The controversial painting showing South Africa's President Jacob Zuma’s exposed genitals has continued to cause deep divisions in South Africa. There were several dramatic twists on Tuesday. The 1.85 metre-high acrylic on canvas painting, entitled “The Spear”, was damaged by two vandals who painted over it and the Goodman Gallery, where the painting is housed, has been temporarily closed. The gallery management has now expressed concern that its staff, as well as public visitors, are at risk.

Egyptians vote in historic presidential election Wednesday - Some 50 million eligible voters in Egypt head to the polls Wednesday to elect a new president. PANA reports that long queues were seen at polling stations long before voting began at 8am local time. The voters will be casting their ballots for one of 12 candidates vying to succeed ousted president Hosni Mubarak. There were reports of tight security at polling stations across the country, with police officers and soldiers overseeing the procedure.

Football Cape Town International Challenge - Nigeria's national Under-20 football team, the Flying Eagles, has arrived in South Africa ahead of its Thursday's opening match against Ghana in the Cape Town International Challenge. The Flying Eagles are billed to play the second game of the opening day, following the curtain raiser between host South Africa and Argentina.

World Health Organization African Region - The number of wild poliovirus (WPV) cases in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region dropped from 657 in 2010 to 350 in 2011, representing a 47% decline, according to the 2011 report on “Eradicating Polio in the African Region”, released on Wednesday in Brazzaville, Congo, by the WHO Regional Office for Africa. The figure denotes a 54% decline from the 650 cases reported globally in 2010, a statement issued by the Regional Office on the report, and made available to PANA in Lagos, Nigeria, said.

Climate change impact - As negotiations continue at the UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) has emphasised that there must be a greater focus and support for farmers in poor countries to adapt to the impact of an already changing climate. 'Agriculture is the lifeline and mainstay of livelihoods for three out of four Africans, and therefore adaptation to climate change in this critical sector is not an option but a necessity,” Group’s spokesperson Seyni Nafo of Mali said late Tuesday.

Education - Isaro Foundation, a local NGO, will establish electronic or digital libraries in secondary schools countrywide in a bid to improve reading and writing skills among students, according to the organisation. We have so far shipped about 4000 middle and high school students' books such as novels and short story books. Jean Leon Iragena, the foundation's CEO, told The New Times yesterday that his organisation has been shipping books from the US, but this had proved costly because of transportation charges, hence resorting to electronic material.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged off voter education in Benue State aimed at building a set of young democratic Nigerians for entrenchment of democratic culture and practice in the country.

Nigeria Union of Journalist - President Goodluck Jonathan is to open the 2012 delegates conference of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the union, Mr Gbenga Onaiyega, said. Onaiyega made the announcement in Abuja on Tuesday at a news conference on the NUJ delegates conference, slated for May 25 in Abuja.

Wednesday's forex rates for CFA franc - Following are Wednesday's exchange rates for the CFA franc issued by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), according to a bulletin released by the Libreville-based institution:

Tanzania's forex rates on Wednesday - Following are foreign exchange rates for the Tanzanian shilling on Wednesday:

Property prices in 2011 - As land and property prices move out of reach of entry-level buyers in most high rent areas of Nairobi, Eastlands is rising rapidly as a middle class residential area, according to the latest Hass Index report on neighbourhood rents and property prices in 2011. The fourth quarter 2011 report that revealed Eastlands as an upcoming investment area attributed the growth to the opening of new public transport routes and launch of projects such as Casa Mia that showcases three-bedroom houses at Sh5.25 million.

Development projects - Africa plans to launch a fund to harness the financial resources of its citizens based in the Diaspora which will be used for development projects on the continent. The proposed African Diaspora Development Fund and Remittances will be unveiled at the Global African Diaspora Summit to be hosted by the African Union (AU) Commission in collaboration with the South African government in Johannesburg from 23-25 May.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that its investigation on the subsidy scam is almost completed, adding that the commission would soon move against oil firms indicted by the House of Representatives' ad-hoc committee on fuel subsidy probe. A source close to the EFCC told LEADERSHIP yesterday that the commission was on top of the situation. According to the source, "Of course, we are almost through with our investigation, and once we are through, we will move against the indicted oil firms."

Empowering girls and women is not a threat but one of the smartest social and economic decisions that a nation can make, Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said. She made the remark in Abuja at a National Gender Policy Dialogue jointly hosted by the World Bank Nigeria and the Department For International Development (DFID). She said that the World Bank gender report argues that empowering girls and women is a resource that adds to a nations GDP growth.

International - The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has been tasked by Group of Eight (G8) leaders to strengthen Africa's seed sector. AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers. The alliance was given the key role during the just concluded G8 summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama at Camp David near Washington, where this year's G8 Summit of the world's largest economies took place.

Malaria medicines - A new medical survey has come up with disturbing a revelation; more than a third of malaria medicines on the market are fake, dealing a serious blow to international efforts to roll back the killer disease. These findings are a wake-up call and demand a series of interventions to better define and eliminate both criminal production and poor manufacturing of antimalarial drugs. The study carried out by the Fogarty International Centre at the US National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, states that more than a third of malaria drugs analysed by scientists in Africa were below standard.

Society - Homosexuals in America are still savouring the support they have received from President Barack Obama. In an interview with a broadcasting organisation (ABC), a fortnight ago, the United States president argued that same-sex marriage should be legalised. "I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally," Obama said. Since then, the American leader, who has become the first US president to openly support gay marriage, has been under fire from mainly Christian leaders around the world. But some in the gay rights community called it "an act of political bravery".

Mali Prime Minister, Modibo Diarra, on Monday urged his compatriots to remain calm, urging them to stop their protest marches following the attack on the transition president, Dioncounda Traore.

Football - Kenya and Sudan will be the only Cecafa member nations with home ties on the first weekend of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Africa Zone qualifiers in a fortnight. While Kenya’s Harambee Stars welcome Malawi to Nairobi on 2 June and Sudan take on Zambia in Khartoum, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda play away. Two days ago, South Africa announced their team, led by Steven Pienaar, that will not be taking any chances as they await Ethiopia at Rustenburg on 3 June.

Politics - Baghdadi Mahmoudi, the Libyan Prime Minister under Mouammar Kadhafi, has not been handed over to current Libyan authorities, a spokesperson for the National Transitional Council (NTC), Mohamed Al-Harizi, has said. Emphatically denying knowledge of Mahmoudi's extradition to Libya, Al-Harizi told the Libyan News Agency that information reported by some media to the contrary was 'unfounded'.