Friday March 9, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Schalk Burger

Making headlines:

South Africa will come to the rescue of a nuclear industry still struggling for customers a year after Japan's Fukushima disaster, with a tender for one of the world's biggest atomic power deals. Firms from France, the US, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia have been lining up for years for a chance to win the contract worth between R400-billion and R1-trillion. Chances to build reactors have grown fewer after the Fukushima accident, with many developed States trying to wean themselves off nuclear.

US President Barack Obama praised the African State of Ghana as a model of democracy and growth in a continent that many Americans associate with poverty and violence. "There's sometimes a tendency to focus on the challenges that exist in Africa – and rightfully so," said Obama, who sat beside Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, in the Oval Office. "But I think it's important for us to also focus on the good news that's coming out of Africa, and I think Ghana continues to be a good-news story," he said. Ghana, the world's second-biggest cocoa producer, posted double-digit growth in 2011 and is one of the more stable countries in West Africa.

Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria, said he would urge President Bashar al-Assad and his foes to stop fighting and seek a political solution to the conflict, drawing angry rebukes from dissidents. The turmoil prompted Syria's Deputy Oil Minister to change sides in the first defection by a senior civilian official since the start of a popular uprising against Assad. Abdo Hussameldin, said he knew his move would bring persecution on his family.In another sign of mounting pressure on Syria, the national currency fell as low as 100 pounds to the dollar from about 47 a year ago. Dealers in Damascus said the pound plunged about 13% in the last 24 hours on fears of US military action.

Also making headlines:

Libya's Prime Minister denied Russian accusations that his country was running camps to train and arm Syrian rebels but expressed strong support for Syrians "who are raising their voice asking for freedom."

And, six Gambian opposition parties said they will boycott a Parliamentary election due to be held later this month, saying it would not be transparent and urging mediators to secure a postponement of the vote.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.