Updates for 09 December end
10:08 pm: Manmohan Singh registers condolence message for Mandela at SA Mission
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today visited South African High Commission to register his condolence message for Nelson Mandela, whom he described as "a giant among men".
Singh paid tributes to the late South African leader who passed away on Friday last. "A giant among men has passed away. In the demise of Dr Nelson Mandela, South Africa and India have lost a great Gandhian of our age. May his soul rest in peace," he wrote in the condolence book at the Mission.
8.05 pm: Dalai Lama wont attend Mandela's funeral
Having been denied a visa by South Africa in 2009, The Dalai Lama won't be attending Nelson Mandela's funeral.
India Today reported: "The Dalai Lama, who is currently away for a winter sojourn, has no plans to attend the ceremony and he has also not applied for visa clearance, joint secretary at the Lama's office, Tenzin Taklha confirmed today."
7.51 pm: Not American? Then South Carolina Sheriff won't lower flag
News is that for the South Carolina sheriff, if you're not American, he won't lower the flag for you. Even if you are Nelson Mandela.
Even as leaders across the world pay tribute to Mandela, Pickens County sheriff Rick Clark seems to be a tough nut to crack. After he received an order from President Barack Obama he put on Facebook that he won't lower the American flag.
The Washington Times reported Clark as saying on Facebook, "Nelson Mandela did great things for his country and was a brave man but he was not an AMERICAN!!! The flag should be lowered at our Embassy in S. Africa, but not here. Our flag is at half staff today for a Deputy in the low country who died going to help his fellow Deputy. He deserves the honor. I have ordered that the flag here at my office back up after tomorrow's mourning of Pearl Harbor Day!"
7.34 pm: South African govt ask journalists not to get drunk
What is with journalists and drinking? The government of South Africa has strictly asked journalists to behave. Or else they will lose their rights to broadcast.
Iol news reports, "The government has put together a strict set of media guidelines for Madiba's state funeral and other events, warning the more than 2 000 journalists expected to act professionally and not get drunk."
7.24 pm: Netanyahu to give Mandela's funeral a miss?
Looks like Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu won't attend Nelson Mandela's funeral.
Netanyahu had notified the South African authorities that he would fly in but cancelled his plans at the last minute due to the costs involved -- around 7.0 million shekels ($2 million) for his transport and security alone, reported AFP.
Where as reports suggest that to fill up one of his swimming pools Netanyahu spends $23,000.
7.02 pm: Mandela had wonderful time during last days, says daughter
Nelson Mandela had a "wonderful time" in his last few days as his wife Graca, his children and grandchildren were all there to say goodbye, the anti- apartheid icon's daughter has said.
"Until the last moment he had us, you know...The children were there, the grandchildren were there, Graca was there, so we are always around him and even at the last moment, we were sitting with him on Thursday the whole day," Makaziwe Mandela was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"I think from last week, Friday until Thursday, it was a wonderful time, if you can say the process of death is wonderful. But Tata (Nelson Mandela) had a wonderful time, because we were there," she said.
6.39 pm: World leaders begin to arrive in South Africa
President Pranab Mukherjee will be among 70 heads of state and government and global figures who will attend a memorial service in South Africa tomorrow for anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela, making it one of the largest such gatherings in generations.
Scores of foreign dignitaries have already arrived in the country for the memorial service at the 95,000-seat FNB Stadium, where Mandela made his last major public appearance during the 2010 football World Cup.
Nelson Mandela. Getty Images
President Mukherjee will lead a high-level delegation to the memorial service of the former South African President, who died at the age of 95 on December 5. The delegation will comprise UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury and BSP leader Satish Mishta, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said in New Delhi.
There has been "unprecedented interest" to attend the revered statesman\'s funeral, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told a news conference here. The other dignitaries who have confirmed their attendance include US President Barack Obama, Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff, French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Obama will be accompanied by his wife Michelle and three living former occupants of the White House -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also attend the event.
Britain's Prince Charles will represent Queen Elizabeth II at the memorial service. Authorities have mobilised around 11,000 security personnel to ensure security during the service. Some leaders are expected to travel to Mandela's rural childhood village of Qunu for his funeral service and burial on 15 December.
via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG6c3oYfzwaA8bOUFVlON_K56296w&url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/mandela-funeral-live-manmohan-calls-mandela-great-gandhian-of-our-age-1277305.html
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