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Editor’s note: ‘Funmi Olonisakin is the founding director of the African Leadership Centre, and director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group, at King’s College London.

(CNN) — President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to the Boko Haram insurgency, including his recently declared state of emergency in three northern Nigerian states, is eerily reminiscent of previous approaches to sectarian violence in that region.

The Maitatsine uprising of 1980 is perhaps the single most important precedent-setting example. In December 1980, the confrontation between the Al-Masifu Islamic sect — which advocated purity in the practice of Islam — and the people of Kano came to a head. The Nigerian army and air force mounted a campaign against the sect. In the end, more than 4,000 people were dead with double this number injured alongside massive destruction of property.

Times have certainly changed. Nigeria’s population has doubled since the Maitatsine uprising. Nigeria continues to experience the “youth bulge” — a growing youth population — that was not planned for. The resulting pressure on socio-economic systems is evident in limited education and health and dwindling economic opportunities for young people.

Poor policies and bad planning have produced youth vulnerability and exclusion from mainstream life. This is doubly so in northern Nigeria, where class divides have further created a community of people with nothing to lose.

Read this: Nigerians ask, are we at war?

The global environment has also changed amid growing transnational threats. Al Qaeda continues to lurk in the neighborhood. Excluded groups in the region with affinity for Boko Haram are potential support networks amid an ever-rising flow of illicit weapons into the region.

One thing has hardly changed: elite behavior. Nigeria’s power elite remains far removed from the realities of life experienced by ordinary citizens.

2012: Who are Boko Haram?

Empowering Nigerian youth

Gadhafi’s end unleashes flood of weapons

The ruling elite’s framing of the Boko Haram challenge lends itself easily to just one set of responses — the use of force to rout Boko Haram, although more recently the federal government of Nigeria proposed an amnesty for Boko Haram.

To be certain, a military approach is only part of the solution. It is by no means a panacea. This military campaign, coupled with amnesty, rings hollow. It does not offer much hope for dealing comprehensively with the underlying causes of the Boko Haram phenomenon.

It is no wonder Boko Haram has treated the offer of amnesty by the Jonathan-led government with disdain. For one, it may be worth holding out for a greater prize, knowing that it probably has this regime by the jugular. Besides, how could it trust that the offer of amnesty — which will unveil Boko Haram — is not a ploy by the regime to round them up and execute them? The allegedly extra-judicial killing of the sect’s late leader, Mohammed Yusuf, serves as a constant warning.

Watch this: Who are Boko Haram?

Perhaps more importantly, this military solution and current state of emergency is potentially damaging for the military. The Nigerian military only recently managed to repair its image, winning accolades abroad for its peacekeeping role. Asking it to employ maximum force in internal operations — causing casualties in the process among the very people it is meant to protect — has repercussions. Surely, this will diminish its stature abroad and reduce citizens’ confidence in the military at home, while drawing more support to Boko Haram and weakening troops’ morale.

That said, it is also the case that Nigerians far removed from the locus of the crisis may not see the military’s role in such negative terms.

This crisis will potentially deepen religious and regional cleavages. Perhaps the country’s saving grace is that for the time being, Nigeria’s youth population mostly buys into these divides. They do not yet have a common narrative about who their “real enemy” is. Barring a small number of states, where genuine effort is being made to confront serious governance deficits, the picture of elite marginalization and widening inequality is consistent countrywide.

Spreading the wealth in Nigeria

Workers abducted in northern Nigeria

Boko Haram commands the loyalty of the excluded at several levels. At this moment, Boko Haram is obviously asserting influence, and that assertion of influence is accepted by a significant number of people who see no change in their primary condition.

This factor partly attracted large crowds to the preaching of Boko Haram’s late leader, Yusuf. His narratives about the ills of Western education were enriched by evident gaps in governance. The breakdown of the education system, growing youth unemployment and insecurity amid rampant corruption swelled the ranks of Boko Haram. When the sense of “nothing to lose” is mixed with these strong narratives, the issue is not whether or not they are true but that there are no strong counter-narratives or genuine counter actions.

A lasting solution to the crisis in northern Nigeria might lie in a missing trinity: a meaningful but powerful narrative to counter Boko Haram’s narrative; an action plan akin to a “Marshal Plan” for northern Nigeria; and isolation of what Jonathan has described as Boko Haram sympathizers in the government and security forces.

Developing a powerful counter narrative will demand a measure of sincerity and consistency among the country’s ruling elite. Such a narrative must stand up to the seeming lure of Boko Haram and have the ability to hold a young population captive for the foreseeable future.

An action plan akin to a Marshal Plan for northern Nigeria must be developed to suit the context. The federal government’s investment in regeneration of northern Nigeria, with a focus on youth sensitization, education and development of social and economic entrepreneurship, will be key. This might entail deliberate forms of youth cantonment, census-based planning, community-based programs, and innovative education schemes to kick start regeneration.

To be sure, an action plan for northern Nigeria will not be sustainable in an environment where youth exclusion is a countrywide problem even if it is more chronic in the north. Expressed intention to do this nationally in due course might persuade a captive youth audience.

The question remains as to whether alleged Boko Haram sympathizers among the elite can be dislodged from this process. This might be the single most important obstacle in a situation where retaining political power in 2015 seems more valuable to the regime than the welfare of a few million disposable citizens.

In the immediate term, we can expect the Nigerian military to record successes against the Boko Haram sect. But the victory will be hollow. Without the trinity of measures earlier described, Jonathan’s government risks sacrificing the ordinary people of northern Nigeria, the military’s reputation, and innocent bloodshed.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of ‘Funmi Olonisakin.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/24/opinion/nigeria-boko-haram-funmi-olonisakin/index.html?eref=edition

Editor’s note: ‘Funmi Olonisakin is the founding director of the African Leadership Centre, and director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group, at King’s College London.

(CNN) — President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to the Boko Haram insurgency, including his recently declared state of emergency in three northern Nigerian states, is eerily reminiscent of previous approaches to sectarian violence in that region.

The Maitatsine uprising of 1980 is perhaps the single most important precedent-setting example. In December 1980, the confrontation between the Al-Masifu Islamic sect — which advocated purity in the practice of Islam — and the people of Kano came to a head. The Nigerian army and air force mounted a campaign against the sect. In the end, more than 4,000 people were dead with double this number injured alongside massive destruction of property.

