United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

4 November 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

U.S.-European imperialists initiate joint military exercises (Workers World)

(Pan Africa) A 10-day joint military exercise involving the European Union, the U.S.
Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the African Union headquarters based in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, was recently uncovered in a series of press releases from the Pentagon
and other sources.

United Nations launches appeal for aid to Djibouti (Xinhua)

(Djibouti) The United Nations on Wednesday launched an appeal for 39 million U.S.
dollars to assist 120,000 people affected by the protracted drought in Djibouti since
2005.

US sets record straight on policy towards Zimbabwe (SW Radio Africa)

(Zimbabwe) The United States Embassy in Harare has released a statement clarifying
the U.S. policy towards Zimbabwe, in an effort to dispel the much publicized ongoing
comments by Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF, that blame so-called sanctions for the
deterioration of the country’s economy.

Three U.S. residents indicted for aiding Somali terror group (Xinhua)
(Somalia) Three residents in San Diego, Southern California, have been indicted on
charges of aiding a terrorist group in Somalia, the U.S. attorney's office announced
Tuesday.

Sierra Leone bans foreign-owned fishing vessels: minister (AFP)

(Sierra Leone) Sierra Leone will ban all foreign-owned fishing vessels from its waters in
a bid to clamp down on rampant pirate activities, Fishing Minister Joseph Koroma said
on Tuesday.

Minister: Algeria to arm civilians to fight terror (Associated Press)

(Algeria) The interior minister has reportedly said that Algeria will resume a policy of
arming people to reinforce the fight against terrorism in the north African country.

Liberian Leader Dissolves Cabinet (Reuters)

(Liberia) President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf dissolved her cabinet on Wednesday, a move
that will provide her a “fresh slate” for the next phase of her administration, her office
said in a news release.

Tanzania's Ruling Party Expects to Win Election (Voice of America)

(Tanzania) With unofficial results being released, Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete
looks set to begin a second term in office, but delays in the tallying process have raised
tensions around the country and observers are concerned about the vote's transparency.

Gbagbo Leads Ivory Coast Vote Count (Associated Press)

(Ivory Coast) Partial election results released Wednesday gave President Laurent
Gbagbo only a three-point lead over the main opposition leader, portending a possible
runoff in three weeks in this tense West African nation that remains divided after a civil
war.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Darfur: UN-African Union mission deeply concerned over recent arrests
 Western Sahara: UN announces next round of informal talks between the parties
 Ban, welcoming consensus on Guinea elections, urges peaceful campaign
 Pirates off Somalia committing more violence despite naval patrols – Ban
 Breakthrough Ivorian elections show people’s resolve to end crisis – UN official
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, November 5, 9:30 a.m.; U.S. Institute of Peace

WHAT: Women in War Conference: The Trouble with the Congo
WHO: Severine Autesserre, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Barnard College,
Columbia University; Raymond Gilpin, Associate Vice President, Sustainable
Economies, Centers of Innovation, U.S. Institute of Peace; Christine Karumba, Women
for Women International; Howard Wolpe, Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars; Diane Orentlicher, Deputy Director, Office of War Crimes, U.S. Department of
State
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/woman-and-war
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S.-European imperialists initiate joint military exercises (Workers World)

A 10-day joint military exercise involving the European Union, the U.S. Africa
Command (AFRICOM) and the African Union headquarters based in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, was recently uncovered in a series of press releases from the Pentagon and
other sources. Labeled “Amani Africa,” the operation brought together the combined
forces of the EU, the Pentagon and 120 African military components.
Ostensibly designed to enhance the military and security capacity of the 53-member
African Union states, the fact that both the EU and the Pentagon were heavily involved
in this process raises questions about the role of the leading imperialist states in
usurping and misdirecting African political and military policy on the continent. The
joint exercises culminated on Oct. 29 with a VIP ceremony in the U.S.-backed state of
Ethiopia.

