Monday July 25, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

Trade union and ruling party allie Cosatu has called for an investigation into the financial affairs of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema. This came after AfriForum opened a corruption case against Malema, after it was reported in the City Press newspaper that he had a trust fund for deposits from business people. Sars should investigate possible tax evasion and do a lifestyle audit to "discover the truth" about Malema's financial affairs, Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said. A complaint was laid against Malema in accordance with the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004, AfriForum's CEO Kallie Kriel told reporters outside the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria yesterday. The act deals with corrupt activities relating to receiving or offering of unauthorised gratification.

Aid agencies cannot reach more than two million Somalis facing starvation in the famine-struck country where Islamist militants control much of the worst-hit areas, the UN's food agency said. World Food Programme officials said they were considering food drops from aircraft into some areas controlled by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which imposed a ban on food aid in 2010. The drought gripping the region straddling Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is the worst for 20 years and is affecting up to 11 million people. In southern Somalia, 3.7 million people are at risk of starvation.

The Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) are important institutions in the post-school landscape of South Africa and should be used more effectively to improve skills development in the country, Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said. Nzimande was speaking to stakeholders at the Services Seta road show in Cape Town, where he clarified some of the changes to be made in how all the Setas operate, with the emphasis being on improving leadership and governance of these entities. The road show comes in the wake of the Services Seta withdrawing litigation against the DHET earlier in July. The litigation had opposed the imposition of a new standard constitution on the Services Seta.

Also making headlines:
President Jacob Zuma has extended his condolences to Norway following attacks on the country, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said.
A South Sudanese rebel leader was killed on Saturday as the new nation's rulers try to quell the violence that threatens their push for much-needed stability.
And, explosions rocked central Tripoli for the second night in a row and Britain said weeks of Nato bombardment had inflicted extensive damage on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's heavily-fortified compound.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.