Times have certainly changed. Nigeria’s population has doubled since the Maitatsine uprising. Nigeria continues to experience the “youth bulge” — a growing youth population — that was not planned for. The resulting pressure on socio-economic systems is evident in limited education and health and dwindling economic opportunities for young people.

Poor policies and bad planning have produced youth vulnerability and exclusion from mainstream life. This is doubly so in northern Nigeria, where class divides have further created a community of people with nothing to lose.

Read this: Nigerians ask, are we at war?

The global environment has also changed amid growing transnational threats. Al Qaeda continues to lurk in the neighborhood. Excluded groups in the region with affinity for Boko Haram are potential support networks amid an ever-rising flow of illicit weapons into the region.

One thing has hardly changed: elite behavior. Nigeria’s power elite remains far removed from the realities of life experienced by ordinary citizens.

2012: Who are Boko Haram?

Empowering Nigerian youth

Gadhafi’s end unleashes flood of weapons

The ruling elite’s framing of the Boko Haram challenge lends itself easily to just one set of responses — the use of force to rout Boko Haram, although more recently the federal government of Nigeria proposed an amnesty for Boko Haram.

To be certain, a military approach is only part of the solution. It is by no means a panacea. This military campaign, coupled with amnesty, rings hollow. It does not offer much hope for dealing comprehensively with the underlying causes of the Boko Haram phenomenon.

It is no wonder Boko Haram has treated the offer of amnesty by the Jonathan-led government with disdain. For one, it may be worth holding out for a greater prize, knowing that it probably has this regime by the jugular. Besides, how could it trust that the offer of amnesty — which will unveil Boko Haram — is not a ploy by the regime to round them up and execute them? The allegedly extra-judicial killing of the sect’s late leader, Mohammed Yusuf, serves as a constant warning.

Watch this: Who are Boko Haram?

Perhaps more importantly, this military solution and current state of emergency is potentially damaging for the military. The Nigerian military only recently managed to repair its image, winning accolades abroad for its peacekeeping role. Asking it to employ maximum force in internal operations — causing casualties in the process among the very people it is meant to protect — has repercussions. Surely, this will diminish its stature abroad and reduce citizens’ confidence in the military at home, while drawing more support to Boko Haram and weakening troops’ morale.

That said, it is also the case that Nigerians far removed from the locus of the crisis may not see the military’s role in such negative terms.

This crisis will potentially deepen religious and regional cleavages. Perhaps the country’s saving grace is that for the time being, Nigeria’s youth population mostly buys into these divides. They do not yet have a common narrative about who their “real enemy” is. Barring a small number of states, where genuine effort is being made to confront serious governance deficits, the picture of elite marginalization and widening inequality is consistent countrywide.

Spreading the wealth in Nigeria

Workers abducted in northern Nigeria

Boko Haram commands the loyalty of the excluded at several levels. At this moment, Boko Haram is obviously asserting influence, and that assertion of influence is accepted by a significant number of people who see no change in their primary condition.

This factor partly attracted large crowds to the preaching of Boko Haram’s late leader, Yusuf. His narratives about the ills of Western education were enriched by evident gaps in governance. The breakdown of the education system, growing youth unemployment and insecurity amid rampant corruption swelled the ranks of Boko Haram. When the sense of “nothing to lose” is mixed with these strong narratives, the issue is not whether or not they are true but that there are no strong counter-narratives or genuine counter actions.

A lasting solution to the crisis in northern Nigeria might lie in a missing trinity: a meaningful but powerful narrative to counter Boko Haram’s narrative; an action plan akin to a “Marshal Plan” for northern Nigeria; and isolation of what Jonathan has described as Boko Haram sympathizers in the government and security forces.

Developing a powerful counter narrative will demand a measure of sincerity and consistency among the country’s ruling elite. Such a narrative must stand up to the seeming lure of Boko Haram and have the ability to hold a young population captive for the foreseeable future.

An action plan akin to a Marshal Plan for northern Nigeria must be developed to suit the context. The federal government’s investment in regeneration of northern Nigeria, with a focus on youth sensitization, education and development of social and economic entrepreneurship, will be key. This might entail deliberate forms of youth cantonment, census-based planning, community-based programs, and innovative education schemes to kick start regeneration.

To be sure, an action plan for northern Nigeria will not be sustainable in an environment where youth exclusion is a countrywide problem even if it is more chronic in the north. Expressed intention to do this nationally in due course might persuade a captive youth audience.

The question remains as to whether alleged Boko Haram sympathizers among the elite can be dislodged from this process. This might be the single most important obstacle in a situation where retaining political power in 2015 seems more valuable to the regime than the welfare of a few million disposable citizens.

In the immediate term, we can expect the Nigerian military to record successes against the Boko Haram sect. But the victory will be hollow. Without the trinity of measures earlier described, Jonathan’s government risks sacrificing the ordinary people of northern Nigeria, the military’s reputation, and innocent bloodshed.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of ‘Funmi Olonisakin.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/24/opinion/nigeria-boko-haram-funmi-olonisakin/index.html?eref=edition

(CNN) — “For the workers at Ford and their families absorbing this difficult news today, we will make sure that you are not left behind.”

So tweeted the Australian premier Julia Gillard, as Ford Australia, the local subsidiary of the U.S. giant, this week confirmed the worst kept secret in Australian manufacturing.

More than 1,000 workers will lose their jobs when Ford closes two production facilities in the state of Victoria by October 2016.

The decision came after Ford Australia declared a A$141 million [$135.4 million] tax loss for the year 2012/13. The company has lost around A$600 million [$575 million] over the last five years, making it unviable, it says, to continue producing cars in Australia.

The decision is a blow not only to those who will lose their jobs. It’s also bad news for the ruling Labor government, about to face an election it’s tipped to lose.

It also comes amid concerns that while Australia’s mining boom appears to have peaked, the country’s manufacturing base is in decline.

Ford Australia president and chief executive Bob Graziano said the company had failed to “make the numbers work” when it modeled a number of different scenarios in an attempt to maintain its Australian production base.

A small and fragmented Australian market and uncompetitive cost structures are to blame, according to Graziano.

“There’s been a significant change in terms of the total number of vehicles sold in the large car segment,” he told a media conference. He added “costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia.”

