Accompanied by his wife, Graca Machel, a smiling Mandela walked into his private lounge in the large home he built in Qunu, before sitting in his favorite yellow armchair and addressing a small gathering of reporters.

Mandela said he was fortunate to have reached 90, but in the countryside and in the towns "poverty has gripped our people.

"If you are poor, you are not likely to live long," he said.

At one point, a granddaughter brought in a bowl of flowers and gave Mandela a birthday kiss. He was asked if he wished he had had more time with his family during a life spent fighting apartheid and then leading South Africa as its first black president.

"I am sure for many people that is their wish," he said. "I also have that wish that I spent more time (with my family). But I don't regret it."

Three decades of imprisonment
Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid.

He was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule. He was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. After serving one five-year term, he devoted himself to campaigning against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. But he has been slowed by age in recent years, cutting back on public appearances and spending more time with his family. He often spends holidays and his birthdays in Qunu.

Wearing one of his signature patterned shirts, this one in shades of green, gold and black, he glanced pensively out a window at the start of the interview.

"This is my property. When I am here, I feel I own something," he said.

Soon after the interview, a group of seven or eight grandchildren crowded around Mandela's chair, sang "Happy Birthday" and kissed him. His legs were propped up on a large stool and covered with a pale yellow blanket. A pile of newspapers sat next to his chair.

The room was full of birthday presents from all over the world — a portrait, a bust, a collection of photography books — all featuring him — from well-known artists.

Many events in his honor
While Mandela was celebrating quietly in Qunu, events were taking place across the country in his honor.

Video   Mandela's birthday message July 18: ITV's Jon Gilbert reports on Mandela's message of social justice. Nightly News

Two runners holding South African flags circled Robben Island, where Mandela spent most of his 27 years in jail. At nearby Drakenstein prison, known as Victor Verster when Mandela was held their briefly at the end of his term, a prisoners' choir and a band performed for a live broadcast on state television, and prisoners who had created portraits of Mandela handed them over to Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour, who was to pass them on to Mandela.  

"We are saying Mr. Mandela is 90 today; he gave a lot back to the country; he united us," said a prisons' spokesman, Mark Solomons.

In Johannesburg, children celebrated with birthday cake at the offices of the foundation Mandela founded after stepping down as president in 1999, and his African National Congress unfurled giant banners featuring his image at its downtown headquarters.

Qunu, meanwhile, had spruced up for the day.

On Thursday, gardeners mowed the lawn leading up to the museum honoring Mandela, a crew added a new layer of tarmac to the road outside his house, and a school choir rehearsed a song it created especially for him.

Mandela helped raise funds so the school could build new classrooms and move out of a dilapidated mud structure.

"He has done a lot for us, specially for the school," said its principal, Mpondomise Ndzambo. "He suffered a lot trying to get this South Africa to be free and fair. I think he is a great man."

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Shaul Schwarz/Reportage, for The New York Times

‘‘HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN’’ Chipchase talks to Accra street vendors about what an ideal phone (ideally made by Nokia) might do.

Keep in mind, though, that Jan Chipchase will probably be too busy with his job to talk much anyway. He could be bowling in Tupelo, Miss., or he could be rummaging through a woman’s purse in Shanghai. He might be busy examining the advertisements for prostitutes stuck up in a São Paulo phone booth, or maybe getting his ear hairs razored off at a barber shop in Vietnam. It really depends on the moment

Read more from New York Times

In 2005, dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans; its global distribution is comparable to that of malaria, and an estimated 2.5 billion people live in areas at risk for epidemic transmission (Figure 4). Each year, tens of millions of cases of DF occur and, depending on the year, up to hundreds of thousands of cases of DHF. The case-fatality rate of DHF in most countries is about 5%, but this can be reduced to less than 1% with proper treatment.  Most fatal cases are among children and young adults.

No dengue vaccine is available. Recently, however, attenuated candidate vaccine viruses have been developed.  Efficacy trials in human volunteers have yet to be initiated.  Research is also being conducted to develop second-generation recombinant vaccine viruses. Therefore, an effective dengue vaccine for public use will not be available for 5 to 10 years.

Dengue: Crisis or Epidemic..

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In February 2002 almost a million people were infected and many died from this mosquito carrying virus. It seems that the officials in political power have the funds and the manpower to prevent such things from happening but do little to prevent it from happening. Because it does not get them a lot of publicity or recognition, nor does it bring in cash to their coffers (bank accounts).  Here in the United States we have not had an occurrence like that in Rio in many, many years.  Every time I go to Rio I am amazed how dirty the canals are and how little is being done to keep them clean. Imagine if we didn’t clean the inter-coastal waterways here in south Florida. We would also suffer the same fate as Rio.

How do we pay for all the personnel, equipment, lodging, transportation, and finance for this huge endeavor? Because AmerinRio, Inc. is a registered Florida international Non-Profit organization recognized by the IRS as a 501 (c) 3 Corporation we can be the perfect vehicle to get this job done. With your donation**see notes or sponsorship we can help the citizens of Rio de Janeiro and other cities that have a problem with the Dengue virus. With each and every individual, corporation, government agency we can and will do this. We plan to use our corporate partners in the media, and every means we can to get national attention and recognition for assisting Rio in this time of need.

Note: A donation can be anything it does not need to be cash, although that helps, it can be personnel, equipment, air transportation, let your imagination run wild. The main idea is to make a donation of any kind to help.