Friday July 29, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

The Johannesburg-Pretoria link of the R25.2-billion Gautrain project will open on August 2, at 05:30, said Gauteng Transport MEC Ismail Vadi yesterday. He warned, however, that trains would only operate between Rosebank and Hatfield stations, as Park station was still off limits following the greater-than-expected water ingress in the tunnel connecting Rosebank and Park stations. The Gautrain bus service would be fully operational at all nine stations opening on Tuesday, noted Vadi. Buses would also be made available to commuters wishing to travel from Rosebank to the Johannesburg central business district, to cater for Park station's closure.

Libya's rebels say their military chief was shot dead in an incident that remains shrouded in mystery and may point to deep divisions within the movement trying to oust Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The killing, announced late yesterday, came as the rebels launched an offensive in the west and won further international recognition, which they hope to translate into access to billions of dollars in frozen funds. The rebels said Abdel Fattah Younes, who was for years at the heart of the Gaddafi government before defecting to become the military leader in the rebel Transitional National Council in February, was shot dead by assailants after being summoned back from the battlefield.

Unemployment climbed to 25.7 % in the second quarter, with the manufacturing, mining and trade sectors taking the largest knock in terms of job losses, Statistics South Africa reported in its ‘Quarterly Labour Force Survey’ released on Thursday. The second quarter, which runs from April to June, saw an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the 25% unemployment rate in the first quarter of the year. Most of the job losses were in the manufacturing industry, which accounted for 68 000 job losses, followed by mining, which shed 31 000 jobs, and the trade sector, which lost 18 000 jobs. Formal sector employment contracted by 21 000 jobs.

Also making headlines:
ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema said the controversial family trust fund associated with him is being used to fund charitable causes, City Press online reported yesterday.
Canada has surpassed South Africa as the cheapest global provider of electricity, a new survey by energy cost management consultancy NUS Consulting shows.
And, President Jacob Zuma had acted in terms of the law in extending the term of office of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, his spokesperson Mac Maharaj said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.