Tuesday April 05, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Jessica Hannah

Making headlines:

The upcoming summit of the nascent Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa bloc (Brics), which will take place on China’s island province of Hainan on April 14 and 15, could add political and diplomatic meat to the bones of what has hitherto been a loose economic concept, first coined by an investment banker ten years ago. Even the decision to open the grouping up to South Africa has been acknowledged as a “political choice”, designed primarily to ensure that Africa’s voice is represented in what could eventually evolve into a powerful new developing-economy platform.
This political dimension was emphasised by all the participants at a pre-summit briefing, which was hosted in Johannesburg on Monday.

Forces loyal to the Côte d’Ivoire presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara launched a major assault on the presidential palace, shaking Laurent Gbagbo's grip on power to the core after United Nations and French helicopters left his military bases in flames. Sustained machine gun and heavy weapons fire rang out from the direction of the palace in the commercial capital Abidjan before dawn in the heaviest fighting since soldiers backing Ouattara entered the city five days ago. A spokesperson for Ouattara's government said late on Monday his troops had already taken control of Gbagbo's official presidential residence, but his statement could not be independently verified.

Nigeria faces an uphill struggle to salvage credible elections from administrative chaos after aborting its first round of polling this weekend, but the move at least shows some determination to try to get things right. Africa's most populous nation had to abandon parliamentary polls on Saturday after voting materials failed to arrive in many parts of the country, sparking fury among voters who were promised a break with a history of flawed and violent polls. It then pushed back the whole election timetable – including a presidential vote, now scheduled for April 16 – so as to buy time to solve the logistical problems.

Also making headlines:
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi are carrying out a "massacre" in the besieged city of Misrata, evacuees said, as Libya said it was ready to discuss political reform, led by Gaddafi.
The International Monetary Fund warned that Zimbabwe faced a significant budget financing gap this year amid a highly uncertain economic outlook, making clear it was not about to resume lending to the southern African country.
And, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi discussed how to repatriate thousands of Tunisian migrants, pledging to do so in "a civil manner" as more boats from North Africa reached southern Italy.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.