Thursday June 03, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Jessica Hannah

Making headlines:

African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Albertina Sisulu has died at the age of 92 in her Linden, Johannesburg home, SABC news reported on Thursday. African National Congress spokesperson Brian Sokutu told the Associated Press that Sisulu "dedicated all her life to the ANC and to the defeat of apartheid and ushering in of constitutional democracy in South Africa". She celebrated her birthday in October last year. Her husband Walter, a former ANC president, died in 2003 aged 90.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) reported that the value of world merchandise trade for the first quarter of 2011 was up 22% when compared with the first quarter of 2010. The WTO showed that trade values for the first quarter of 2011 were reaching highs last seen in the second quarter of 2008, just prior to the global economic crisis. Commodity prices were shown to have increased significantly quarter-on-quarter, and even more so year-on-year. The Organisation noted that the value of trade was not to be confused with volumes of trade, which the organisation expected to increase by a more modest 6.5% in 2011.

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has denied it is under pressure from Black Management Forum (BMF) president Jimmy Manyi to appoint a CEO recommended by him, a management committee member said. The process of appointing a new CEO "was unanimously endorsed by the management committee and council on Tuesday and there is no pressure on us," finance committee chairman Cas Coovadia told a media briefing in Johannesburg. Beeld reported on Thursday that Manyi, who is also the government's chief spokesman, "gatecrashed" Busa's meeting on Tuesday and instructed it to appoint a BMF candidate as its new CEO.
Coovadia confirmed that Manyi made a representation at the meeting.

Also making headlines:
The Libyan government said that it will send a representative to the next Opec meeting to replace the top oil official who defected saying he had lost faith in the rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
And, should South Africa move ahead with the implementation of a carbon tax, the revenue generated would not necessarily be set aside specifically for environmental projects, National Treasury environmental and fuel taxes director Sharlin Hemraj stressed.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.