Commonwealth Games: Teams delay arrival

  1. Posted on Thursday 23 September 2010 - 13:55
    Gbentil
    Image of Gbentil
    Glorea Bentil, AfricaNews reporter in Accra, Ghana
    Teams for the Commonwealth Games in India have delayed their arrival due to security and health concerns. Media reports said New Zealand, Canada and Scotland are on standby due to poor accommodation for athletes, heavy rains and dengue epidemic. African teams have not made any pronouncement.
    Ethiopia's kebede wins the men's London Marathon
    According to Reuters, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard highlighted security fears surrounding the Games and said athletes should decide for themselves whether or not to attend. Already, high profile athletes have pulled out of the event. Two foreign visitors were shot and wounded by suspected militants in the city on Sunday.

    "There is obviously widespread concern about the Commonwealth Games," Gillard told reporters in Canberra.

    Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell has asked for an emergency meeting, expected this evening, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to evaluate the Games in what is being seen as last ditch attempt to avoid national withdrawals.

    The Games, held every four years for members of the organization of mostly former British colonies, are estimated to have cost $3-6 billion. India had hoped to use them to display its growing global economic and political clout, rivaling China.

    Instead, they have snowballed into a major embarrassment for the government, having to fend off criticism of shoddy construction, inadequate security and unfit accommodation.

    In a sign of desperation, the federal government ordered the organizing committee to hand over management of the Games Village, which will house 6,500 athletes, to the government.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive