• Business Day (South Africa): Emerging markets

cell phones, and connecting wires into the trash, despite recycling programs by Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), and Lenovo (LNVGY), as well as some U.S. retailers such as Best Buy (BBY). That's a problem, because the more gadgets that end up in landfills, the higher the risk that lead, cadmium, mercury, brominated flame retardants, and other toxic substances from old tech hardware might contaminate the soil or water supply. [Newer gadgets meet stricter guidelines and eliminate most, but not all, of those substances.] In 2005, U.S. consumers recycled less than 20% of the 1.9 million to 2.2 million tons of electronics they threw out, according to a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study.
The problem isn't merely a domestic one. According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the electronic waste from the U.S. and other wealthy countries frequently ends up in places like China, Pakistan, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Nigeria, where poor laborers salvage the parts and precious metals in unsafe conditions.
Fractured Approach
In late July, Sony's Clancy had hinted that the company was considering several ideas to tackle the problem in the U.S. "There is a hodgepodge of state regulations relating to electronics recycling," he wrote in a blog entry titled "The Recycling Conundrum." "Ideally, there would be one national approach to electronics recycling supported by the Federal government and all 50 states."
Sony knows firsthand the limitations of a fractured approach. Like others, Sony has experimented with small-scale takeback programs in the U.S. for laptop PCs and picture-tube TVs for years. The company lets consumers leave their old VAIO computers, as well as non-Sony brands of PCs, video cameras, and other digital cameras, at any of its 55 Sony stores and outlets nationwide; funds the recycling of rechargeable batteries at nationwide chains such as Radio Shack (RSH) and Home Depot (HD); and has a TV recycling program in Minnesota.
But there's been no industry consensus about what works best. Without one, many companies are loath to make big commitments. In California, Sony, IBM (IBM), Samsung Electronics (SSNKF), Canon (CAJ), Philips (PHG), and others have favored up-front recycling fees of between $6 and $10 for anything with a TV-type display as an interim solution.
Activists Take Issue
Companies like the fees because they fund recycling centers while being virtually invisible to consumers. The money also helps cover what tech executives call "orphan" products from lesser-known brands made by companies that don't contribute to recycling programs. Top-tier manufacturers estimate that orphans account for between 20% and 30% of all recycled gadgets.
Greenpeace, the Computer TakeBack Campaign, and other groups argue that the fees leave consumers holding the bill for a cleanup they shouldn't be responsible for, and act as a disincentive for companies to design greener products. [Greenpeace ranks Sony last out of 14 tech firms in its Guide to Greener Electronics, which rates companies based on their recycling efforts and plans to phase out all poisonous substances.]
Sony disagrees. Clancy said the new recycling plan was consistent with Sony's push for "individual producer responsibility." Indeed, the company is a founding member of the European Recycling Program. And in Japan, which has had mandatory recycling since 2001, Sony, other tech makers, and consumers split the cost of recycling nearly 650,000 picture-tube TVs and around 23,000 PCs and computer monitors, equivalent to more than 13,500 tons of material, in the fiscal year ended March, 2006. Sony will also continue to support up-front fees in California and any other states, while weighing incentives such as offering consumers discounts on new products for recycling old Sony products, as it does with laptops, Clancy said.
Sony may be taking the heat now, but soon the environmental lobby might have a bone to pick elsewhere. "If Sony can make the economics work, then so can Panasonic (MATSF), Sharp, and Philips," Robin Schneider, vice-chair of the Computer TakeBack Campaign in the U.S., said in a statement.
Document BWOL000020070822e38m0000k

Foreign direct investments reach USD 35bn up to 2007.
IntelliNews Nig/Iv. Coast

91 words

22 August 2007

ISI Emerging Markets Africawire

LQAF

English

© Copyright 2007. Internet Securities, Inc. All rights reserved.
Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Nigeria touched USD 35bn up to 2007. Thisday reported that according to NIPC Executive Secretary, Mustapha Bello, the FDI inflow translates to an average USD 4bn annually; from 1999 to 2007. Most of the investments were in the telecom and oil and gas sectors. Of the total FDI China accounted for USD 10bn. Bello said the China’s investments in Nigeria has increased from USD 26mn in 1999 to USD 10bn in 2007.
Document LQAF000020070822e38m000bd

