Monday March 14, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

The African National Congress (ANC) has finalised its local government candidates lists in seven provinces except for the Eastern Cape and the North West, party secretary general Gwede Mantashe announced on Sunday. "We are happy that the ANC candidates lists are processed and have been largely influenced by our people on the ground and where necessary there was political intervention to uphold the principles of our movement," Mantashe said, addressing a media briefing at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg central. He added that the candidates lists had women in the majority. "Not only do the candidates lists from various provinces largely reflect gender balance, continuity, generational mix and new faces, but show how rigorous our processes have been."

A south Sudanese official accused the north of planning a Darfur-style genocide against the south, in an escalation of rhetoric less than four months ahead of the secession of his oil producing region. Pagan Amum's accusation came a day after he said his party had suspended talks about preparations for southern independence with the north's National Congress Party, which he said was plotting to overthrow the south's semi-autonomous government. Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence in a January referendum that was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north. The separation is due to take place on July 9.

Washington said a call by the Arab League for a United Nations no-fly zone over Libya was an "important step", as government troops backed by tanks and warplanes fought to drive rebels from their strongholds. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the League, meeting in Cairo on Saturday, had decided that "serious crimes and great violations" committed by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against his people had stripped it of legitimacy. Washington, which would play a leading role in enforcing any no-fly zone, said the decision strengthened pressure on Gaddafi but it stopped short of commitment to military action and made no proposal for a swift meeting of the UN Security Council.

Also making headlines:
Chadian President Idriss Deby has agreed to postpone the presidential election due on April 3 after opposition candidates threatened a boycott over flaws in the process.
Western diplomats in Zimbabwe are worried by rising political violence and have urged security forces and the judiciary to remain impartial.
And, an alliance between Zambia's two largest opposition parties collapsed on Friday, increasing President Rupiah Banda's chances of winning elections later this year.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.