* Owing to technical difficulties there is no audio file to accompany today’s podcast.

Tuesday February 07, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Brad Dubbelman

Making headlines:

South Africa will not surprise mining companies with sudden new taxes, although it may adjust existing tax codes, a leading government Minister said. "If there is to be change, I'm pretty sure that the Finance Minister and Department of Mineral Resources will take a long-term view and not impose this one fine morning," Trevor Manuel, the National Planning Minister, told delegates at a mining conference in Cape Town. "I don't think that surprises are good for an industry like this, and this is likely to be the trend taken by government in introducing change," he said. South Africa's ruling ANC has commissioned a study on the nationalisation of mines, which has yet to be completed. Local media reports have said the study will reject nationalisation and come out in favour of higher taxes and royalties.

Egypt's military leadership called for a swift move to a Presidential election and security forces sealed off the Interior Ministry in Cairo from stone-throwing protesters clashing with riot police for a fifth day. In a sign that the army's planned transition to civilian rule could be accelerated, the head of the ruling military council, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, called for a quick completion of the election procedures. An Egyptian election official said nominations for the Presidential election race would be accepted from March 10, according to the semi-official Al Ahram media website.

Most South Africans living in urban areas believe that their tap water is safe to drink, a study commissioned by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the South African Local Government Association has found. The study, which investigated urban South Africans' perceptions of their water quality and the factors that influence perceptions, drew a random sample of 2 437 urban households. The study found that 81% of urban South Africans from all income levels perceived their tap water to be safe to drink. “This correlated with international studies, which found that most people in countries with a reliable water supply, perceive tap water as having a low safety risk,” stated the WRC.

Also making headlines:

A supportive operational environment together with a turnaround in South Africa’s mineral extraction rates could stimulate the creation of an additional 140 000 direct mining jobs by 2020 and over 200 000 by 2030, the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation said in a report.

Syrian and Libyan demonstrators hurled rocks, eggs and tomatoes at the Chinese embassy in Tripoli yesterday, after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution backing an Arab plan urging Syria's President to give up power.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.