Wednesday March 14, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Megan Wait

Making headlines:

Julius Malema has until the end of today to appeal the decision of the ANC's National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) to expel him from the party. The ANC Youth League had said their leader would be lodging an appeal to the ANC's National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal, headed by Cyril Ramaphosa. He was expelled two weeks ago for bringing the party into disrepute. It is not clear when the appeal hearing would be held. Despite his suspension Malema has remained upbeat, promising his supporters that he would not give up the struggle for his position nor abandon the fight "against capitalism".

The Hague international war crimes court hands down its first verdict on a Congolese warlord today after almost a decade of work limited largely to Africa. Major cases in the Middle East and Asia remain beyond its reach. Thomas Lubanga was detained six years ago and faces charges at the International Criminal Court over a war that raged between 1998 and 2003, when tens of thousands were killed. He stands accused among other things of sending children into battle. China, Russia and the US, though they have not signed up to the court themselves, can use their votes on the UN Security Council to influence which cases it pursues. In practice, this means cases impinging on their interests are not pursued.

South Africa hopes to have a plan by the end of May for replacing Iranian crude that currently makes up a quarter of its crude imports, the country's Minister of Energy says. The US has pressured many of Iran's biggest oil buyers in Asia to reduce their purchases in a Western push to starve Tehran of funds for its disputed nuclear programme. Iran is South Africa's leading crude supplier, making up about 29% of imports by Africa's biggest economy, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Also making headlines:

The AU’s peacekeeping force in Somalia hopes to drive Islamist militants out of the country's central and southern regions by August, when the UN-backed government's mandate expires, Uganda's top army general said.

And, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Libyan authorities should address human rights violations after a report found both sides committed war crimes during last year's conflict and that killing, torture and pillage were ongoing.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.