Monday August 15, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

At least 145 000 South African municipal workers will walk off the job today in a strike aimed at shutting down services including garbage collection, in the latest dispute to disrupt Africa's biggest economy. The stoppage will extend South Africa's "strike season", which has already hit the mining and fuel sectors, threatening to curb growth and damage a stagnant economy.
Employers have offered a 6.08% wage increase. The union's 18% demand, nearly four times inflation, is meant to make up for spiralling costs of food and fuel, the labour group has said.

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi urged his people to "liberate Libya" from Nato and traitors, a day after rebels captured a key town on the road west to Tunisia, severing Tripoli's main supply route. Late yesterday, representatives of Gaddafi's government were holding talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, a source said – though the government spokesperson denied it. The talks followed a dramatic advance by the rebels that won them control of the town of Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli on the coast, enabling them to halt food and fuel supplies from Tunisia to Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital.

An intervention other than ordinary political discussion was needed to deal with the ANC Youth League's comments on helping to bring about regime change in Botswana, President Jacob Zuma has told the City Press.
This was because of the severity of the statements, Zuma said in an interview published in the front page of the newspaper yesterday.
The call made by Youth League president Julius Malema was "very serious" and not in keeping with ANC policies, Zuma said.
"We are not going to be like the apartheid government and interfere with our neighbours. We promote good neighbourliness and we don't interfere in the internal affairs of other people," he said.

Also making headlines:
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has denied a report that her office awarded a communications tender worth R1-billion to an advertising agency without following proper procedures.
And, President Jacob Zuma on Friday denied "passing the buck" and asking National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu to investigate Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report on police lease deals.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.