Monday May 30, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

With roughly one month remaining before the second leg of the Gautrain rapid-rail system is scheduled to open, construction work along the Johannesburg to Pretoria link is rapidly drawing towards a close. The first phase of the R25,4-billion rail project – Sandton to the OR Tambo International Airport – opened almost a year ago, in time for the kickoff of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The passenger tally for the first month reached 400 000 trips. In September 2010, the train carried its millionth passenger.

Group of Eight (G8) leaders have backed a $40-billion package of support for Tunisia and Egypt to help stabilise their economies after popular revolts that ousted long-time authoritarian rulers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the plan comprised $20-billion from multilateral banks, $10-billion in bilateral deals, including 1-billion euros from France, and $10-billion from Opec members Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. He said G8 foreign and finance ministers along with Tunisian and Egyptian officials would meet in the coming months, possibly as early as July, to flesh out the details of the plan. French officials confirmed the plan was just for Tunisia and Egypt.

Forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have cut electricity supplies to much of the Western Mountains, threatening water supplies and stepping up a war of attrition with rebels who hold the plateau. The blackout, which began five days ago, has coincided with an increase in shelling of the rebel command centre of Zintan and the town of Arrujban. Rebels are scrambling to bring in generators through the border crossing they hold with Tunisia to restore wells that supply most of the water to this arid region. Temperatures have soared with the onset of summer.

Also making headlines:
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in for his first full elected term at the helm of Africa's most populous nation on Sunday, faced with the challenge of driving reform and trying to heal regional rifts.
And, the United Nations said that it was concerned by the return to Liberia of mercenaries and Ivorian fighters and had reinforced its forces to patrol the long border between the two countries.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.