The news, which will also impact the vehicle manufacturing supply chain across the country, comes despite attempts by the Australian government to prop up the industry.

In the past decade the Australian government has given the auto industry A$12 billion [$11.5 billion] in subsidies — with Ford itself the beneficiary of A$2.5 billion of those subsidies.

But the automaker’s decision to close manufacturing completely by 2016 is likely to add to the growing concerns that Australia is too reliant on its mining industry and resource exports to China in particular, whilst its manufacturing base has been in steady decline over more than four decades.

In the 1960s, manufacturing accounted for close to 30% of GDP. In 2012, it accounted 7.2%.

The Australian Industry Group, an employers organization, said manufacturers were doing it tough in a “high cost economy” while opposition leader Tony Abbott lamented a “black day for manufacturing in Australia.”

But respected commentator Bernard Keane said the news was long overdue and unrepresentative of the state of Australian manufacturing.

“These aren’t the numbers of a company suffering increased competition from a stronger currency, but a company that can’t convince consumers to buy its flagship product any more, a company that has lost touch with consumers, as so often happens with protected industries,” he wrote in news outlet Crikey.

“Nor is the closure representative of Australian manufacturing. For all the stories about high-profile manufacturers struggling, in the year to February the total manufacturing workforce fell by just 3,000, or a third of 1%, to 954,000 in trend terms — the lowest fall in years.”

But manufacturing, once Australia’s largest employer, has seen its share of total employment eclipsed by the health, retail and construction sectors. Contrary to popular belief, the mining industry upon which Australia remains reliant is not the countries biggest employer, according to analysis published on Crikey.

George Megalogenis, economic commentator and author of “The Australian Moment,” a book that tracks Australia’s economic development said “all first world economies have roughly similar stories to tell on manufacturing.

“Manufacturing was the single biggest employer through till the 90s in some countries. But its share of employment and of GDP is declining. And it’s quite a smooth line, which started in the 60s,” he told CNN.

“But now we are at that point where societies are starting to ask themselves whether they let the trend continue to the point where they actually lose the know-how to make things.”

He added: “China will see the same decline in 20 or 30 years time. They will replicate first world trends but with a lag.”

Though it employs fewer Australians, and despite the boom appearing to have peaked, Australia’s mining industry remains the headline act.

Profitable, it provides a significant percentage of company tax revenue to government, even if the tax on super profits imposed by the Gillard government has been a disappointment; the government’s projections of a A$2 billion windfall delivered only A$127 million because the tax is structured to allow the miners to offset the value of their mines against the tax.

Former finance minister Lindsay Tanner has warned in the past that Australia needs to reduce its reliance on mining and focus its efforts on other export industries.

“Minerals are always going to be critical for Australia. There’s no question about that,” he told ABC radio.

However, the diversification of Australian exports had stagnated in the 90s, with growth in tourism, education and specialized manufacturing moving into reverse, he said.

“So it’s not so much that there’s one country that we’re dependent on. It’s that we have I think to some extent too many eggs in that basket,” said Tanner.

For Megalogenis, Australia’s economic reliance on mining would be more acceptable if it had the future firmly in sight.

“When mining crowds everything out and the economy makes room for that, to service China, knowing that it’s a highly volatile global cycle, it becomes a question of what Australia does with the spoils,” he told CNN. “Because there will be a bust,” he added.

Megalogenis says historically, Australia has wisely invested the spoils. “We built Melbourne out of the gold boom,” he said. “But we haven’t really taken the cash from this mining boom and reinvested it in expanding the capacity of the rest of the economy.”

The Gillard government has anticipated a second mining boom, he says, and allocated spending in anticipation.

“But the second chance has been denied us by Europe and the global financial crisis. We had a second crisis and Europe is still in recession. “

Even so, though mining profits are down because of lower commodity prices, profit margins remain high.

According to the Minerals Council of Australia, last year the industry paid in excess of $20 billion in company tax and royalties combined — a four-fold increase on the $4 billion to $5 billion paid at the start of the boom.

What future exists for manufacturing in Australia when the countries finite resources are depleted is a question that no doubt will have to wait until after the September 14 poll.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_business/~3/CxUoqmLKmaw/index.html

(CNN) — “For the workers at Ford and their families absorbing this difficult news today, we will make sure that you are not left behind.”

So tweeted the Australian premier Julia Gillard, as Ford Australia, the local subsidiary of the U.S. giant, this week confirmed the worst kept secret in Australian manufacturing.

More than 1,000 workers will lose their jobs when Ford closes two production facilities in the state of Victoria by October 2016.

The decision came after Ford Australia declared a A$141 million [$135.4 million] tax loss for the year 2012/13. The company has lost around A$600 million [$575 million] over the last five years, making it unviable, it says, to continue producing cars in Australia.

The decision is a blow not only to those who will lose their jobs. It’s also bad news for the ruling Labor government, about to face an election it’s tipped to lose.

It also comes amid concerns that while Australia’s mining boom appears to have peaked, the country’s manufacturing base is in decline.

Ford Australia president and chief executive Bob Graziano said the company had failed to “make the numbers work” when it modeled a number of different scenarios in an attempt to maintain its Australian production base.

A small and fragmented Australian market and uncompetitive cost structures are to blame, according to Graziano.

“There’s been a significant change in terms of the total number of vehicles sold in the large car segment,” he told a media conference. He added “costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia.”

The news, which will also impact the vehicle manufacturing supply chain across the country, comes despite attempts by the Australian government to prop up the industry.

In the past decade the Australian government has given the auto industry A$12 billion [$11.5 billion] in subsidies — with Ford itself the beneficiary of A$2.5 billion of those subsidies.

But the automaker’s decision to close manufacturing completely by 2016 is likely to add to the growing concerns that Australia is too reliant on its mining industry and resource exports to China in particular, whilst its manufacturing base has been in steady decline over more than four decades.

In the 1960s, manufacturing accounted for close to 30% of GDP. In 2012, it accounted 7.2%.

The Australian Industry Group, an employers organization, said manufacturers were doing it tough in a “high cost economy” while opposition leader Tony Abbott lamented a “black day for manufacturing in Australia.”

But respected commentator Bernard Keane said the news was long overdue and unrepresentative of the state of Australian manufacturing.

