Friday March 18, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

A zero tolerance approach will be taken with regards to violence and disruptive behavior during the upcoming local municipal elections, Cabinet said. Briefing the media at a post-Cabinet briefing, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, said Cabinet had taken note that in the run-up to the elections on 18 May there had been some sporadic protests accompanied by damage to property. “Government will adopt a zero tolerance to violent and disruptive behavior as electioneering intensifies. Together we have worked hard to build a democratic local government that gives communities a voice and the opportunity to be active agents in the development of localities in which they live,” Chabane said.

The United Nations authorised military strikes to curb Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, hours after he threatened to storm the rebel bastion of Benghazi overnight and show "no mercy, no pity". Al Jazeera television showed thousands of people listening to the speech in a central Benghazi square, then erupting in celebration after the UN vote, waving anti-Gaddafi tricolours and chanting defiance of the man who has ruled for four decades. The United Nations Security Council, meeting in emergency session, passed a resolution endorsing a no-fly zone to halt government troops now around 100 km from Benghazi. It also authorised "all necessary measures" – code for military action – to protect civilians against Gaddafi's forces.

South Africa backs the African Union (AU) in recognising Alassane Ouattara as the winner of Côte d’Ivoire’s disputed presidential election, President Jacob Zuma said. The Côte d’Ivoire, the world's top cocoa grower, has been in turmoil since a disputed November election between Laurent Gbagbo and Ouattara, who won the poll according to UN-certified results that Gbabgo has refused to accept. Zuma said in reply to a question in parliament that South Africa backed the AU's position.

Also making headlines:
South Africa faced a “difficult challenge as a country” in dealing with a set of tough issues that were not dealt with at the 2010 Cancun global climate change negotiations, said CEO of South Africa’s National Business Initiative Joanne Yawitch.
Exiled former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide headed back to his country after ignoring US opposition to a homecoming some fear could disrupt Haiti's Presidential election runoff on Sunday.
And, talks are underway about Arab nations possibly taking part directly in any international military action against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.