According to African Union Commission Chair Jean Ping of Gabon, “The command
post exercise is the culmination of two years of engagement and partnership
throughout the Amani Africa cycle of preparations and activities, designed to both
contribute toward and validate the operational readiness of the African Standby Force.
The ASF therefore lies at the very core of the efforts of the African Union to take
ownership of and lead in matters related to peace, security and development in Africa.”
(U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs, Oct. 27)

AU officials noted in a press release posted on the AFRICOM website that progress
related to the military exercises would not have happened without the help of its
partners. Ping was quoted as saying, “Indeed, a popular proverb in Kirundi [language
spoken in Rwanda and Burundi] states that, if you want to walk fast, you should walk
alone, but if you want to walk far, you should walk together.”

In specific terms the AFRICOM press release states, “The European Union has assisted
the AU in its efforts, supporting various projects including development and
preparation of the Africa Standby Force (ASF). U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has
also established a long-term partnership with the AU to provide communications links
to the Africa Standby Force — part of the AU’s Peace Support Operations Division
(PSOD).”

The Pentagon then details areas where it has provided assistance to the recently
concluded military exercises. Staff Sergeant Amanda McCarty of the Public Affairs
Division of AFRICOM noted, “U.S. AFRICOM has helped the African Union build its
communications capability throughout the continent by establishing a Peace Support
Operations Center in Addis Ababa; providing training to the PSOD; and integrating
their activities into African Endeavor, a U.S.-led continent-wide communications
exercise that allows African nations to gain experience communicating with each other
and with the international community during an emergency. These activities were used
to prepare the ASF for the Amani Africa CPS (command post exercise) and for future
operations.”

These exercises simulated a “peace-support operation” in a fictional island of Carana,

an area that is part of a subregion of the continent off the coast of the Horn of Africa.
The scenario is based on combating a guerrilla group known as the Vrai Mouvement
Patriotique de Carana, which is attempting to undermine the African Union Mission in
fictional Carana.

The exercise is based on the VMPC gaining a foothold in one of the provinces of the
fictional island and consequently launching attacks on civilians and recruiting youth
into the guerrilla organization. The Amani Africa operation intervenes to ostensibly
restore peace and stability on the island.

One of the officers involved in the exercise, retired Nigerian Major General Samaila
Iliya, said of the fictional operation in the AFRICOM release, “The African Standby
Force itself is a key component in the management of crisis management. It is a
component that must be robust. It has to be capable of undertaking a range of activities
in terms of peace operations. If you look at the present environment, especially that of
Africa, you’ll see there are quite a number of challenges, especially when it concerns
peace and stability.”

Exercise may signal large-scale intervention in Horn of Africa

It is quite interesting that this fictional scenario for Amani Africa takes place near the
Horn of Africa, where the U.S. and other imperialist states have concentrated significant
military resources in order to prevent the collapse of the Transitional Federal
Government in Somalia as well as maintain Western influence in Ethiopia, Djibouti and
Kenya. The Islamic resistance organizations in Somalia, al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam,
are challenging the existing African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) that is largely
underwritten and trained by the Pentagon.

In addition to the U.S. and European imperialist intervention in Somalia as well as off
its coast — by stationing large flotillas of warships to purportedly fight piracy — the
Pentagon and France both maintain military bases in the neighboring state of Djibouti.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, recently delivered a major policy
address at the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies in
which he called for greater military intervention in Somalia to prevent the collapse of
the TFG.

Although the African Union’s stated purpose is to enhance political unity, economic
cooperation and national security within its member states, until there are clear
objectives related to what constitutes genuine independence and sovereignty in Africa,
imperialist states will continue to maneuver individual governments and regional
bodies into projects that objectively undermine stability. There are numerous examples
of U.S. interference in Africa that have resulted in coups, the theft of national resources
and impeding economic development.

Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the Republic of Ghana and a leading
theoretician and practitioner in the African revolutionary struggle of the 1950s and
1960s, called for the formation of an All-African High Military Command during this
period. The distinction between what Nkrumah advocated and what appears to be
happening today is that Nkrumah maintained that such a military alliance must be
independent of neo-colonialism and imperialism.

