Nicolas Brulliard's Notebook:

Madagascar's lemurs under threat

Lemurs have it tough these days.

The political chaos that has engulfed Madagascar this year has spurred a flurry of illegal logging activities inside national parks meant as safe havens for these unique creatures. What is more, loggers hunt the primates for food while they stay for weeks on end in the protected forests, and even sell lemurs as bushmeat to local restaurants (see the grisly photos here.)

There are reasons to be concerned. First, the roughly 100 species of lemurs are unique to Madgascar and a few neighboring islands thanks to Madagascar's separation from Africa some 160 million years ago that led lemurs to evolve separately from their distant African cousins. Second, they are extremely entertaining to watch and incredibly cute.

Russell Mittermeier, Conservation International's president, has crisscrossed the world (as evidenced by an inch-thick passport full of visas) to see some of the most iconic endangered species, but lemurs retain a special spot in his heart.

"To me it's a cross between a teddy bear and a giant panda," Mittermeier said gazing at indris — the world's largest lemurs — during a recent visit to Andasibe National Park.

"Isn't that the coolest thing?" he asked when an indri leaped from tree to tree while maintaining an upright position. "I've seen it a million times, and I love it every time."

Indris communicate through howls that can be heard miles away. (Nicolas Brulliard/GlobalPost)

Brown lemurs at a sanctuary near Andasibe National Park show their gratitude to Russell Mittermeier, Conservation International's president and world-renowned expert on lemurs. (Nicolas Brulliard/GlobalPost)

Caster shows her girlie side in photo shoot

As Australian media alleged that Caster Semenya, the 800-meter world champion, is indeed a hermaphrodite, a South African magazine published pictures of the 18-year-old runner "as you've never seen her before," i.e. wearing dresses and sporting high-heels.

The controversy over Semenya's gender reached a fever pitch in South Africa this week after Australia's Daily Telegraph claimed that the report commissioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations showed that Semenya — whose masculine features, deep voice and meteoric rise have arisen suspicion — has no womb nor ovaries and has internal testes, which produce testosterone.

The news hasn't been confirmed by the IAAF, but it has sparked another wave of outrage among South African officials, with the sports minister expressing shock and disgust and the African National Congress Youth League saying it "is also very concerned by the fact that all the media reports about Caster Semenya are generated in Australia, which is the most lucrative destination for South Africa’s racists and fascists, who refused to live under a black democratic government."

The ANC Youth League, which has promised to donate R60,000 (about US$8,000) to Semenya, also said that "even if a test is done, the ANC YL will never accept the categorization of Caster Semenya as a hermaphrodite, because in South Africa and the entire world of sanity, such does not exist."

The IAAF has said the results of Semenya's tests won't be made public until November.

Meanwhile, in this week's issue of "You" magazine, there are published photos of Semenya in decidedly more feminine outfits and poses. In the article, Semenya says she'd like to learn how to do her own make-up but admits wearing her hair down might impede her running.

"Now that I know I can look like this I'd like to dress like this more often," Semenya said in the article.

South Africa mourns passing of Senator Kennedy

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died Tuesday following his battle with brain cancer, was hailed in South Africa as a staunch supporter of the anti-apartheid movement.

At the invitation of Desmond Tutu, Kennedy visited South Africa in January 1985 in a trip denounced by the apartheid regime at the time. On his return to the United States, Kennedy introduced the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985, legislation that sought to impose economic sanctions on the government of P.W. Botha. A later version of the bill - a mixture of incentives and sanctions - was eventually passed by Congress despite the veto of President Ronald Reagan.

In a statement released Wednesday, the ruling African National Congress said Kennedy was particularly remembered for staging a protest outside Pollsmoor Prison where Nelson Mandela was being held at the time. According to the ANC, Mandela said years later that he knew of Kennedy's presence outside his prison cell and that it "gave us a lot of strength and hope, and the feeling that we had millions behind us both in our struggle against apartheid but in our special situation in prison."

The ANC said it "will forever treasure the contribution made by 'Teddy' in the struggle for liberation and the building of our democracy."

According to press reports, Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive Achmat Dangor expressed his regrets on behalf of Mandela. "He made his voice heard in the struggle against apartheid at a time when the freedom struggle was not widely supported in the West," Dangor said. "We remain grateful for his role."

US soccer team produces valiant effort in Confedations Cup but comes up short against Brazil

There it was, the unimaginable. The United States soccer team, playing in its first world-level final, was leading five-time world champions Brazil 2-0 at halftime thanks to two beautiful goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. The few U.S. flags in the near-capacity Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg were waved enthusiastically in the winter chill.

It had been a steep learning curve for the U.S. squad after two heavy defeats against Italy and Brazil in the first round. After dispatching a weak Egyptian team, the Americans stunned No.1-ranked Spain in the semifinal and put an end to more than two years of invincibility for the Spanish Armada.

Alas for the brave U.S. team, two goals and spectacular saves by goalkeeper Tim Howard weren't enough to prolong the dream. After halftime, Brazil applied relentless pressure, and it bore fruit. A triplet of goals later, and the Americans were left to wonder what could have been.

U.S soccer team beats Spain in Confed Cup, reaches first international final

The U.S. soccer team scored one of the biggest upsets in the sport's recent history by eliminating Spain Wednesday night in the first semifinal of the Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal tournament for next year's World Cup in South Africa.

The 2-0 win courtesy of a heroic defense and goals by teenager Jozy Altidore and Texas-born Clint Dempsey is one of the United States' biggest victories. Spain is ranked No.1 in the world by FIFA (the U.S. team is ranked 14th), is the current European champion and was — until tonight — on a 15-match winning streak.

This is the second miracle this week for the U.S. squad, which had been all but written off after being thoroughly defeated by Italy and Brazil during the group stage. The Americans only qualified on goal difference after thrashing a flat Egyptian team.

On the night of his proudest achievement, U.S. coach Bob Bradley will have to measure his celebration. His son Michael, a midfielder on the team, received a harsh red card for a strong tackle in the dying minutes of the game and will miss what will be the United States' first final in an international competition. His teammates will face either Brazil or South Africa on Sunday.

Jozy Altidore of the U.S. (L) celebrates with teammate Charlie Davies (R) after scoring a goal during their Confederations Cup semi-final soccer match against Spain. The U.S. team won a surprise 2-0 victory over Spain. (Jerry Lampen/Reuters)
 

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