnie on February 11, 1990, proved beyond doubt to most South Africans that a dark chapter in the country's history was coming to a close.

As President from 1994, Mr Mandela sought to build his "Rainbow Nation" - feted by world leaders as he crossed the globe outlining his vision of a non-racial democracy.

His campaign to unite the nation - black and white - behind the victorious Springboks rugby team during the 1995 World Cup in South Africa made many believe that vision could really be achieved.

An often troubled and traumatic personal life - including the split from Winnie following her kidnapping and assault trial - was never allowed to eclipse the greater goal of guiding South Africa into a new era.

After retiring in 1999, Mr Mandela - fondly known by his tribal name "Madiba" - settled into the role of "Father of the Nation".

Passing on the presidency to Thabo Mbeki, he was happy taking a step back from the political frontline, but always there to reassure his people  - a symbol of hope until the end.

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 into the Madiba tribal clan, part of the Thembu people, in a small village in the eastern Cape of South Africa.

Born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga, he was given his English name by a teacher, Miss Mdingane, at his first school. It was customary for all children to be given English names.

His father, a counsellor to the Thembu royal family, died when Mr Mandela was a child, and he was placed in the care of the acting regent of the Thembu people, chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo.

He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, first as an activist, then president of the ANC Youth League.

Mr Mandela married his first wife, Walter Sisulu's cousin Evelyn Mase, in 1944 and the couple went on to have four children during a 14-year marriage.

In 1952, he and friend Oliver Tambo opened South Africa's first black law firm, using their offices to take on many civil rights cases and mount challenges to the apartheid system.

Mr Mandela was first charged with high treason in 1956 following the adoption of the Freedom Charter in Soweto - a document with demands including multi-racial, democratic government and equal rights for blacks - but was cleared when the prosecution failed to prove he was using violence.

In 1958 he divorced Evelyn and married Winnie Madikizela, who later became prominent in the ANC and the campaign to free her husband.

He was convinced to take up arms against the government following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre - when police shot dead 69 peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against the segregationist Pass Law, which limited the freedom of the black population.

The government followed the massacre by banning the ANC, cracking down on strikers and protesters and applying apartheid restrictions even more severely as a state of emergency was declared.

As commander-in-chief of the ANC's armed wing from 1961, Mr Mandela secretly left the country to raise money and undergo military training in Morocco, Algeria and Ethiopia.

He returned in July 1962, but was arrested at a road block after briefing the ANC leadership on his trip.

Mr Mandela stood trial for incitement and leaving the country without a passport and this time there was no chance of an acquittal as he was jailed for five years and sent to Robben Island Prison for the first time.

He was behind bars when a group of his comrades were arrested in 1963. They were charged with sabotage in what became known as the Rivonia Trial - named after the farm raided by police.

In June 1964 - following a lengthy trial condemned by the UN Security Council - Mr Mandela and seven other activists were sentenced to life in prison.

He remained imprisoned on the infamous Robben Island for 18 years before being transferred to Pollsmoor jail on the mainland in 1982.

In the space of 12 months between 1968 and 1969, his mother died and his eldest son was killed in a car crash, but he was not allowed to attend their funerals.

In 1980, Oliver Tambo, who was in exile in London, launched an international campaign to win Mr Mandela's release. International resolutions and rock concerts alike were harnessed to highlight the cause.

As the world community upped the pressure against South Africa, with the US approving tough economic sanctions in 1986, secret talks began between Mr Mandela and PW Botha's government.

In 1990, President FW de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC - paving the way for Mr Mandela's release on February 11.

The ANC and ruling National Party began talks about forming a new non-racial democracy for South Africa.

Relations between Mr Mandela and Mr de Klerk grew tense against a backdrop of violence between ANC supporters and Chief Buthelezi's Inkatha movement.

But the two leaders continued to meet and in December 1993 they were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Five months later, for the first time in South Africa's history, all races voted in democratic elections and Mr Mandela became president - having himself voted in an election for the first time in his life.

As president, Mr Mandela entrusted much day-to-day government business to his deputy Thabo Mbeki.

While his time in office was hailed as a triumph in terms of building the new South Africa, there was criticism for a failure to tackle the Aids epidemic and conditions in the country's slum townships.

Mr Mandela divorced Winnie in 1996 and married 52-year-old Graca Machel two years later, on his 80th birthday.

Mr Mandela stepped down as president after the ANC's landslide victory in the national elections in the summer of 1999, in favour of Mr Mbeki.

After his retirement he continued travelling the world, meeting leaders, attending conferences and raising money for good causes.

With thousands of requests every year, his problem was fitting everything in and not exhausting himself.

In June 2004, aged 85, Mr Mandela announced he would be retiring from public life as he wanted to enjoy more time with his family.

But he did make an exception to speak out about his son Makgatho's death from Aids in 2005 - challenging the taboo that surrounds the disease in Africa.

The 2010 World Cup closing ceremony in Johannesburg was the world's last glimpse of the iconic leader in a public role.

He may have been looking frail, wrapped up against the cold and not speaking, but the famous smile as he basked in South Africa's success underlined how far his country had come.

In recent years he battled bouts of ill health, with South Africans struggling to come to terms with the reality that he could not go on forever.

Mr Mandela had hospital treatment in early 2012 for abdominal pain and then endured another 18-day stay at the end of the year suffering from gallstones and a chest infection.

A picture taken on February 2 at his Johannesburg home - showing him holding great-grandson Zen Manaway on his lap - proved to be the last time Nelson Mandela's millions of admirers saw the world's most famous smile.

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