“These aren’t the numbers of a company suffering increased competition from a stronger currency, but a company that can’t convince consumers to buy its flagship product any more, a company that has lost touch with consumers, as so often happens with protected industries,” he wrote in news outlet Crikey.

“Nor is the closure representative of Australian manufacturing. For all the stories about high-profile manufacturers struggling, in the year to February the total manufacturing workforce fell by just 3,000, or a third of 1%, to 954,000 in trend terms — the lowest fall in years.”

But manufacturing, once Australia’s largest employer, has seen its share of total employment eclipsed by the health, retail and construction sectors. Contrary to popular belief, the mining industry upon which Australia remains reliant is not the countries biggest employer, according to analysis published on Crikey.

George Megalogenis, economic commentator and author of “The Australian Moment,” a book that tracks Australia’s economic development said “all first world economies have roughly similar stories to tell on manufacturing.

“Manufacturing was the single biggest employer through till the 90s in some countries. But its share of employment and of GDP is declining. And it’s quite a smooth line, which started in the 60s,” he told CNN.

“But now we are at that point where societies are starting to ask themselves whether they let the trend continue to the point where they actually lose the know-how to make things.”

He added: “China will see the same decline in 20 or 30 years time. They will replicate first world trends but with a lag.”

Though it employs fewer Australians, and despite the boom appearing to have peaked, Australia’s mining industry remains the headline act.

Profitable, it provides a significant percentage of company tax revenue to government, even if the tax on super profits imposed by the Gillard government has been a disappointment; the government’s projections of a A$2 billion windfall delivered only A$127 million because the tax is structured to allow the miners to offset the value of their mines against the tax.

Former finance minister Lindsay Tanner has warned in the past that Australia needs to reduce its reliance on mining and focus its efforts on other export industries.

“Minerals are always going to be critical for Australia. There’s no question about that,” he told ABC radio.

However, the diversification of Australian exports had stagnated in the 90s, with growth in tourism, education and specialized manufacturing moving into reverse, he said.

“So it’s not so much that there’s one country that we’re dependent on. It’s that we have I think to some extent too many eggs in that basket,” said Tanner.

For Megalogenis, Australia’s economic reliance on mining would be more acceptable if it had the future firmly in sight.

“When mining crowds everything out and the economy makes room for that, to service China, knowing that it’s a highly volatile global cycle, it becomes a question of what Australia does with the spoils,” he told CNN. “Because there will be a bust,” he added.

Megalogenis says historically, Australia has wisely invested the spoils. “We built Melbourne out of the gold boom,” he said. “But we haven’t really taken the cash from this mining boom and reinvested it in expanding the capacity of the rest of the economy.”

The Gillard government has anticipated a second mining boom, he says, and allocated spending in anticipation.

“But the second chance has been denied us by Europe and the global financial crisis. We had a second crisis and Europe is still in recession. “

Even so, though mining profits are down because of lower commodity prices, profit margins remain high.

According to the Minerals Council of Australia, last year the industry paid in excess of $20 billion in company tax and royalties combined — a four-fold increase on the $4 billion to $5 billion paid at the start of the boom.

What future exists for manufacturing in Australia when the countries finite resources are depleted is a question that no doubt will have to wait until after the September 14 poll.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_business/~3/CxUoqmLKmaw/index.html

Madrid (CNN) — When Marco Torremocha was laid off last year as a health and safety technician on construction sites — another victim of Spain’s deep economic crisis — he wanted to put his severance pay into a sound investment.

An American friend entrepreneur living in Madrid, Phillip Stark, had a little idea: Earplugs.

Now, the pair who met while playing in very loud rock bands — Marco on guitar and Phil on bass — have a business that seems almost unheard of in Spain. They sell earplugs at rock concerts, nightclubs, even rehearsal studios.

“Many people who are unemployed in Spain,” says Torremocha, referring to the six million without jobs, “don’t have anything to invest.”

But he did, thanks to severance pay after 11 years on construction sites, following the bust of the real estate boom — a big part of Spain’s financial crisis.

“You work for a private company and now you think broader,” he said, explaining that he risked 2,000 euros [$2,600] — a small portion of his severance pay — as seed money for the earplug business.

Stark didn’t have any startup cash. But he seems to have marketing in his DNA — his family has a clothing store business in his native Ohio — and he’d previously tried other ventures in Madrid, including a tourism magazine, that flopped.

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But this time, Stark says, “failure is not an option. I get frustrated with people who say ‘can’t.’ I hate hearing people be negative.”

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Both men complain they’ve been exposed to loud music without hearing protection and sometimes have low-level ringing in their ears long after the concerts are done.

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Their earplugs are called Stark Plugs. They went on sale late last year at a few locales in Madrid, gradually adding more sites. But this weekend they’re reporting a huge leap forward, with hundreds of sales daily at the big Primavera Sound music festival in Barcelona.

The earplugs are dispensed from vending machines. For two euros [$2.60], you get two yellow earplugs, made from a soft, foam-like thermoplastic polymer called Goma EVA. They come in a tiny clear plastic case that fits easily in your pocket.

They brought five vending machines to the festival, and Stark wrote in an email on Friday: “Next year we should definitely take fifty machines and put them everywhere.”

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Some of the buyers in Barcelona, Stark added, are concert photographers who must stay long hours exposed to the loud music.

In Madrid, Wurlitzer Ballroom, a small nightclub just off Madrid’s Gran Via street, was one of the first places to sell Stark Plugs. Manager Alvaro Villacis said the earplug machine is a novelty — for his club and many others in Spain.

Most of his 15-member staff already use them for protection, including himself. “I don’t want to go deaf,” Villacis said.

On a night that I visited in May, a band called Trono de Sangre (Blood Throne) was playing at top decibel. I quickly inserted a pair of Stark Plugs, which instantly damped dow the sound to a more palatable level, although even at lower volume, I wouldn’t count myself as a fan of Blood Throne’s shock and screaming style.

Amalio Varela, a radio sound technician, was right up front during the Wurlitzer show with his girlfriend, and told me during a break, outside, that he’s used Stark Plugs and likes the idea.

“If you forget your own, you can buy them for two euros,” right in the club, he said.

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Exactly how much protection the earplugs offer is open to debate, says Peter Cobo, a researcher at an acoustics center of the Spanish government’s Higher Council for Scientific Research, (CSIC), who has not seen Stark Plugs.

