Thursday, December 11, 2008
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shona Kohler.
Making headlines:
The Congress of the People has won ten out of 27 contested municipal by-elections in the Western Cape province. The by-elections were widely seen as an important gauge of support for the new party.
Cope candidates stood as independents in the by-elections because the group has not yet officially registered as a political party. It will launch formally on December 16.
Regional electoral officer Courtney Sampson reported that the African National Congress won three seats, the Cope independents ten seats, Democratic Alliance nine seats, and the Independent Democrats five seats of those contested in the Western Cape.
The ANC did not contest 12 of the 27 seats in that area. A total of 41 by-elections were contested across the country yesterday.

In African news, a United Nations expert panel has accused Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo of backing rebels in recent conflict in the eastern Congo.
The report shows that Rwandan army elements and government officials helped recruit fighters to aid renegade Congolese Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda. The experts also accused the Congolese army of supporting the Rwandan Hutu militia in eastern Congo, which includes some Hutus accused of carrying out the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The report was sent to members of a Security Council committee overseeing the implementation of a UN arms embargo and an asset freeze targeting rebel groups.
Both the Congolese and Rwandan governments deny providing support for any rebel groups.

In world news, at the UN climate talks being held in Poznan, rich nations have been asked to contribute up to $1-billion to a fund aimed at helping the poorest countries implement urgent projects to adapt to climate change.
Boni Biagini, head of the Least Developed Countries Fund, said that funds would be raised based on an evaluation of plans from 38 of the world's poorest countries.
The LDCF was established under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is managed by the Global Environment Facility, a major international funder of environmental projects.
Thus far, rich countries have pledged only $172-million to the fund. The United States has yet to give any money, but Biagini said she hoped that would change under the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Also making headlines:
The Congress of the People is confident of a favourable judgement on its name.
Hopes are up for a Christmas rate cut in South Africa.
The Ghanaian presidential election moves to a December 28 run-off.
And, the UN High Commission for Refugees says that there are six-million people worldwide trapped as long-term refugees.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit polity.org.za.