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| Nelson Mandela buried in his hometown of Qunu, in South Africa - CTV News Posted: 15 Dec 2013 04:38 AM PST Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press QUNU, South Africa -- Anti-apartheid champion Nelson Mandela was buried in his home village on Sunday after a funeral that mixed ancient tribal rituals with a display of the might of the new, integrated South Africa. Military officers, both black and white, rolled Mandela's flag-draped coffin to the family burial plot in the village of Qunu. Formations of planes and military helicopters, South African flags flapping from the bellies, flew over the green hills where thousands of mourners had gathered. Unlike a public memorial service on Tuesday at a stadium that was rife with problems, the funeral and burial -- broadcast on many TV channels -- went smoothly, although behind schedule. The ceremonies mixed solemnity with joy at Mandela's accomplishments, lasted all morning and into the afternoon and were fit for African royalty. Mandela, South Africa's first black president, is descended from royalty. Several thousand gathered in a huge white tent at the Mandela family compound for the state funeral that preceded a private service at the gravesite. Songs, speeches and the boom of artillery rang across the fields and a tribal chief draped in animal skin declared: "A great tree has fallen." Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail as a prisoner of the racist white government and emerged to lead a transition to a multiracial democracy, died on Dec. 5 at the age of 95 after a long illness. His portrait looked over the assembly in the tent from behind a bank of 95 candles representing each year of his remarkable life. His casket, transported to the tent on a gun carriage, rested on a carpet of cow skins below a lectern where speakers delivered eulogies. Ahmed Kathrada, an anti-apartheid activist who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela, remembered his old friend's "abundant reserves" of love, patience and tolerance. He said it was painful when he saw Mandela for the last time, months ago in his hospital bed. Some listeners wiped away tears as Kathrada spoke. "He tightly held my hand, it was profoundly heartbreaking," Kathrada said, his voice quavering with emotion. "How I wish I never had to confront what I saw. I first met him 67 years ago and I recall the tall, healthy strong man, the boxer, the prisoner who easily wielded the pick and shovel when we couldn't do so." The songs and speeches in the tent ceremony were broadcast on big screens in the area, including at one spot on a hill overlooking Mandela's property. Several hundred people gathered there, some wearing colours of the African National Congress -- the liberation movement-turned political part that Mandela used to lead -- and occasionally breaking into song. "A great tree has fallen, he is now going home to rest with his forefathers," said Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, a representative of Mandela's family. "We thank them for lending us such an icon." Mandela's widow, Grace Machel, and his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, were dressed in black and sat on either side of South African President Jacob Zuma. Guests included veterans of the military wing of the African National Congress, the liberation movement that became the dominant political force after the end of apartheid, as well as U.S. Ambassador Patrick Gaspard and other foreign envoys. Britain's Prince Charles, Monaco's Prince Albert II, U.S. television personality Oprah Winfrey, billionaire businessman Richard Branson and former Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were also there. After the ceremony in the tent, a smaller group of guests walked to a family grave site. Bayanda Nyengule, head of the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha and Qunu, was one of the eyewitnesses to the private burial. "I realized that the old man is no more, no more with us you know," Nyengule said. "The moment when the coffin went down into the ground I felt too ... emotional." Mandela was co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize along with F.W. de Klerk, the last president of the apartheid government, for his efforts at bringing about a peaceful transition in South Africa. He had emerged from prison in 1990 advocating forgiveness and reconciliation, and became president after South Africa's first all-race elections, in 1994. He served one five-year term. The burial ended 10 days of mourning ceremonies that included a massive stadium memorial in Johannesburg and three days during which Mandela's body lay in state in the capital, Pretoria. While South Africa faces many problems, including crime, unemployment and economic inequality, Mandela is seen by many compatriots as the father of their nation and around the world as an example of the healing power of reconciliation. Gregory Katz and Alan Clendenning in Johannesburg contributed to this report. |