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Cobo says Spain has a law on general ambient noise that lists 65 decibels as the level where it becomes potentially annoying, and also separate legislation requiring corrective action when workplace noise, such as at a factory, exceeds 80 decibels.

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Cobo says a rock concert can easily exceed 100 decibels and that earplugs, depending on their quality and how well they are placed in the ear, probably could reduce the sound by 20 decibels or more.

Torremocha and Stark aim to expand quickly. They’ve put advertising on their vending machines and even on the tiny earplug plastic case, along with marketing schemes using mobile phone codes to direct consumers to web sites to view more products.

READ MORE: Luxury brand favors quality over speed

And they’ve already added so-called “high-end” earplugs to their lineup, from an American company called Ear Peace, which is trying to break into the European market, with Torremocha and Stark as new sales representatives.

Ear Peace plugs sell for about 15 euros [$19.65] at concerts in Spain. You get three earplugs made of soft, hypoallergenic silicone, with tiny filters to temper the sound, and a small cylindrical aluminum carrying case that fits on a key ring.

Stark said the Ear Peace plugs were also selling well at Primavera Sound in Barcelona from merchandising stands, but not as briskly as the less-expensive Stark Plugs.

Coins dropping into their vending machines is a sound Stark and Torremocha would like to get used to.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_business/~3/l8zdEYWcUTQ/index.html

London (CNN) — Since the financial crisis hit in 2007 the gap between rich and the poor has grown, unemployment has soared to record levels and Europe’s young risk becoming a lost generation.

Ahead of the OECD Forum in Paris next week, CNN is hosting a tweet chat Monday May 27 between 12pm and 12:30pm BST to debate how the crisis has split the world and hear your views on who is at fault and how it can be fixed.

Using the hashtag #inequalityCNN, tell us how the crisis has impacted your life, and what generation X and Y — those hardest hit by unemployment — can do to change the global story.

Join the conversation with CNN’s special guests European Youth Forum president Peter Matjasic and secretary general Giuseppe Porcaro, entrepreneur Karl Petter Rygh and Intern Aware in UK’s Ben Lyons. They are attending the OECD Forum as youth representatives.

CNN will pull the best comments into a story to run ahead of the OECD Forum, on May 28 and 29, which will be discussing how the world can pull itself out of the financial mire and revealing its global economic outlook.

The forum follows the release of OECD figures this month showing income inequality increased as much in the first three years of the crisis as it had in the previous 12 years — if mitigating factors such as taxes and welfare were not taken into account.

Demonstrators shout slogans at Neptuno Square during a march made by thousands of people on Saturday, February 23 in Madrid.

Public workers, small political parties and nonprofit organizations protest against government austerity on February 23 in Madrid.

Spanish riot police stand in front of a fire at the end of a demonstration against government austerity measures in Madrid.

Demonstrators protest on February 23, in Madrid.

Spanish police in riot gear chase protesters.

Protesters face Spanish riot police at the end of the demonstration in Madrid.

Firemen extinguish a bin on fire during a riot after a march by thousands of people.

Spain’s financial crisis has resulted in an eviction epidemic in Madrid. Ecuadorian immigrant Rocio (second left) lost her jobs when the recession hit, and has only narrowly avoided being kicked out of her apartment.

People protest against the Spanish laws on house evictions outside the Spanish parliament on February 12 in Madrid, Spain.

People attend a demonstration called by the organization Platform for Mortgage Victims on February 16 in Madrid.

Court officials protest on February 20 in Madrid, during a strike called by judges, prosecutors and justice workers against the government’s spending cuts.

Judges, prosecutors and justice workers called the strike against the government’s spending cuts.

Platform for Mortgage Victims protests to push for a new law to end a wave of evictions of homeowners ruined by the economic crisis.

Demonstrators camp at a protest in Puerta del Sol Square after a demonstration against alleged corruption scandals implicating the PP (Popular Party) on February 3 in Madrid, Spain.

Protestors gather during a demonstration against alleged corruption scandals implicating the PP (Popular Party) on February 3 in Madrid, Spain.

Policemen arrest a Spanish Airline Iberia worker during a protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport on February 18 in Madrid, Spain.

Riot police pull at a worker protesting from Spanish Airline Iberia during a rally against job cuts at Barajas Airport.

A Spanish Airline Iberia staff member blows a whistle during a protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport.

Riot Police walk forward making a cordon during a protest of Spanish Airline Iberia staff.

Staff from Spanish Airline Iberia hold flags and gather in protest against job cuts.

Protesters hold placards as they take part in a demonstration against plans to cut medical spending and privatize hospital services in Madrid on February 17.

Protesters take part in a demonstration against plans to cut medical spending and privatize hospital services in Madrid of February 17.

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Madrid at the center of protests

The figures show that in countries where the financial crisis hit hard, such as Greece, Spain and Italy, poor households “either lost more income from the recession or benefited less from recovery.”

Eurozone crisis sparked protests throughout the continent. Pictured here, demonstrators fight with riot policemen during a protest against austerity on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

Students hold placards with titles of classic books during a protest on a day of mobilization against austerity measures by workers in southern Europe on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

A demonstrator sits next to a barricade of burning tires on November 13, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.

Protesters sit down in front of a line of police.

Riot police officers face protesters during a demonstration outside the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon on November 14, 2012 during a general strike.

Riot policemen arrest a protester in Valencia on November 14, 2012 during a general strike.

Riot policemen stand in line during a protest against austerity measures by workers in Europe on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

Greece has seen some of the most violent protests in years.

Communist-affiliated protesters gather in central Athens prior their protest march marking the 24-hour general strike on October 18, 2012.

Protesters attend a demonstration organized by Spain’s “indignant” protesters, a popular movement against a political system that they say deprives ordinary Spaniards of a voice in the crisis, near the parliament building in Madrid during a general strike.

Supporters of the Greek Communist Party waves party flags and chant slogans, during a rally calling for Greece’s exit from the Eurozone, on May 14, 2012.

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Europe’s unemployment crisis

Greece and Spain are also the countries in which youth unemployment has reached the eurozone’s highest levels, sitting at 62.5% and 55.9% respectively. Italy youth unemployment sits at 38.4%, according to Eurostat.