In his book “Africa Must Unite,” published in 1963 on the eve of the formation of the
Organization of African Unity (the forerunner of the African Union), Nkrumah stated:
“I do not see much virtue or wisdom in our separate efforts to build up or maintain vast
military forces for self-defense which, in any case, would be ineffective in any major
attack upon our separate States. If we examine this problem realistically, we should be
able to ask ourselves this pertinent question: which single State in Africa today can
protect its sovereignty against an imperialist aggressor?”

With specific reference to the role of AFRICOM today, it’s instructive that in 1963
Nkrumah wrote: “If we do not unite and combine our military resources for common
defense, the individual States, out of a sense of insecurity, may be drawn into making
defense pacts with foreign powers which may endanger the security of us all.”
--------------------
United Nations launches appeal for aid to Djibouti (Xinhua)
(Djibouti) The United Nations on Wednesday launched an appeal for 39 million U.S.
dollars to assist 120,000 people affected by the protracted drought in Djibouti since
2005.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, "The
appeal will help provide vital humanitarian assistance to 120,000 people affected by the
protracted drought that has plagued the East African country since 2005."

The drought has caused the death of some 70 percent of cattle and destroyed the crops
of many smallholder farmers in Djibouti.

Bad harvests and skyrocketing food prices have contributed to malnutrition in Djibouti.
Approximately 25,000 children under the age of five are currently suffering from acute
malnutrition in the country.

The U.N. appeal will help with critical humanitarian needs like providing food, water,
sanitation, and basic healthcare as well as longer term needs like agricultural recovery
and bolstering Djibouti's ability to respond to future emergencies.

Valerie Amos, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency

relief coordinator, said that, in order to prevent future crises, changes in Djibouti must
extend beyond immediate relief measures.
"While this appeal will help meet immediate humanitarian needs, like food and
nutrition, it is important that we also address the root causes of recurrent food crises
and improve the country's capacity to respond to these emergencies," OCHA said.
--------------------
US sets record straight on policy towards Zimbabwe (SW Radio Africa)

The United States Embassy in Harare has released a statement clarifying the U.S. policy
towards Zimbabwe, in an effort to dispel the much publicized ongoing comments by
Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF, that blame so-called sanctions for the deterioration of
the country’s economy.

The statement said in part: “US sanctions are not blocking Zimbabwe’s economic
recovery. The US does not maintain sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe or the
country of Zimbabwe. US sanctions target individuals and entities that have
undermined democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe.”

Sharon Hudson-Dean, spokesperson for the Embassy, told SW Radio Africa that the
issue of these so-called “illegal sanctions” has been heard and seen a lot in the media in
Zimbabwe, and the embassy felt it was time to set the record straight.

Regarding the use of the term sanctions, Hudson-Dean said: “We prefer to call them
restrictive measures or targeted sanctions because they only focus on a small number of
individuals and entities that are mostly controlled by these individuals.”

She explained that the measures restrict these individuals from travelling to the United
States, investing money or doing business in the United States and restrict American
companies from doing business with them as well. The current list has approximately
100 people. The embassy statement said this list is modified when “blocked
Zimbabwean officials demonstrate a clear commitment to respect the rule of law,
democracy and human rights.”

In his public speeches Mugabe always says that Zimbabwe’s economy is restricted from
growing by the ‘illegal sanctions’. Hudson-Dean refuted that argument, saying that
there is no economic embargo against the country.

“In fact the economic data shows that in the first half of 2010 our trade volume, that is
the bilateral trade between the U.S. and Zimbabwe, went up 25% over last year. There is
actually a lot of trade going on.”
One of the most well-known American companies doing business in Zimbabwe is Coca-
Cola, which according to Hudson-Dean brings in beverages for close to 80% of the
market. She said American companies are very active in Zimbabwe and are interested
in the country.
Mugabe says the current levels of hunger and starvation and the failed healthcare and
education systems, are a result of the country’s inability to borrow money from
international institutions due to the sanctions. He ignores the fact that the ZANU PF
policy of violent land invasions destroyed the agricultural base of the country and that
the trillion dollar inflation, created by government mis-management, finally destroyed
the economy.

