A vast tract of the Atlantic seabed more than 320km off shore is being claimed by a coalition of four European countries eager to expand their oil and gas prospecting rights. The joint submission to the United Nations by France, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom is based on a novel legal approach that is transforming the international politics of underwater prospecting.
A theme hotel built around the brand of a lads’ mag might strike the more refined traveller as somehow tacky. But context is everything: the new Maxim Hotel and Casino, costing ,2-billion, will open in Las Vegas, where no hotel worthy of the name does not boast a replica of the Great Temple of Ramses.
African investment received a shot in the arm with the launch of the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa, at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town recently. The forum also heard South African President Thabo Mbeki extend his theme of the ”Age of Hope”.
Former Movement for Democratic Change MP Roy Bennett was last week denied asylum by South Africa’s department of home affairs, which found that he does not face persecution in Zimbabwe. He has appealed against the decision to the Refugee Appeals Board. Bennett is affectionately known in Zimbabwe as Pachedu ("We can do it on our own").
The battle for South Deep, billed as the last piece of gold real estate on God’s green earth, could get a lot more interesting should AngloGold enter the fray alongside Harmony and Gold Fields. All three mining houses already own pieces of the gold mine through Western Areas, which has a 50% share of the mine.
Last week I received the following e-mail. It appeared to have emanated originally from some dusty fissure in the “humanities” division at the University of Cape Town. I use the word “division” advisedly. Our universities are gradually becoming wholly commercial in intent, their function to hand out degrees to recipients eager to get qualifications for jobs.
The pension funds adjudicator has issued another ruling, this time against a preservation fund, the major issue involving the underlying investment in an Old Mutual smooth bonus policy. Like the Alexander Forbes case that saw the company agree to pay out R380-million to pension fund members for not disclosing fees, the issue again boils down to disclosure.
In February, the Bush administration introduced tax incentives encouraging Americans to replace their house windows with ones that comply with conductance and solar heat gain standards. United States local authorities that are plagued by power shortages have gone further, legislating energy-efficient building regulations.
Appearing before Parliament last month, Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi suggested that the time had come to close down the Independent Complaints Directorate, a watchdog agency set up in the first blush of democracy, when notions like civilian oversight of the police were in fashion.
The notorious ”death buses” taking Peruvians and tourists up the Andean nation’s snaky mountain roads have killed 68 people in road accidents so far this year. Travelling in Peru, whose Inca ruins attract tourists from around the world, has become the road version of Russian roulette as many buses are built out of old truck chassis.