Monday, November 8, 2010

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

Making headlines:

The US's decision to launch a second round of monetary easing was made without consideration for its negative impact on other countries, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday.
The decision "undermines the spirit of multilateral cooperation that the Group of 20 (G20) leaders have fought so hard to maintain during the current crisis," he said in a statement. "It also runs contrary to the spirit in which G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met recently in South Korea."
The rand hovered close to its highest level in nearly three years against the dollar on Friday, maintaining gains triggered by the Federal Reserve's decision to buy more government debt to help stimulate the ailing US economy. Gordhan explained that the US's move will "force developing nations to take more steps to mitigate the impact of the increased flows into their financial markets."

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete told security forces on Saturday to be on the alert after being sworn in for a second term following elections marred by low voter turnout and allegations of vote rigging.
The main opposition Chadema party, whose candidate finished closest to Kikwete, has rejected the outcome, asserting fraud. Party leaders warned before the vote that they would consider "civil disobedience" if the election was rigged. Tanzania's electoral commission and security intelligence agencies were accused by opposition parties of falsifying both the Presidential and Parliamentary results in favour of Kikwete and his party following the October 31 vote, while local and foreign observers voiced concern about the transparency of the vote tabulation.
In his inauguration speech, Kikwete, who garnered 61% of the vote, said: "The election is over. We should let bygones be bygones and ensure that peace and stability prevail."

President Jacob Zuma on Sunday praised the KwaZulu-Natal government for arranging a cleansing ceremony to help reconcile African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) members.
Speaking at the ceremony in Pietermaritzburg, Zuma said that the move would "help people to reconcile and move forward with life." Reconciliation will make it easier for development to take place in the area, he said.
The ceremony was aimed at bringing together people who were at loggerheads during the political violence of the 1980s and early 1990s. The conflicts were mainly between ANC and IFP members. The latter, however, boycotted the ceremony, claiming that it was electioneering by the ruling party.

Also making headlines:

Sudan signs ten exploration deals for gold and other minerals, part of a wider bid to diversify the nation's crude-dependent economy ahead of the expected independence of the oil-producing south.
The Côte d'Ivoire's two main opposition leaders firm up an alliance that could enable Presidential contender Alassane Ouattara to unseat President Laurent Gbagbo in the second round of the country's first postwar election.
And, Guineans voted peacefully on Sunday in a Presidential runoff aimed at returning the country to civilian rule, though worries remain over the potential for ethnically-driven violence once results are released.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.