Hudson-Dean also strongly denies Mugabe’s statements on this issue and explained
that Zimbabwe has very large arrears with various lending institutions and needs to
pay them off before any more loans can be allowed.

“This is something that the finance ministry is very focused on right now and that has
to be done. There is engagement and there is discussion with them. However that has to
be done directly with the international financial institutions.” She added.

Hudson-Dean also stressed that humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe has never been cut off.
Last year the U.S. donated over $300 million and more than $200 million has already
been donated this year for humanitarian, food and health assistance, as well as
democracy and governance issues. The U.S. expects to continue this level of support
and to increase funds for HIV/ AIDS programs in Zimbabwe by $10 million, to a total
of over $57 million.

As for the elections that Mugabe has said could be held next year, Hudson-Dean said
the U.S. would be happy to assist in any way, if they are invited by the Zimbabwean
people. She believes the decision as to who should be the election observers also lies
with the Zimbabwean people.
--------------------
Three U.S. residents indicted for aiding Somali terror group (Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES - Three residents in San Diego, Southern California, have been indicted
on charges of aiding a terrorist group in Somalia, the U.S. attorney's office announced
Tuesday.

The three defendants -- Basaaly Saeed Moalin, 33; Mohamed Mohamed Mohamud, 38;
and Issa Doreh, 54 -- were charged with providing assistance to Al Shabab, a terror
group that uses murder, beheadings and bombings to undermine Somalia's weak
transitional government, the indictment says.

Moalin was arrested Sunday as he attempted to board a flight from San Diego's
Lindbergh Field. Doreh and Mohamud were arrested Monday.

Al Shabab, listed by the State Department as a terror group, has claimed responsibility
for a bombing that killed an American aid worker and 75 others in Uganda who were
watching a telecast of a World Cup soccer match.
Although it has ties to al-Qaida, the group is not believed to have launched any attacks
on U.S. soil, officials said.

In August, a former San Diego resident, Serwan Mostafa, 28, was indicted on charges of
helping the same group. He remains at large.

Also in August, 13 other people, most of them U.S. citizens of Somali descent, were
indicted on the same charges in three states.
--------------------
Sierra Leone bans foreign-owned fishing vessels: minister (AFP)

FREETOWN — Sierra Leone will ban all foreign-owned fishing vessels from its waters
in a bid to clamp down on rampant pirate activities, Fishing Minister Joseph Koroma
said on Tuesday.

"The move effectively ends the use of Sierra Leone's flag of convenience to foreign-
owned fishing vessels as statistics show they used banned fishing gear and operated
inside exclusive zones reserved for artisanal fishing," the minister told reporters.

The fishing industry provides 10 percent of the west African country's gross domestic
product (GDP), and fishing by foreign-owned vessels was causing serious losses.

"We have been losing 30 million dollars (21 million euros) a year due to illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing," Koroma said

"I look from my verandah every night and I see the whole skyline lit but by six in the
morning, its all dark, the vessels have disappeared into the horizon," he said.

"We have the regulations and the radar system but the problem is the facilities to arrest
the violators. Our naval patrol has limited resources and the only patrol boat donated
by the Chinese is falling apart and fuelling it is a problem."

The government is looking at having the international vessels register locally, to better
monitor their activities.

According to the government's statistics office, some 90 fishing vessels, from countries
such as South Korea, China and Greece, were flying the Sierra Leone flag and paying
about 500 dollars a year to the government.
--------------------
Minister: Algeria to arm civilians to fight terror (Associated Press)
ALGIERS, Algeria – The interior minister has reportedly said that Algeria will resume a
policy of arming people to reinforce the fight against terrorism in the north African
country.

Dahou Ould Kablia says the government would honor a request of some civilians in
insecure areas for weapons "to fight against terrorism."

He didn't specify which people would be armed and said the defense ministry was
behind the decision. Algerian media on Wednesday published the comments made
Tuesday.

Al-Qaida's offshoot in North Africa has its roots and has carried out killings in Algeria.

