August 26, 2013.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:
 

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe threatens American and British firms over Western sanctions.

Newly proposed Constitutional changes may empower Hosni Mubarak-era politicians in Egypt.

And, South African Airways’ technical staff down tools.

 

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe threatened on Sunday to retaliate "tit for tat" against companies from Britain and the US if these Western powers persisted in pressuring his government with sanctions and what he called "harassment".

Mugabe's latest verbal broadside against his main Western critics followed their questioning of his re-election in a July 31 vote that his rival Morgan Tsvangirai has denounced.

Mugabe and prominent members of his ZANU-PF party, which won a two-thirds majority in the July 31 election, are the targets of financial and travel sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union. These were applied by Washington and Brussels to punish alleged election-rigging and abuses of power.

British companies in Zimbabwe include banking groups Standard Chartered and Barclays. These are already the target of a so-called "indigenisation" policy that requires they cede a majority stake to black Zimbabweans.

 

Islamists and liberals have voiced alarm about the proposals made by a constitutional committee set up by the generals who removed the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi on July 3 amid widespread protests against Egypt's first freely elected leader.

The changes suggested by Egypt's army-backed rulers would scrap Islamic additions to a constitution forced through under deposed President Mursi and revive a voting system dating back to his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

Now an army-installed government is revising a document faulted for embedding Islamic influence in lawmaking and for short-changing human rights, especially of women and minorities, including Christians who form some 10% of the population.

The constitutional amendments, drafted by the committee are part of an army roadmap back to democracy. They are due to go to a diverse 50-strong assembly to be appointed by the interim government, but they are already proving contentious.

 

Natioanl carrier South African Airways’ technical staffers affiliated to South African Transport and Allied Workers Union  downed tools on Monday to demand a 12% wage increase, the union said.

Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga said the strike would carry on indefinitely as the union wasn’t prepared to accept anything less than 12%. Masoga said union representatives were meeting employers to discuss SAA's 6.5% offer.

He said some members were picketing at OR Tambo International Airport which would likely affect operations of domestic and international flights that are contracted with SAA's technical operations.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali, however, said as far as he knew, numerous flights had taken off and landed at the airport and that it was a bit early to tell if operations could be severely affected, saying SAA does have contingency plans in place should the strike affect operations.

 

Also making headlines:

The UN's latest mission in Mali is likely to involve state-building as much as peacekeeping.

And, former President Nelson Mandela is showing 'great resilience', but is still critical in the Pretorial Heart hospital.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.