Friday, March 20, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
South Africa risks undermining the rule of law if charges against African National Congress president Jacob Zuma are dropped, says Congress of the People presidential candidate Mvume Dandala.
If the National Prosecuting Authority were to drop charges against Zuma, it should make public its reasons for doing so. Transparency would give South Africans confidence that the rule of law has been respected and no interference has taken place.
The NPA has denied reports of Zuma's charges being dropped. This came while fresh representations were made by Zuma's legal team.
NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali told newspapers that the prosecuting authority "would still have to consider" whether to make public its reasons for any decision to drop the charges.

In regional news, Southern African countries have refused to recognise Madagascar's new leader Andry Rajoelina, and have urged the international community and the African Union to reject him as well.
Mozambique, Angola and Swaziland, making up the defence, political and security troika of the Southern African Development Community, which includes Madagascar, called for democracy to be restored.
SADC said that it cannot recognise Rajoelina as President because his appointment not only violates the constitution of Madagascar and its democratic principles, but also the core principles of SADC, the AU and the United Nations charters.
Although Madagascar's Constitutional Court has endorsed Rajoelina's takeover, various world bodies including the AU and the UN have expressed concern at the change in leadership without a vote.
Madagascar's transitional government has pledged to hold an election within two years.

Back home, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees says that preventing the transportation of refugees from Musina to areas such as Johannesburg is likely to ignite xenophobic attacks in Limpopo.
The UNHCR says that it is vital for the Gauteng provincial government to lift a ban prohibiting the commission from transporting Zimbabwean nationals to Johannesburg. If refugees are stranded in Musina, the commission explained, xenophobic violence could erupt as shelters overflow into residential areas.
The Gauteng provincial government is blaming the UNHCR for the "refugee crisis" in Johannesburg. But the commission says that it cannot take responsibility. It was asked by the Musina municipality to provide transport for the refugees, but it has not been telling them to go to Johannesburg or the Central Methodist Church.

Also making headlines:
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon fears the global economic crisis will affect aid to the poor.
The World Bank says that high food prices and protectionism continue to weigh on developing countries.
In Sudan, aid expulsions spark health fears for Darfur refugee camps.
And, former Cosatu president Willie Madisha says that a new, politically independent labour movement will be launched.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.