The government had a policy of arming civilians during the Islamist insurgency that left
up to 200,000 people dead in Algeria in the 1990s. It was later halted under amnesty
deals.
--------------------
Liberian Leader Dissolves Cabinet (Reuters)

MONROVIA, Liberia — President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf dissolved her cabinet on

Wednesday, a move that will provide her a “fresh slate” for the next phase of her
administration, her office said in a news release.

No other reason was given for the move, but it comes in the midst of a crackdown on
corruption in Liberia that has already implicated some public officials a year ahead of
presidential elections.

“President Johnson-Sirleaf told the ministers that the reason for demanding their mass
administrative leave is that this administration is entering a critical stretch and this
would afford her the opportunity to start with a fresh slate going forward,” the news
release said. “The President further announced that a cabinet restructuring will be made
in the shortest possible time and that several ministers could be reappointed.”

Deputies will take over the ministers’ responsibilities until replacements are nominated.

Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf has been in power since 2006 and was expected to seek another
term in an election planned for 2011.

An analyst said the move may be part of a strategy to improve her chances in the
election.

“Patience with her government is wearing thin over the issue of corruption,” said
Joseph Lake of the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. “She faces a strong
challenge in the 2011 presidential election from local hero George Weah and this may be
an effort to freshen up a weary cabinet.”

Her critics say she has not done enough to root out corruption or ease tensions between
communities divided by 14 years of near-constant civil war that left the infrastructure in
ruins.

Liberia is one of the world’s poorest countries, but its oil and minerals resources are
drawing increased investment from energy and mining companies.

The government said last month it was investigating some current and former public
officials for their role in a proposed carbon deal that would have given a British firm
control of a fifth of the country’s rainforests.
--------------------
Tanzania's Ruling Party Expects to Win Election (Voice of America)

With unofficial results being released, Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete looks set to
begin a second term in office, but delays in the tallying process have raised tensions
around the country and observers are concerned about the vote's transparency.

On Sunday, Tanzanian voters participated in the country's fourth national election since
the re-introduction of multi-party politics in 1992.

Voting proceeded peacefully, in what analysts billed as the closest political contest in
the country's history. But the Tanzanian public is awaiting the release of official results,
and questions are being raised about the process.

"We are concerned by the delays in the announcement of the results as this creates
unnecessary uncertainty and suspicion among the electorate, and we have serious
concerns about the transparency of the electoral decision-making and aggregation
process," said the European Union's Chief Observer, David Martin.

Martin emphasized the concerns were the result of preliminary observations and not
part of the team's final report. He said the EU observation mission will remain in the
country to observe the aggregation process, final results and post-election
developments.

According to Tanzania's electoral commission, final numbers are due by Friday at the
latest. But many expected the official results to be announced much sooner. The wait
has caused tension and sparked some clashes across the country.

Protests in the capital, Dar es Salaam, as well as Mwanza and Arusha have been
dispersed with teargas from Tanzanian police, though no injuries have been reported.
Preliminary results released since Sunday show a strong lead for current President
Jakaya Kikwete. Many analysts expected Mr. Kikwete to win a second term, but
opinion polls taken in the lead-up to the vote showed a narrow lead over main
opposition candidate Wilbrod Slaa.

The initial results also indicate the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party could lose as
many as 51 seats in the Tanzanian parliament, while holding on to its majority.

Officials from Chama Cha Mapinduzi have accepted the results being released; saying
the loss of seats was expected.

President Jakaya Kikwete was elected in 2005 with more than 80 percent of the vote. In
2010, Mr. Kikwete faced stiff challenges from Slaa and five other candidates, who
criticized the president for not delivering on previous promises.

In 2005, Mr. Kikwete campaigned on a platform of anti-corruption. During his first

term major corruption scandals were revealed, which cost Tanzania hundreds of
millions of dollars.
--------------------
Gbagbo Leads Ivory Coast Vote Count (Associated Press)

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast—Partial election results released Wednesday gave President

Laurent Gbagbo only a three-point lead over the main opposition leader, portending a
possible runoff in three weeks in this tense West African nation that remains divided
after a civil war.