Luxury sales defy economic gloom

Meanwhile the number of billionaires increased by 210 to 1,426, according to the 2013 Forbes Billionaires List, with the aggregate net wealth increasing to $5.4 trillion from $4.6 trillion.

Is this fair? Tell us what you think, Monday May 27 at 12pm to 12:30pm BST.

Key Twitter handles for the chat are:

@curlyP

@porcarorama

@BenLyons1

@karlrygh

And from CNN, join Irene Chapple and Lauren Moorhouse:

@IreneCNN

@LaurenMoorhouse

Follow the CNNi Twitter list, here.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_business/~3/FrKZ9I6jknE/index.html

London (CNN) — Since the financial crisis hit in 2007 the gap between rich and the poor has grown, unemployment has soared to record levels and Europe’s young risk becoming a lost generation.

Ahead of the OECD Forum in Paris next week, CNN is hosting a tweet chat Monday May 27 between 12pm and 12:30pm BST to debate how the crisis has split the world and hear your views on who is at fault and how it can be fixed.

Using the hashtag #inequalityCNN, tell us how the crisis has impacted your life, and what generation X and Y — those hardest hit by unemployment — can do to change the global story.

Join the conversation with CNN’s special guests European Youth Forum president Peter Matjasic and secretary general Giuseppe Porcaro, entrepreneur Karl Petter Rygh and Intern Aware in UK’s Ben Lyons. They are attending the OECD Forum as youth representatives.

CNN will pull the best comments into a story to run ahead of the OECD Forum, on May 28 and 29, which will be discussing how the world can pull itself out of the financial mire and revealing its global economic outlook.

The forum follows the release of OECD figures this month showing income inequality increased as much in the first three years of the crisis as it had in the previous 12 years — if mitigating factors such as taxes and welfare were not taken into account.

Demonstrators shout slogans at Neptuno Square during a march made by thousands of people on Saturday, February 23 in Madrid.

Public workers, small political parties and nonprofit organizations protest against government austerity on February 23 in Madrid.

Spanish riot police stand in front of a fire at the end of a demonstration against government austerity measures in Madrid.

Demonstrators protest on February 23, in Madrid.

Spanish police in riot gear chase protesters.

Protesters face Spanish riot police at the end of the demonstration in Madrid.

Firemen extinguish a bin on fire during a riot after a march by thousands of people.

Spain’s financial crisis has resulted in an eviction epidemic in Madrid. Ecuadorian immigrant Rocio (second left) lost her jobs when the recession hit, and has only narrowly avoided being kicked out of her apartment.

People protest against the Spanish laws on house evictions outside the Spanish parliament on February 12 in Madrid, Spain.

People attend a demonstration called by the organization Platform for Mortgage Victims on February 16 in Madrid.

Court officials protest on February 20 in Madrid, during a strike called by judges, prosecutors and justice workers against the government’s spending cuts.

Judges, prosecutors and justice workers called the strike against the government’s spending cuts.

Platform for Mortgage Victims protests to push for a new law to end a wave of evictions of homeowners ruined by the economic crisis.

Demonstrators camp at a protest in Puerta del Sol Square after a demonstration against alleged corruption scandals implicating the PP (Popular Party) on February 3 in Madrid, Spain.

Protestors gather during a demonstration against alleged corruption scandals implicating the PP (Popular Party) on February 3 in Madrid, Spain.

Policemen arrest a Spanish Airline Iberia worker during a protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport on February 18 in Madrid, Spain.

Riot police pull at a worker protesting from Spanish Airline Iberia during a rally against job cuts at Barajas Airport.

A Spanish Airline Iberia staff member blows a whistle during a protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport.

Riot Police walk forward making a cordon during a protest of Spanish Airline Iberia staff.

Staff from Spanish Airline Iberia hold flags and gather in protest against job cuts.

Protesters hold placards as they take part in a demonstration against plans to cut medical spending and privatize hospital services in Madrid on February 17.

Protesters take part in a demonstration against plans to cut medical spending and privatize hospital services in Madrid of February 17.

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Madrid at the center of protests

The figures show that in countries where the financial crisis hit hard, such as Greece, Spain and Italy, poor households “either lost more income from the recession or benefited less from recovery.”

Eurozone crisis sparked protests throughout the continent. Pictured here, demonstrators fight with riot policemen during a protest against austerity on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

Students hold placards with titles of classic books during a protest on a day of mobilization against austerity measures by workers in southern Europe on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

A demonstrator sits next to a barricade of burning tires on November 13, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain.

Protesters sit down in front of a line of police.

Riot police officers face protesters during a demonstration outside the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon on November 14, 2012 during a general strike.

Riot policemen arrest a protester in Valencia on November 14, 2012 during a general strike.

Riot policemen stand in line during a protest against austerity measures by workers in Europe on November 14, 2012 in Rome.

Greece has seen some of the most violent protests in years.

Communist-affiliated protesters gather in central Athens prior their protest march marking the 24-hour general strike on October 18, 2012.

Protesters attend a demonstration organized by Spain’s “indignant” protesters, a popular movement against a political system that they say deprives ordinary Spaniards of a voice in the crisis, near the parliament building in Madrid during a general strike.

Supporters of the Greek Communist Party waves party flags and chant slogans, during a rally calling for Greece’s exit from the Eurozone, on May 14, 2012.

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Europe’s unemployment crisis

Greece and Spain are also the countries in which youth unemployment has reached the eurozone’s highest levels, sitting at 62.5% and 55.9% respectively. Italy youth unemployment sits at 38.4%, according to Eurostat.

Luxury sales defy economic gloom

Meanwhile the number of billionaires increased by 210 to 1,426, according to the 2013 Forbes Billionaires List, with the aggregate net wealth increasing to $5.4 trillion from $4.6 trillion.

Is this fair? Tell us what you think, Monday May 27 at 12pm to 12:30pm BST.

Key Twitter handles for the chat are:

@curlyP

@porcarorama

@BenLyons1

@karlrygh

And from CNN, join Irene Chapple and Lauren Moorhouse:

@IreneCNN

@LaurenMoorhouse

Follow the CNNi Twitter list, here.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_business/~3/FrKZ9I6jknE/index.html

Niamey, Niger (CNN) — An Islamist militant group has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s deadly attacks on an army barracks and a uranium mine in Niger, saying they were responses to Niger’s cooperation with France in a “war against Sharia,” CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

Twenty soldiers and five assailants were killed, and at least 30 other people — including civilians — were injured in attacks about 200 kilometers (124 miles) apart in Niger early Thursday, the African nation’s defense minister said.

