Monday April 02, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

South Africa’s Jobs Fund, which has been allocated R9-billion to support job creation initiatives over three years, has issued its second call for proposals, having approved 26 projects and grant funding worth R1.5-billion during the first window, which closed on July 31, 2011. For 2012/13, R4.5-billion has been set aside for the fund, which is administered by the State-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa. The second of four bidding windows opened officially on April 2 and will remain open for eight weeks.

Mali braced for possible sanctions after its military rulers pledged to start returning power to civilians, but no concrete moves were taken and it was not clear if neighbours would lift threats of isolation. A 72-hour deadline, set by West African bloc Ecowas, for soldiers to start returning to barracks expired as northern separatist rebels said they had completed a lightning push south, seizing three regional capitals in as many days as Mali's army units retreated. The coup, a month before President Amadou Toumani Toure was due to step down for elections has shattered the international reputation of stability and democracy that Africa's number three gold producer previously enjoyed.

Western and Arab nations warned President Bashar al-Assad not to delay adopting a plan to end a year of bloodshed in Syria and called on peace envoy Kofi Annan to set a timetable for action if the violence continues. Annan is due to brief the UN Security Council today about whether he has seen any progress towards implementing his proposals, which Damascus has accepted but not yet carried out. After their meeting in Istanbul yesterday, the "Friends of Syria" said Assad did not have an open-ended opportunity to meet his commitments to Annan, who is seeking a ceasefire, troop withdrawals from cities and access for humanitarian aid.

Also making headlines:

President Jacob Zuma did not interfere in a probe into fraud and corruption claims against reinstated crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, his office said.

And, Sudan and South Sudan on Sunday accused each other of launching attacks in the oil-producing area straddling their border after talks aimed at ending the worst hostilities since Juba declared its independence in July 2011 were delayed.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.