Tuesday, January 27, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.
Making headlines:
The Southern African Development Community has "unanimously agreed" that a unity government should be put in place in Zimbabwe by February 13 at the latest.
SADC executive secretary, Tomaz Salomao, explained that the Zimbabwean parliament is expected to pass the constitutional amendment for a power sharing deal by February 5. All parties also agreed that the Prime miMister and Deputy Prime Minister will be sworn in by February 11.
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has, however, issued a statement making clear its disappointment with the deal. The opposition party said that the conclusions reached by the SADC summit fall far short of its expectations. This raises the possibility that the deadlock could drag on as Zimbabwe faces growing economic hardship.

In South African news, the Freedom Front Plus and the Democratic Alliance have both filed court challenges against electoral regulations barring South Africans working abroad from voting.
The FF Plus filed papers in the Pretoria High Court, challenging the constitutionality of this provision in the Electoral Act. Party leader Pieter Mulder says that there were political and not constitutional reasons behind the changes to the Electoral Act, which in 1994 allowed all South Africans abroad to vote.
The DA also filed papers in the Cape High Court last week, seeking to have the section declared unconstitutional. DA federal chairperson James Selfe argues that the denial of voting rights to South Africans is reminiscent of apartheid.
In a letter to Independent Electoral Commission chairperson Brigalia Bam last week, former President F W De Klerk urged her to reconsider the matter without delay "since immediate steps will have to be taken to register" South Africans living abroad in time for the election.

In other news, world leaders face failure at negotiations on a new United Nations climate treaty, unless they compromise on key issues. This includes new financing to help poor nations adapt to changing weather patterns.
Around 190 countries are seeking to craft a broader climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol that only binds wealthy nations to emissions targets between 2008 and 2012.
Executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer, says that the new deal is due to be wrapped up in Copenhagen by the end of the year. It will, however, be difficult to make progress without more political commitment.
De Boer explained that the deal would hinge on a clear target for richer countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, commitments from developing countries to reduce their emissions growth, extra cash for poorer nations and a new mechanism to put them in control of the funds.

Also making headlines:
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns against ignoring key issues during the economic crisis.
The International Criminal Court hears the case of a Congolese warlord accused of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15.
The International Monetary Fund warns of a rough economic ride for Africa.
And, analysts say that South African political party manifestos do not make a difference.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit polity.org.za.