Karidjo Mahamadou said later security forces were in charge of the two sites, including one where an attacker had taken hostages.

“I ensure that the situation is under control and that the Niger security forces have renewed the vow to secure the country and the people,” he said.

A spokesman for the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, said that “thanks to Allah, we have carried two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger,” BFMTV reported.

MUJAO is among the radical Islamist groups that have been fighting Malian and French forces in Mali, which borders Niger.

Both attacks — at the army barracks in Agadez in central Niger and a Somair uranium mine in Arlit in northern Niger — happened about 5 a.m., Niger Domestic Affairs Minister Abdou Labo said.

In Agadez, a regional capital to the southeast of Arlit, a truck carrying armed assailants and explosives detonated in front of the army barracks, Labo said.

A battle ensued in which the 20 soldiers were killed, Labo said. A breakdown of how many deaths were attributable to the bombing and how many happened in the battle wasn’t available.

The surviving assailant closed himself in a building with cadets and threatened to detonate explosives, Labo said.

Mahamadou didn’t say whether the suspect had been captured when he said everything was under control.

At the Somair mine, operated by French nuclear power group Areva, a truck with explosives blew up at the gates, killing two assailants, Labo said. At least 14 civilians were wounded, Mahamadou said.

Areva said the injured included at least 13 workers.

MUJAO spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui said the group “attacked France and Niger for its cooperation with France in the war against Sharia,” BFMTV reported Thursday.

France deployed about 4,000 troops to Mali, the country directly to Niger’s west, in January to drive out Islamist militants — including MUJAO members — who had attempted to take control of the country.

Islamic extremists with links to al Qaeda carved out a large portion of northern Mali last year, taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup in March 2012. France took military action this year after the militants began to push into the southern portion of the country.

MUJAO is a splinter group of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, according to the United Nations.

France strongly condemned Thursday’s attacks, the French foreign ministry said. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke with his Nigerien counterpart and expressed France’s solidarity with Nigerien authorities in the fight against terrorist groups, the ministry said.

Niger, a former colony of France, gained independence in 1960.

Journalist Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye reported from Niamey, Niger. CNN’s Jason Hanna and Pierre Meilhan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Amir Ahmed also contributed to this report.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/Ue9ccUt_sN8/index.html

Niamey, Niger (CNN) — An Islamist militant group has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s deadly attacks on an army barracks and a uranium mine in Niger, saying they were responses to Niger’s cooperation with France in a “war against Sharia,” CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

Twenty soldiers and five assailants were killed, and at least 30 other people — including civilians — were injured in attacks about 200 kilometers (124 miles) apart in Niger early Thursday, the African nation’s defense minister said.

Karidjo Mahamadou said later security forces were in charge of the two sites, including one where an attacker had taken hostages.

“I ensure that the situation is under control and that the Niger security forces have renewed the vow to secure the country and the people,” he said.

A spokesman for the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, said that “thanks to Allah, we have carried two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger,” BFMTV reported.

MUJAO is among the radical Islamist groups that have been fighting Malian and French forces in Mali, which borders Niger.

Both attacks — at the army barracks in Agadez in central Niger and a Somair uranium mine in Arlit in northern Niger — happened about 5 a.m., Niger Domestic Affairs Minister Abdou Labo said.

In Agadez, a regional capital to the southeast of Arlit, a truck carrying armed assailants and explosives detonated in front of the army barracks, Labo said.

A battle ensued in which the 20 soldiers were killed, Labo said. A breakdown of how many deaths were attributable to the bombing and how many happened in the battle wasn’t available.

The surviving assailant closed himself in a building with cadets and threatened to detonate explosives, Labo said.

Mahamadou didn’t say whether the suspect had been captured when he said everything was under control.

At the Somair mine, operated by French nuclear power group Areva, a truck with explosives blew up at the gates, killing two assailants, Labo said. At least 14 civilians were wounded, Mahamadou said.

Areva said the injured included at least 13 workers.

MUJAO spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui said the group “attacked France and Niger for its cooperation with France in the war against Sharia,” BFMTV reported Thursday.

France deployed about 4,000 troops to Mali, the country directly to Niger’s west, in January to drive out Islamist militants — including MUJAO members — who had attempted to take control of the country.

Islamic extremists with links to al Qaeda carved out a large portion of northern Mali last year, taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup in March 2012. France took military action this year after the militants began to push into the southern portion of the country.

MUJAO is a splinter group of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, according to the United Nations.

France strongly condemned Thursday’s attacks, the French foreign ministry said. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke with his Nigerien counterpart and expressed France’s solidarity with Nigerien authorities in the fight against terrorist groups, the ministry said.

Niger, a former colony of France, gained independence in 1960.

Journalist Ibbo Daddy Abdoulaye reported from Niamey, Niger. CNN’s Jason Hanna and Pierre Meilhan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN’s Amir Ahmed also contributed to this report.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/Ue9ccUt_sN8/index.html

Johannesburg (CNN) — “This shouldn’t be happening” — these were the words of a visibly nervous and frustrated sheriff of the court as he rang the outside bell and knocked at the gate belonging to a woman still considered by many in South Africa as the “mother of the nation.”

Joe Maluleke and two other officials arrived at Winnie Mandela’s house in Soweto on Tuesday to execute a court order granting a Johannesburg school permission to auction her belongings and pay an old debt. Among the goods meant to go under the hammer were 50 paintings, a round table, chairs and a silver tea set.

The problems started when the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president and an international icon, registered her great niece, Nobantu Vutela, as a boarding student at Abbotts College in Northcliff, Johannesburg, according to court papers filed in 2008.

The accommodation fees for the year were 40,000 South African rand — the equivalent of about $4,000 today. Winnie Mandela, 76, who earns an annual salary of around $90,000, as a member of parliament, was given six months to pay the full amount. It’s unclear why she and not the girl’s own parents enrolled her into the private school.

