Sunday Morning News

• South Africa: Happy Freedom Day! President Thabo Mbeki commemorated South Africa’s first non-racial, democratic elections with a speech arguing that South Africans are not truly free so long as racism still exists.
• Sri Lanka: The Tamil Tiger rebel group bombed two military targets in north-east Sri Lanka, continuing a fresh wave of violence in the country’s 25-year civil war.
• Zimbabwe: The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that it will finally release the results of the March 29 presidential elections. The ZEC chairman commented, "We trust that by Monday 28 April this process will have been concluded," he said. Read: We trust that by Monday 28 April we will have had sufficient time to tamper with and rig the ballots. South African news source IOL speculates that Zim may be on the brink of civil war, after Human Rights Watch documented the beginnings of retaliation by MDC supporters against ZANU antagonism.
• World Food Crisis: The rapidly increasing prices of basic food commodities such as wheat, rice, and corn are creating a ripple effect throughout the world, with dramatic implications for peace and stability.
• U.S. of A.: The Justice Department is arguing to Congress that the Geneva Convention protections against “outrages against personal dignity” do not have universal application to all individuals, but rather the “definition of humane treatment can vary, depending on the detainee's identity and the importance of the information he possesses.” [WaPo] Selective application of rights? Seems a tad undemocratic. Dear Justice Department, I refer you to our very own, very fabulous, Declaration of Independence: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems that the universal applicability of the right to not be tortured is implied by that statement.