OBITUARY: Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten to attend Nelson Mandela memorial service in Johannesburg

By
The late Nelson Mandela (Madiba)
Prime Minister Tony Abbott will join other world leaders in South Africa this week for the funeral service for Nelson Mandela.

Mr Abbott said on Saturday he would ask Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to accompany him at the memorial service for the anti-apartheid leader at Johannesburg stadium on Tuesday.

"To represent the Australian people, I will be attending the memorial service for His Excellency Nelson Mandela this week in Johannesburg," Mr Abbott said in a statement.

‘‘There is a long bipartisan history of Australian support for South Africa and the campaign to abolish apartheid."Mr Mandela died on Friday morning, Australian time, aged 95. 

His body will lie in state at government buildings in the capital Pretoria from Wednesday until a burial at his rural home in Qunu the following Sunday.

Mr Abbott said he had instructed that Australian Government flags be flown at half mast on the day of the official memorial.

"We honour a truly great world leader, an extraordinary man and an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia," he said. But some Labor MPs have questioned the government’s decision not to lower flags at the time the world learned of Mr Mandela’s death.

‘‘A small but powerful gesture for one of the greatest men of our time. Let’s #lowertheflag,’’ deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek tweeted on Friday night. Party colleague Tony Burke chimed in: ‘‘it’s sometimes the simplest gestures which can be the most powerful’’.

On Friday, the flags at London’s Downing Street and the White House were already at half-mast as a sign of respect. United States President Barack Obama, who will also attend the funeral service, ordered that flags on US government buildings, ships at sea and installations be lowered to half mast through to sunset on Monday, in a rare honour for a foreign leader.

On Friday, the South African high commission in Canberra lowered its flag to half mast.

SOURCE: AAP
Gidabuday Sports Tourism Foundation is a Non Profit Organization based in Arusha. It's main purpose is to promote, sensitize and enforce education through sports, as well as to search and develop new talents for sports from young people from marginalized communities all over the country.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular

GIDABUDAY KUHAMASISHA UJENZI WA KIJIJI CHA MICHEZO TANZANIA LENYE JINA YA MWANARIADHA MKONGWE BW.JOHN STEPHEN AKHWARI

By
Image
Kutoka kushoto ni Rogath John Stephen ,mwanariadha wa kimataifa na mtoto wa mwanariadha maarufu duniani Bw. John Stephen Akhwari ,Phaustin Baha Sulle mshindi wa medali ya fedha katika nusu marathon na Mwanaharakati wa michezo Tanzania Bw. Wilhelm Gidabuday.   ........................................ By Adam Ihucha and Gadiel Urio -Arusha.   Tanzania is set to have a national sports training Village, thanks to an initiative by one of its renowned athletic. The sports academy will be named after the John Stephen Akhwari’, the probably forgotten first Tanzanian athletic to participate in 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico. The World renowned athletic, Wilhelm Gidabuday, who happened to be a Tanzanian is behind the proposed Tsh 1 billion athletic training village, the first of its kind in the country. Mr Gidabuday, and a gifted Arusha based journalist and blogger, Gadiel Urio are currently working extra time to prepare nearly 700km marathon relay in a bid to r
Read more

Rio Olympics: Brazil win men's volleyball gold, GB's Joyce takes boxing silver – as it happened

By
Image
Just look at his face: Bruno Mossa de Rezende (left) after Brazil claimed gold in the men’s volleyball final. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images Brazil did not win a lot of medals; but Brazil hosted the first ever Summer Olympic Games in South America, western countries criticized all efforts put up by South American supper power but they did not bother listening instead they did all they could and today they finished strong. Thanks Rio, thanks Brazil. We hope that some day African Continent will rewrite history to host the first ever Summer Olympic Games. www.gidabuday.blogsports.com wishes all Olympic travelers a safe flight out bounding to their home countries. See you in Tokyo Olympics 2020, god bless Olympics Games. By Wilhelm Francis Gidabuday @gidabudays       
Read more

Olympics 2016: Usain Bolt completes sprint double, Jade Jones retains taekwondo title

By
Image
Bolt's 19.78 seconds is his slowest winning time in an Olympic 200m final Usain Bolt completed a Rio 2016 sprint double by winning the 200m as Jade Jones took Great Britain's gold-medal tally to 22 with taekwondo success. Bolt's eighth Olympic title came in a time of 19.78 seconds, and the Ja maican has one final chance to win gold in Friday's 4x100m relay final. Jones, meanwhile, beat Eva Calvo Gomez to win taekwondo's -57kg division. With three days remaining, Britain are just nine medals short of the  record  65 they secured in London four years ago. They got off to a great start on day 13 as Alistair Brownlee and brother Jonny won gold and silver respectively in the triathlon, and Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark triumphed in the sailing. Elsewhere, Liam Heath and Jon Schofield  won silver  in the men's 200m kayak double, and Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge  took bronze  in badminton's men's doubles. Nicola Adams  reached the women
Read more

Rio Olympics: Swimmer Lochte apologises for 'robbery' saga

By
Image
Ryan Lochte's claims prompted a spoof poster to be displayed at the athletics stadium US swimmer Ryan Lochte has apologised for his behaviour in Rio and "for not being more careful and candid". The gold medallist had claimed that he and a group of fellow US swimmers had been robbed at a petrol station. But CCTV footage contradicted that story, showing the men had vandalised the petrol station after partying. Mr Lochte  tweeted : "I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry." He said he had waited to issue the statement until it was clear that his teammates would be returning to the US. Rio's Mayor, Eduardo Paes, accepted the Americans' apologies: "I confess that my only emotion towards them is pity and contempt," he said. "It's a shame that they're such weak characters, that they have such personality flaws and it's up to the American Olympic Committee to sort it o
Read more