Friday, July 10, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Bianca de Beer.
Making headlines:
South Africa's mix of English and Dutch law needs to be "Africanised" to make it more relevant, says Cape Judge President John Hlophe. People need law that embodies their own culture and values, he explained, at a symposium organised by the Progressive Professional Network.
South Africa's common law is a fusion of English and Dutch law, which has been imposed at the expense of indigenous law. People will not identify with the law if the legal system is not transformed, said the controversial Cape Judge President. People should obey the law, not because they fear being sent to jail, but because they feel that it is the right thing to do.
Hlophe added that South Africans have a legitimate expectation for transformation in the judiciary. He also believes that there is a need for courts to use African languages.

A new global financial architecture will be an important part of the global climate change deal intended to replace the Kyoto Protocol post 2012. The World Wide Fund for Nature has suggested that this system will need to generate at least $160-billion a year.
At the high-profile Group of Eight summit in Italy, the WWF asked developed countries to put forward the financial commitment of $160-billion a year for emission cuts and adaptation to climate impacts in the developing world, from 2013 to 2018.
Prior to the G8 meeting, South African WWF climate change programme manager Richard Worthington emphasised that allowing developing countries to design their response from the bottom up and not as a result of conditionalities from the financial support, would also be vital.
The Global Climate Network said in a report entitled ‘Breakthrough on technology', that finance goes hand in hand with technology development and transfer, as most low-carbon technologies require high upfront investment and could be more costly to deploy than carbon-intensive alternatives.

Details of President Jacob Zuma's rape trial have been resurrected in the hate speech defence of one of the President's staunchest supporters in the Equality Court.
African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema was accused of hate speech, discrimination and harassment by the Sonke Gender Justice Network after comments he made in January in reference to the woman who accused Zuma of rape.
Malema concedes that he made comments about the woman staying for breakfast and asking for taxi money, but denied the charges against him.
The Sonke Gender Justice Network argues that Malema's comments perpetuate rape myths, contribute to the underreporting of rape and can have the effect of perpetuating sexual violence against women.

Also making headlines:
South Africa's economic confidence is at a nine-month low and gross domestic product is seen as weak.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe makes an appeal to investors.
US President Barack Obama and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shake hands at a Group of Eight dinner, as tensions between the two countries thaw.
And, China calls for a more diversified and "rational" currency system to help stabilise foreign exchange, at the Group of Eight summit.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.