October 18 2012
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

Former Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO Russell Loubser says South Africa lacks leadership.

An international peacekeeper is killed and three are wounded in Sudan's Darfur region.

And, US President Barack Obama comes out of debate with rival Mitt Romney confident.

Former JSE CEO and South African Airways board member Russell Loubser during a public lecture said that many of South Africa's recent problems could have been avoided if the country had good leaders.

He referred to the recent wildcat strikes affecting mainly the mining industry and the killing of 46 people in incidents relating to a strike at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, in Rustenburg.

He also accused South African leaders over the decades of being incapable of recognising or admitting to a crisis. He said that South Africa’s political leadership subscribes to the principle that if a problem is not recognised, then there is no problem.

Loubser also questioned why no leaders were guiding the African National Congress’s Youth League members, saying that long-term confidence, by the local and international business community, cannot occur in a climate of corruption, contempt for the law, undermining of the judiciary, violent industrial action, regulatory and tax uncertainty.

The international force United Nations Mission in Darfur (or UNAMID) said that an international peacekeeper was killed and three wounded in an ambush in Sudan's western Darfur region on Wednesday. This follows the death of four Nigerian pecekepeers in the past two weeks.

UNAMID, without disclosing the nationalities of the casualties, said that the unknown assailants ambushed a UNAMID convoy 10 km outside Hashaba North in north Darfur.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and other officials. They will face charges of masterminding atrocities in the region where Sudanese troops and allied Arab militias have sought to crush the rebellion.

President Barack Obama hit presidential rival Mitt Romney hard on women's issues as he headed back on the campaign trail on Wednesday. This follows a spirited debate performance that re-energized his bid for a second term.

Both sides claimed victory, but most polls gave a badly needed edge to Obama, who saw his lead in polls contract sharply after a lackluster performance in the first debate on October 3.

According to a post-debate Reuters/Ipsos survey voters said Obama outperformed Romney by a substantial margin on Tuesday night. Obama had 48% of the votes compared to Romney’s 33%.

The final presidential debate is scheduled for Monday in Boca Raton, Florida.

Also making headlines:

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel says President Jacob Zuma's proposed freeze on salary increases will apply to both private and public sectors.

A report by the Global Harvest Initiative reveals that more trade and investment is needed to meet increasing food demand in Africa and Asia.

And, South Africa's mines review axing options in the wake of intense labour strikes.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.