January 27, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

Eskom implements stage one loadshedding again.

The Niger government lifts a ban on refugee camps.

And, General Electric chairperson and CEO Jeffrey Immelt suggests that Eskom should place emphasis on stability ahead of improvement.

Eskom has begun implementing stage one loadshedding from mid- morning today.

The embattled power utility posted on its Twitter feed earlier this morning that it would implement loadshedding stage 1 from 10:30 am today. It said it was likely to continue until 10 pm but it would provide updates throughout the day.

Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said the grid was exceptionally tight.

He said 25 per cent of Eskom's generator capacity was not operational due to technical problems, adding that the utility would implement the stage necessary in order to protect the grid.

The Niger government has lifted a ban on refugee camps in the south of the country as record numbers flee Boko Haram attacks in neighbouring Nigeria.

The government had banned the camps fearing that the Islamic fighters might use them as bases to launch attacks in Niger and Nigeria as part of their drive to carve out an Islamic caliphate.

A Niger government official said that communities in Niger's Diffa region had been overwhelmed by the new arrivals, prompting the government to reverse the two-year-old policy, a move that was welcomed by the United Nations.

The shift in policy follows months of lobbying by the UNs' United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which argued that the camps could provide protection, shelter and food for the refugees without burdening the host population.

General Electric chairperson and CEO Jeffrey Immelt suggested that troubled South African State power utility Eskom should place emphasis on stability ahead of improvement.

He was also of the view that it would be inappropriate for countries in Africa to opt for nuclear power at this stage.

In response to Creamer Media’s question on how his company could help Eskom become more efficient, he said the State power utility’s problems had taken long to create and  they would take long to put right. 

He also viewed the South African market on its own as being insufficiently large to attract significant volumes of foreign investment and advocated the creation of an enlarged Southern African regional market.

Also making headlines:

Researchers say governments should train local vendors to improve food safety rather than replacing them with the Western-style supermarkets.

The three West African countries worst hit by Ebola are at risk of a "double disaster" unless a multi-million dollar plan is put in place to help their economies recover, says charity Oxfam.

And, South Africa's Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration says it is confident that it now has more leverage to bring an early end to strikes.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.