In an effort to develop a classification of marine habitats for South Africa, the marine science community is working virtually round the clock to meet a July deadline for identifying marine priority areas for the country’s first National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.
The first round of wage talks between the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and steel producer Iscor hit a snag on Monday. The trade union said the company offered a "starvation" 4,4% wage increase across the board. The parties are expected to meet again on June 24.
The United States House of Representatives voted to extend a trade pact that offers duty-free treatment on some goods and other trade benefits to the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The legislation, approved by voice vote on Monday, would prolong the life of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, by seven years, to 2015.
The Banking Council of South Africa was disappointed by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s refusal to amend the Financial Intelligence Centre Act for low-risk clients, a spokeswoman said on Monday. ”We really want to discuss the whole thing with them. We are running out of time,” said communications manager Claire Gebhart-Mann.
If you’re the kind of person who spends hours on build-it-yourself radio-controlled models, you’ll love the Robovie-M walking robot. For the rest of us, well, it seems like more of a chore. I thought robots were supposed to be labour-saving devices. Not this one.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will co-operate with the Commission for Gender Equality on queries about controversial ambassador Norman Mashabane, foreign affairs said on Tuesday. ”The minister of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the Gender Commission, and will continue to co-operate with it to find an amicable resolution of the matter,” departmental spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Internet giant Yahoo is fortifying its free e-mail service with 25 times more storage and freeing up millions of previously claimed e-mail addresses in an effort to thwart a looming threat from its increasingly disruptive rival Google. Beginning on Tuesday, all of Yahoo’s free e-mail accounts will be upgraded to 100 megabytes.
Wall Street Journal reporters plan to withhold their bylines from articles for two days this week as contract negotiations with their employer, Dow Jones, turn increasingly rancorous. The Independent Association of Publishers Employees, a union representing US reporters at the Journal, called on its members on Monday to withhold their bylines from stories in the Wednesday and Thursday editions of the paper.
Shell has owned up to a range of operational shortcomings, admitting it has been slow to take up new opportunities, has been too caught up with long-term goals and has let project management slip. The latest round of self-criticism came from chairperson Jeroen van der Veer at a meeting with shareholders and was revealed by one of its brokers, Deutsche Bank, on Monday.
Defence analysts in Pretoria and London were scratching their heads at a reported decision by Zimbabwe to buy 12 Chinese FC1 fighter jets, an aircraft still under development. Opposition Movement for Democratic Change MP Giles Mutsekwa said at the weekend that the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) had secretly ordered 12 of the fighters and about 100 military vehicles at a cost estimated at US-million.