Profile: Sarah Palin

Profile: Sarah Palin

Palin considers herself a “maverick” politician, like McCain [GALLO/GETTY] Sarah Palin, the youngest and first female governor of Alaska, has emerged from relative obscurity to become John McCain’s choice as his running-mate for the Republican presidential nomination.Palin, who describes herself as an “American Thatcher” in reference to the former British prime minister, calls herself a “maverick” reformer rather than a traditional Republican. She cut her political teeth as mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Alaska from 1996-2002. And while she has no national or international political experience, she has made headlines by pushing for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The mother-of-five has also angered environmentalists further by opposing the listing of the polar bear as an endangered species. She is a loyal member of the National Rifle Association who enjoys hunting and supports the construction of a pipeline to move natural gas across the state. Conservative appeal Palin beat Frank Murkowski, the state’s Republican incumbent governor, in a primary poll two years ago, despite having little money and little backing from the political establishment. In focus In-depth coverage of US election She has also distanced herself from two senior Republican politicians in Alaska, Ted Stevens and Don Young, who are both undergoing federal corruption investigations.But her anti-corruption reputation has been questioned after an investigation was recently launched by a legislative panel into whether she dismissed Alaska’s public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law from the state police. The governor, who studied journalism and is a former sports television reporter, will also help attract conservative support for McCain’s campaign. “When you look closer at Sarah Palin, she’s very very conservative on virtually all of the issues,” says Bill Bradley, a political analyst. “She has a very compelling and interesting story but she is much more to the right than where the country is today.” Palin is strongly opposed to abortion, and stands in favour of the death penalty. She is married to Todd Palin, a part-Eskimo former commercial fisherman who now works in Alaska’s oil fields and who is a four-time winner of the daunting Alaska Iron Dog snowmobile competition.

Nigeria cedes Bakassi to Cameroon

Thousands of people have moved from their homes in Bakassi

Nigeria has handed over the potentially oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, bringing an end to a long-standing dispute over the territory.

The handover ceremony was moved from the peninsula’s main town to Calabar in Nigeria amid security concerns.

Over the past year about 50 people have been killed in clashes.

The majority of the local population considers itself Nigerian, but an international court ruled in favor of Cameroon in 2002.

There are unconfirmed reports that militants have attacked a boat traveling to Abana, the main town on the Bakassi peninsula.

Unresolved pain at Bakassi handover

Nigerian security sources said between three and seven people were killed when militants ambushed the boat as it made its way from Cameroon.

Correspondents say security had been beefed up ahead of the ceremony.

On the Cameroonian side, there have been celebrations as people moved back into the peninsula.

In recent years, at least 100,000 people have moved from the peninsula to Nigeria, local leaders say.

The International Court of Justice ruling was based on an early 19th century colonial agreement between Britain and Germany.

Nigeria challenged the ruling, but finally agreed to relinquish the territory two years ago.

“The gains made in adhering to the rule of law may outweigh the painful losses of ancestral homes,” said the head of the Nigerian delegation at the ceremony, Attorney General Mike Aondoakaa.

Part of the territory was handed over to Cameroon two years ago.

Revellers

A spokesman for Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua said the process was “painful… for everyone including the president”, but added that Nigeria had made “a commitment to the international community and we have a responsibility to keep it”.

Cameroon said the final handover would mark “the end of a crisis”.

On the beaches of the northern part of the island there were parties and celebrations as Cameroonians prepared to go into the last section to be turned over to them.

“We are going straight to the place, and we’re going to be happy,” one reveller told in Bakassi.

But in Nigeria there is still bitterness about the deal.

“The government has abandoned its duties,” said Kayode Fasitere, the lawyer acting for some displaced from Bakassi who sought to have the handover delayed.

The transfer of Bakassi had been described by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as “a model for negotiated settlements of border disputes”.

A group of Bakassi leaders have been seeking compensation from the Nigerian government.

About 90% of the area’s population, estimated at up to 300,000, is made up of Nigerian fishermen.

About 30,000 of the residents have moved out to an area in Cross Rivers State set aside for them, but it has no access to the sea, campaigners say.

Bakassi has a rich fishing culture and people say the handover has destroyed their way of life.

The Bakassi peninsula juts out into the Gulf of Guinea close to the Niger Delta.

Its offshore waters are thought to contain substantial oil fields – untapped because of the border dispute – which Nigeria and Cameroon will now work together to explore.