Thursday, September 10, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
South Africa fell two places in the latest ‘Doing Business' report, published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, ranking 34 out of 183 countries.
The annual survey analyses regulations that apply to an economy's businesses, including: dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.
South Africa made only one reform - easing the tax burden on businesses by abolishing a stamp duty. Meanwhile, Rwanda came in as the top global business reformer, jumping 76 places in ranking, after issuing reforms in seven out of the ten areas studied by the ‘Doing Business' report.

Developing countries must be included in any deal on cutting carbon emissions in the shipping sector, says the United Nation's (UN's) shipping agency chief.
Shipping and aviation are the only industry sectors not regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. Shipping accounts for nearly 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions and pressure has grown for cuts ahead of a crucial climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.
Delegates from member State countries of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in July approved noncompulsory technical and operational measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. IMO secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos says that the organisation wants to engage with all its member States, not only industrialised countries, but also developing nations, in order to make a global contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told the National Assembly yesterday that it would not be helpful to devote energy to dealing with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as an individual.
Motlanthe explained that a call by the Southern African Development Community to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe was not aimed at protecting Mugabe, but was meant to attract necessary investments into Zimbabwe to promote economic recovery. The region can only benefit from a return to political stability in Zimbabwe, he said. Continued calls for sanctions would not serve the ordinary people of Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, relations between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) seem to be thawing as a top-level EU delegation will visit Zimbabwe this weekend for meetings with government leaders. These are the first such talks in seven years, in a bid to restore aid and cooperation with Zimbabwe. But an EU official says that the mission is intended to relaunch political dialogue and engagement between the EU and Zimbabwe, not to lift sanctions immediately.

Also making headlines:
South African soldiers in danger of dismissal after a violent protest last month, have been given a reprieve by a Pretoria court.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe says that a levelling of the HIV/Aids infection rate in South Africa is a sign that government measures are working.
And, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, sees the possibility of prosecution for war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.