Friday, June 4, 2010

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Amy Witherden.

Making headlines:

Leading policymakers have expressed concern about the health of the world economy even as they close ranks behind the Euro zone's efforts to tackle a debt crisis that has rattled global markets.
Speaking before two days of talks bringing together the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies in Busan, South Korea, South African Planning Minister Trevor Manuel said that he could not think of a more challenging time than the present for the G20. This meeting is an opportunity to take decisions to banish the spectre of a double-dip recession, said Manuel, commenting on the fragility of the economic recovery.
World stock markets have been shaken, fearing that Europe's woes could deal a new blow to growth. World Bank MD Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala lamented that there are new clouds on the horizon "just when we thought that we had turned the corner". But US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner expressed confidence that the global economy is strong enough to ride out Europe's troubles.

A few million dollars invested in restoring natural resources could prevent multimillion dollar losses of the free services that ecosystems provide.
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) marking World Environment Day on June 5, says that nations could boost their economies by replenishing dying forests, marshes, coral reefs and river banks.
Unep warns that the loss of ecosystem services could lead to a 25% loss in the world's food production by 2050. Unep natural resources expert Tim Kasten says that wetlands, one-half of which have been destroyed, have an economic value of $7-trillion a year.
Conservation efforts often focus on the dwindling areas that are still pristine, but Unep urged governments not to give up on heavily damaged ecosystems. The 'Dying Planet, Living Planet' report says that restoring wetlands helps protect coastal regions from tropical storms and filters sewage out of water, while replanted forests provide vital drinking water for some of the world's largest cities. The report says that well-planned recovery programmes can usually recover between one-quarter and one-half of what was lost.

The South African government's decision to recall its ambassador to Israel is premature and inappropriate, the Jewish leadership in the country stated on Thursday.
The joint statement by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, South African Zionist Federation and the Office of the Chief Rabbi came after Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ebrahim Ebrahim said that Ambassador Ismail Coovadia would be recalled from Israel for consultations. Ebrahim said that the recall was a form of protest, following Monday's clash between Israeli defence force members and an aid flotilla that intended to break the Gaza blockade.
The South African Jewish leadership said that it regretted that South Africa was so far the only country, apart from Turkey, to have taken "so radical and disproportionate a step, despite not being directly involved in the matter".

Also making headlines:

The Zuma family denies being the source of rumours that one of President Jacob Zuma's wives was having an affair with a bodyguard.
The World Bank says that giving developing countries a bigger say in global economic governance could help the world economy recover more quickly from the crisis.
South African businesses are worried about the direction of economic policy and the impact of above-inflation pay rises, but the 2010 FIFA World Cup is still expected to provide a near-term boost to the economy.
And, a Ugandan politician refers President Yoweri Museveni to the International Criminal Court prosecutor over alleged war crimes.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.