| 'She needs your continued prayers': 17-year-old girl in critical condition after ... - Fox News Posted: 15 Dec 2013 08:49 AM PST A 17-year-old girl is in critical condition after authorities say she was shot at point-blank range by an 18-year-old gunman at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. Friday afternoon. At a news conference Saturday, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson identified Claire Davis as the victim and read a statement from her family saying that first responders and a trauma team at nearby Littleton Adventist Hospital had saved her life, but she was suffering from severe head trauma. "She needs your continued prayers," part of the statement read. Students and residents held a candlelight vigil for Davis Saturday night at a park near the school. Friends and well-wishers posted prayers on Twitter, and some students collected money to help pay for her medical expenses. "I feel like it's going to make us a stronger senior class and school as a whole," said Chris Davis, an Arapahoe senior who is not related to Claire Davis and helped organize the fundraising effort. He said she has a lot of friends, always seems happy and loves horses. Robinson called Claire Davis a young woman of "principle" and "purpose." "She is an innocent young lady and she was an innocent victim of an evil act of violence," he said. Authorities said that the gunman, identified as Karl Pierson, had entered the building with a shotgun, a machete and three Molotov cocktails in his backpack, and planned to hurt multiple people. "It is our strong belief that he came to the school with that weapon and with multiple rounds … to cause harm to a large number of individuals," Robinson said. "His intent was evil." Robinson said Pierson likely was motived by retaliation against a faculty member – believed to be librarian and debate coach Tracy Murphy -- when he opened fire Friday. Robinson also said that the teen had bought the pump-action shotgun legally Dec. 6 at a local store. In all, the sheriff said Pierson fired six shots from his weapon, including the shot that killed him. Three of the shots were random blasts down the school's hallway. Pierson was reportedly targeting Murphy because he had recently kicked him off the school's debate team. Pierson was disciplined in September by the librarian for reasons Robinson said were under investigation. Pierson made some sort of threat in September against the librarian, according to The Associated Press. Students and a teacher said Pierson was an Eagle Scout who finished at the top of speech competitions. He competed in extemporaneous speaking — in which students prepare short speeches on current events — in the National Forensic League's national tournament in June in Birmingham, Ala. "I think he (Pierson) really cultivated his speech and argument skills and really thought that was a big part of his identity," said Steve Miles, an English teacher who taught Pierson as a freshman. "He probably thought it was a pretty crushing blow to get kicked off the debate team." KDVR.com reported that a student at Arapahoe High School in Centennial said Pierson was in a "rage" on Wednesday and yelled at one of his teachers. "Apparently that was enough to set him off," the student said. Robinson said that after Pierson entered the high school at approximately 12:33 p.m. Friday, near the student parking lot, he asked for the teacher by name. At one point, Pierson went into the library, where Murphy actually was located, but a janitor initiated a lockdown and Murphy was able to escape as Pierson entered the room. After that, Pierson set off one of the Molotov cocktails, setting at least three bookshelves on fire, investigators told KDVR.com. When an armed school resource officer entered the room, Pierson believed he was cornered and turned his gun on himself, Robinson said. The entire attack lasted approximately 80 seconds and was captured by security cameras. Pierson's body remained inside the school Friday night, Robinson said, "because it is part of a crime scene investigation." Robinson said he did not know if the student was enrolled in Murphy's class. "He knew he was the target and he left that school in an effort to try to encourage the shooter to also leave the school," the sheriff said. "That was a very wise tactical decision." Authorities also said Saturday that a second student who had been taken to a hospital with blood on her after the shooting was not physically injured. Davis, Robinson said, appeared to be a random target. Pierson, whose parents are divorced, lived at least part of the time with his mother in a higher-end neighborhood in suburban Highlands Ranch. The front door of the home was covered with plywood Saturday after authorities conducted a search. Students said he was a smart, funny and sometimes goofy student who sometimes debated his teachers. "He would speak for himself," said Zach Runberg, 18, a senior in Pierson's English class. "He would not be afraid to tell someone how he feels." The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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