Wednesday November 02, 2011

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sheila Barradas

Making headlines:

The economic output of Gauteng was expected to grow significantly in the next three years, the provincial Department of Finance said. "The provincial economy has transformed into a sophisticated structure, with the tertiary service sector and the manufacturing subsector taking centre stage," said spokesman John Sukazi in a statement. Gauteng's Provincial Economic Review and Outlook (PERO), released yesterday, indicated the province accounted for 35.1% of the country's gross domestic product in 2010. Sukazi said the PERO indicated this was expected to increase by 0.4% by 2014.

Zimbabwean police sealed the offices of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, firing tear gas into the building and at bystanders in central Harare, raising tensions ahead of elections that could come next year. A witness saw a truck carrying dozens of antiriot police parked at the entrance of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) offices while police rerouted traffic away from the area. An unidentified small group of men was seen throwing stones at the police before the officers gave chase and fired tear gas at the group. An official said police were looking for an MDC member but would not give further details.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has voted to admit Palestine as a full member of the Paris-based agency. Unesco’s General Conference, the agency’s highest ruling body, took the decision by a vote of 107 in favour to 14 against, with 52 abstentions, according to a news release. The move brings the total number of Unesco member States to 195. Admission to Unesco for States that are not members of the UN, requires a recommendation by the agency’s Executive Board and a two-thirds majority vote in favour by the General Conference.

Also making headlines:
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday extended sanctions on Sudan for another year, saying Khartoum's policies had not yet improved enough to warrant their removal.
In a move geared towards reducing the country’s carbon footprint, South Africa will launch an ambitious project aimed at boosting the green economy during COP 17.
And, Saadi Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan leader, has asked Interpol, through his lawyer, to revoke a request for his arrest on the grounds that Libya's new rulers are not able to give him a fair trial.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.