Wednesday April 13, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Shannon De Ryhove

Making headlines:

President Jacob Zuma left the country on Tuesday for a two-day Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) bloc summit in China. South Africa will attend the April 14 to 15 summit, which will take place in the beach resort of Sanya, for the first time after receiving a formal invitation from China last year. Zuma is accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel and Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.
Zuma would use the summit as an opportunity to convey appreciation for South Africa’s invitation to become a full member State of Brics and to highlight the importance the country attached to the partnership, the Presidency said.

Swazi police fired rubber bullets on Tuesday to break up protests against the state's absolute monarchy, which has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and mismanaging a weak economy. Activists said police arrested scores of people who were planning an uprising against King Mswati III similar to the ones that toppled the leaders of the North African states of Tunisia and Egypt. Police also fired tear gas and deployed water cannon in the main commercial city of Manzini to head off any mass protest, witnesses said.

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) proposes amending the property clause of the Constitution to empower the state to expropriate private property, particularly land and mines, without compensation, according to discussion documents released on Tuesday.
"Amendment of the property clause to empower the state to expropriate for public purpose and in the public interest is therefore vital... ," the ANC Youth League's document on economic transformation reads.
ANCYL leader Julius Malema raised this at the close of the league's national general council last year. The discussion documents were released ahead of the ANCYL national congress in June when the proposals would be discussed and may be concretised in resolutions.

Also making headlines:
State-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa will embark on a three-month intervention programme, following large numbers of complaints and protests related to poor service delivery.
Foreign ministers will meet in Qatar for talks on Libya's future, with some eager to step up air strikes against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces, fearing the conflict could settle into a bloody stalemate.
And, the Democratic Republic of Congo's second post-civil war legislative and presidential elections will be held this year despite rows over their timing and the voter list, the electoral commission said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.