Monday, July 26, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.

Making headlines:

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille should "buy an engagement ring", Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille said on Sunday, as talk grew of a merger between the two parties.
Speaking at the DA's federal congress, De Lille said that the country is a few months away from municipal elections, which will represent a "new beginning" for opposition politics in South Africa. Crucial problems such as poverty, poor service delivery, crime and education exist, that only a strong opposition can fix, she said, adding that "the real source of poverty is African National Congress (ANC) corruption and greed."
Commenting on the mooted merger of the two opposition parties, De Lille said that the more she speaks to Zille, the more she realises that the two parties have very few differences. Zille told the congress that she and De Lille share values and a vision and "know that [they] have to build a new majority to be a challenge at the ballot box against the ANC." The outcome of the negotiations between the DA and the ID will be known in the coming weeks.

African countries are divided about whether they should arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on suspicion of genocide, diplomats at the African Union (AU) summit in Kampala, Uganda, indicated on Sunday.
Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur last year, with genocide added to the charges this month. A draft of a resolution to be passed at the AU meeting on Saturday, contained two contentious clauses that have triggered hard bargaining behind the scenes at the event. But both paragraphs were removed after arguments that went on until 03:00 on Sunday. The first clause advised African countries not to arrest Bashir if he visited their nations - even if they had signed up to the ICC, as 30 African countries have. The second deleted clause attacked ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for focusing his prosecutions on Africa. One African diplomat said that "Bashir is dividing us."
AU summits have been marked by fights over issues such as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's "United States of Africa" plan and the ICC. The rows often pit northern and western States - rallied by Gaddafi - against a group of countries seen by analysts as close Western allies and usually helmed by South Africa.
Bashir went to Chad this week in defiance of his arrest warrant, on his first visit to a full ICC member country since he was charged. The court said that Chad should arrest Bashir, but Chad said after Bashir's arrival that it had no intention to do so.

The government is finalising proposals on the section of the Criminal Procedure Act that could force journalists to reveal confidential sources, said Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the South African National Editors Forum, Radebe emphasised that the African National Congress (ANC) government would not treat the media in the manner that it was treated during the apartheid years and that "any [new] law must be in conformity with the constitution."
Radebe was speaking against the background of increased media concern at the ANC's proposed introduction of a State-appointed media appeal tribunal to adjudicate complaints against the press, and also media restrictions in the Protection of Access to Information Bill.

Also making headlines:

The World Trade Organisation called, in its ‘2010 World Trade Report', for countries to work together more closely on trade in natural resources - an area often seen as exempt from many international commerce rules.
The African National Congress calls on the public to be cautious when reading Reverend Frank Chikane's public files, as "they are not the gospel truth."
US President Barack Obama pledges to redouble efforts to fight HIV/Aids through his global health initiative, despite dealing with economic hardship in the wake of a global recession.
And, the African Union says that Africa must turn ever more to China for its development because conditions and checks often stall the flow of funds from Western nations and the World Bank.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.