Uncertainty and delays in releasing results from Sunday's poll have fueled fears of
possible unrest in the world's No. 1 cocoa producer. Many stores and stalls in the main
city, Abidjan, remained closed Wednesday. Highways in the skyscraper-lined city were
void of usual traffic jams and some university classrooms were only half full.

At a local Internet cafe, a few young men were checking the election results online, but
manager Pakome Nanguy complained that people weren't coming in like they normally
do. "They're afraid," he said. "But there's no reason to be. Everything has been calm and
orderly.

Electoral commission spokesman Bamba Yacouba announced results from about half
the country's 5.7 million registered voters in a late-night state-television broadcast that
stretched into the early hours of Wednesday.

The figures indicated Mr. Gbagbo was ahead with nearly 37% of the vote, while his
main rival, Alassane Ouattara, had 34%, according to an Associated Press tabulation.
Ex-president Henri Konan Bedie was in third place with about 27%.
If no candidate wins a simple majority, the top two finishers will face off in a second-
round election on Nov. 28. The electoral commission is expected to continue releasing
results later Wednesday, culminating in a final tally by day's end.

The vote, the first since a brief civil war split the Ivory Coast in two, is seen as a critical
turning point in the country's history. The 2002-2003 war left rebels in control of the
north.

The election had been delayed for five years because of disputes over voter rolls. Mr.
Gbagbo, whose five-year mandate officially expired in 2005, stayed in office. The
election could restore stability and reunify the country—or trigger unrest if political
leaders reject the outcome.

The head of the European Union's 120-strong observer mission, Cristian Preda, said
Tuesday the electoral commission was fueling tension among a nervous electorate by
delaying the release of results. Election officials blamed logistical problems and heavy
rains.

Mr. Preda said the EU had detected no fraud in Sunday's poll and praised authorities
and voters for having carried it out peacefully. But he raised questions about
transparency in ballot counting, accusing the electoral commission of barring 14 EU
monitors from election centers, including the commission's headquarters where
national results were being released.

EU observers at the electoral headquarters confirmed separately that since counting

began Sunday night, they had been unable to enter the room where national results are
being tabulated.

Yves Tadet, an electoral-commission official, said that although monitors could observe
counting at polling stations and regional centers across the country, they weren't
allowed to observe the final tabulation of results at the independent electoral-
commission headquarters.

The U.S.-based Carter Center also said one of its monitors had been told to leave a vote
counting center in the capital, Yamoussoukro. But others had no problems and the
mission generally praised the electoral process, as did the African Union. The Carter
Center said voter turnout had been higher than expected, at about 74%.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Darfur: UN-African Union mission deeply concerned over recent arrests

3 November – The African Union-United Nations mission in Sudan’s Darfur region,
known as UNAMID, said today that it was “deeply concerned” by reports of the closure
of the office of a radio station in Khartoum and the arrest of several journalists and
human rights activists.

Western Sahara: UN announces next round of informal talks between the parties
3 November – A new round of informal talks between the parties to the conflict over
Western Sahara will take place in New York next week at the invitation of the United
Nations envoy, according to a UN spokesperson.

Ban, welcoming consensus on Guinea elections, urges peaceful campaign

3 November – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed a consensus reached
among Guinean stakeholders that paves the way for the holding of run-off presidential
election on 7 November 2010, calling on all actors to ensure the smooth conduct of the
poll.

Pirates off Somalia committing more violence despite naval patrols – Ban
3 November – Naval patrols off Somalia’s coast have increasingly disrupted the
activities of pirates, with many sea bandits arrested and prosecuted, but others have
continued to seize ships using increasingly violent methods, Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon says in a new report.

Breakthrough Ivorian elections show people’s resolve to end crisis – UN official

3 November – The Côte d’Ivoire’s “calm and orderly” presidential vote, avoiding any
major human rights violations, showed that the Ivorian people were ready to put an
end to the civil crisis that divided the West African nation, a top United Nations official
told the Security Council today.