Despite the documents stipulating that R10,000 ($1000) be paid up front, lawyers representing the school say Mrs Mandela never paid a cent. They started instituting proceedings against her in October 2008. The case dragged on for five years. A lawyer acting on behalf of the school told CNN Mrs Mandela made her first payment last year but that she still owes nearly $5,000 with interest included. Mrs Mandela’s lawyer is disputing the interest amount.

With dozens of journalists surrounding him, not a single bidder in sight, and Mrs Mandela’s bodyguards stationed on the other side of the wall, Sheriff Maluleke knocked in vain. People could be seen moving around inside and outside the house, but nobody came out to let the sheriff in. At one point a car sped out of the premises using a side entrance. It is unclear who was in the car.

Maluleke was instructed by lawyers to get a locksmith and force his way into Mandela’s house, but he was understandably reluctant. At one point a spectator shouted, “Why don’t you climb over the wall?” The sheriff’s irritated retort: “And get shot at?”

The tense standoff lasted for about two hours. Maluleke left Winnie Mandela’s property empty-handed and dejected. He later admitted that the task he was expected to carry out was a difficult one. “Is it because she is the mother of the nation?” he was asked. “Exactly,” he responded.

Read this: How South Africa avoided ‘bloody racial war’

Outrage at pictures of ailing Mandela

2012: Nelson Mandela’s early years

Nelson Mandela’s family wine venture

Celebrating Mandela at 94

On Monday night Winnie Mandela’s lawyer Yandisa Dudula had been frantically trying to stop the auction from going ahead.

“Mrs. Mandela has given me a check for R16,000 ($1,696), and another R4,000 ($212) has been given to the sheriff,” he told CNN. “The auction is not necessary.”

The school’s lawyers insisted on getting the money in cash, failing which, they said the sale of her goods would go ahead as planned.

Confused neighbors looked on as the spectacle at Mandela’s property unfolded.

“We thought she had money, it is very surprising that her goods are now having to be auctioned in order to recoup funds for a debt,” one of them told CNN.

When asked what it is like to live next door “the mother of the nation,” the neighbor said, “We never see her. When the old man (Nelson Mandela) lived in Soweto he would walk around, shake people’s hands, greet and talk to them, he even invited us into his home.”

“Winnie keeps to herself, but we still call her ‘mother of the nation’ and no-one wants to see her humiliated,” the neighbor said.

Commentators say Winnie Mandela has become increasingly isolated, not only by her political family, the ruling African National Congress, but seemingly by her biological family as well.

“Internal tensions within the family could have played a role in no one coming to Mrs Mandela’s aid,” political analyst Somadoda Fikeni told CNN. “The family is fragmented and recent squabbles over money have further emphasized these divisions.”

Two of Nelson Mandela’s daughters — Makaziwe Mandela and Zenani Dlamini — are currently embroiled in a legal battle over the former political prisoner’s money. They have filed court papers in an attempt to remove Mandela’s longtime lawyer and friend, 84-year-old George Bizos, and others as directors of companies owned by the Mandela Trust.

The children’s legal battle over their iconic father’s monies has come under heavy criticism in South Africa. Bizos told local media the lawsuit is “a ploy to resuscitate the sale of Mandela’s artworks” whose proceeds go to the companies at the center of the dispute.

Andrew Mlangeni, who was incarcerated on Robben Island with Mr Mandela, told CNN: “This is a matter that should have been resolved internally within the family.”

Makaziwe recently rebutted accusations that her intentions are motivated by greed, telling the New York Times: “This issue that we are greedy, that we are wanting this money before my dad passes away is all nonsense.”

The feud over Nelson Mandela’s millions and now the threat of an auction at his former wife’s residence underscore the contradictions and complexities in what many consider South Africa’s political “royal family.”

Read this: Big brands target South Africa’s middle class

This is by no means Winnie Mandela’s first brush with the law, although for years many saw her as untouchable.

The former freedom fighter was implicated in the 1980s murder of 14-year-old anti-apartheid activist Stompie Seipei. Her then-husband, Nelson Mandela, stood by her, despite a mountain of damning evidence. In 1991 she was convicted of kidnapping Seipei and for being an accessory to assault, but her six-year jail term was reduced on appeal to a fine and a suspended sentence.

In 2003 Mrs Mandela was convicted for theft and fraud in connection with an elaborate bank loan scheme where the ANC party letterhead was used to obtain loans for bogus employees including her youngest daughter Zinzi. The conviction carried a jail term, but that sentence too was suspended.

A few months ago police confirmed that they have reopened the murder case of two more former freedom fighters, allegedly last seen at her house more than 20 years ago. Their bodies were exhumed in March.

Musical tribute to Nelson Mandela

Securing the release of Nelson Mandela

Securing the release of Nelson Mandela

From prison number to fashion line

In recent years, “the mother of the nation’s” influence in the country and within the ruling party has waned, and the protection she once enjoyed along with it. Last year she was voted second-last in the party’s national executive committee. She had been top of the list at the previous ANC conference in 2007.

Still, respected columnist and journalist Justice Malala says he is astonished Winnie Mandela couldn’t get help from a single one of her former comrades.

Malala told CNN: “It’s great that she was paying for her great niece’s school fees but I’m surprised that firstly she didn’t feel she could raise the money from her own salary and secondly that no-one in the ANC was willing to help her. She could have also approached the Mandela Trust. Mandela has given money to president Jacob Zuma before when he was in trouble.”

Perhaps the most astonishing part of the tale is why her children and grandchildren appear to have stood by and watched as threats of an auction became more serious.

Two of her grandchildren, Zaziwe and Swati Dlamini have recently launched a reality show in the U.S. called “Being Mandela.” They also have a clothing line named “Long Walk to Freedom” after their grandfather’s autobiography. Their mother Zenani Dlamini, Winnie’s eldest daughter, is South Africa’s ambassador to Argentina.

Despite the family’s many ventures and connections, Winnie’s lawyer says money isn’t always readily available.

Winnie Mandela has often courted controversy, but she is still adored by many in South Africa.

She endured years of torture, torment, banishment and imprisonment by the apartheid regime while fighting resolutely for racial equality in the country.

And despite her legal and financial troubles over the years, very few South Africans are celebrating her downfall. Many of them took to Twitter to express their solidarity. “We cannot forget Winnie Mandela who stood tall for three decades” wrote one person.

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_world/~3/FnfcWA7m3fI/index.html