June 7, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines:

Acting national police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said on Thursday that there was an ongoing conspiracy by "certain individuals" to unsettle the management of the South African Police Service.
He was addressing journalists in Pretoria West in response to allegations published in The Star newspaper relating to the mismanagement of the Secret Service Account.
The Star newspaper reported that Mkhwanazi allowed the use of R35-million from the Secret Service Account for the purchase of cars for other police units.
Mkhwanazi, however, said he was ready for any investigation into the allegations, saying he would welcome the Public Protector, Parliament, the United Nations or anyone who wished to investigate him.

Egypt's ruling army council has called for parliament to meet next week to pick members of an assembly tasked with drawing up a new constitution. This signals the end of a weeks-long deadlock.
The previous assembly was dissolved by court order after liberals and others quit the body complaining that it was dominated by Islamists.
The military council that took over after former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year has promised to hand over to a newly elected president by July 1, but no one knows what constitutional authority the next head of state will have.
A new president will be elected in a run-off on June 16-17 in a polarising vote that pits Mubarak's last premier and former air force commander Ahmed Shafik against the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi.

South Africa's manufacturing output was weaker than expected in April as export demand remained sluggish, adding to signs that economic recovery is hesitant and supporting the case for an interest rate cut later this year.
Other data released on Thursday indicated Africa's biggest economy is headed for prolonged strain as production and demand for its minerals remains tepid, its trade partners are buying fewer of its manufactured goods and local businesses see the outlook as being the bleakest in about a decade.
A Reuters survey showed that a raft of weak domestic data and signs of a sharp downturn in major markets including the euro zone have seen economists push back their expectations for the resumption of monetary tightening in South Africa by about a year to late 2013.

Also making headlines:

Political parties urge President Jacob Zuma to make an urgent announcement on the future of suspended police commissioner General Bheki Cele.

Sudan is seeking to have next month's African Union summit moved to Ethiopia after host Malawi tried to block President Omar Hassan al-Bashir from attending.

And, the Gautrain made its first passenger run to the new Park station in the Johannesburg central business district on Thursday.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.