DIARY - Political and General News Events from Aug 21
8,013 words

21 August 2007

11:18 AM

Reuters News

LBA

English

(c) 2007 Reuters Limited
** Please note Reuters will issue this diary at an additional new time of 0300 GMT daily, followed by 0900 GMT, then 1430 GMT
All times in GMT unless otherwise stated.
Items marked ** denote new or amended listings.
Media clients will also receive around 0700 GMT a daily REUTERS WORLD NEWS OUTLOOK which highlights key events for the coming week.
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AUGUST 2007
BAGHDAD - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, president of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region, Masoud Barzani, and an aide to Shi'ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim are due to hold a summit in an attempt to end a political crisis which has paralyzed the country for months. Top political leaders held talks on Aug. 13 in preparation for the summit.
CALIFORNIA - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to meet Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the end of August to discuss emissions trading schemes.
WASHINGTON - China will send its first delegation to the United States to discuss food and product safety following a spate of product recalls and also Chinese safety measures with U.S. authorities from the Food and Drug administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
AMMAN - The government is expected to set a parliamentary election date (in the week beginning Aug. 20).
TUESDAY, AUG 21
MEXICO - Hurricane Dean is expected to slam into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, cross the Bay of Campeche and then hit central Mexico.
MONTEBELLO, Quebec, Canada - Final day of North American Leader's Summit between U.S. President George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, news conference (1600). Calderon will then return home cutting short his visit to oversee the emergency effort as Hurricane Dean was bearing down Yucatan Peninsula.
DAMASCUS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki continues to visit Syria (final day), meets President Bashar al-Assad. ** BAKU - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will arrive at the Republic of Azerbaijan for a two-day visit in which he is scheduled to meet President Ilham Aliyev. ** TEHRAN - International Atomic Energy Agency's deputy director Olli Heinonen and Iranian deputy nuclear negotiator Javed Vaeedi continue their talks on Iran's nuclear programme, followed by a news conference.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fl., - Space Shuttle Endeavour is due to return to Florida (1632) a day ahead of schedule after undocking from the International Space Station on Sunday on fears Hurricane Dean could turn toward the Texas coast and Johnson Space Center. ** BAUCHI, Nigeria - (ADJOURNED UNTIL SEPT 13) Bauchi Sharia court to try 18 people charged with sodomy.
NEW DELHI - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits India (to Aug. 23), meets counterpart Manmohan Singh. Shinzo Abe will also address a joint session of Parliament during his visit.
NICOSIA - Senior Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot officials will meet in the presence of United Nations officials to arrange a meeting of their leaders to try to break an impasse in peace talks on ethnically partitioned Cyprus.
MOSCOW - A special envoy of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), former Croatian Foreign Minister Miomir Zuzul, to visit Russia to look into Georgia missile incident.
NEW DELHI - Officials from India and Pakistan hold talks on the Tulbul Navigation Project under the composite dialogue process (to Aug. 22).
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi special court that sentenced Saddam Hussein to death will try 15 people for the suppression of a Shi'ite uprising in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War. Those on trial include Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, dubbed "Chemical Ali" by Saddam's opponents for his role in the gassing of Kurdish villages, Saddam's half brother Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, his private secretary Abed Hameed Hamoud, former defence minister Sultan Hashim, former army chief staff Hussein Rashid and former chief of military intelligence Saber al-Douri.
TEGUCIGALPA - Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and Foreign Minister James Huang visit Honduras to attend the Taiwan-Central American and Dominican Republic Leaders Summit to discuss energy and environmental issues.
MOSCOW - Northeast Asian peace and security mechanism's working group meeting on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme (final day).
MOSCOW - Russian military chief of staff Yuri Baluyevsky meets visiting Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova (0800). ** BUCHAREST - The government is expected to announce a date for European parliament elections. Romania has 35 seats in the EU assembly.
BUDAPEST - Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel hold joint news conference after their meeting (1115). Merkel also meets President Laszlo Solyom. ** NEW DELHI - (CANCELLED) As many as 45,000 workers at state-run Indian oil firms will begin an indefinite strike for higher wages.
ZHUKOVSKY, Russia - International Aviation and Space Expo MAKS 2007 (to Aug. 26). LINK: http://www.aviasalon.com/en/
PUNE, India - Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, jailed for six years for receiving guns from gangsters linked to India's deadliest bombing, is expected to be released from jail after being granted bail on Monday.
BERLIN - Eva Haule, a former member of Germany's Red Army Faction (RAF) convicted for the murder of a U.S. soldier and the deaths of another U.S. soldier and an American civilian in a bomb attack, will be paroled on Tuesday, after serving her minimum sentence, with a five-year probation period. ** HARARE - Zimbabwe's parliament meets for a new session that will consider two major pieces of legislation, one to give the president considerable sway in appointing a successor and another to nationalise foreign firms. ** KINSHASA - South African President Thabo Mbeki leads a delegation of more than a dozen government ministers to Democratic Republic of Congo for bilateral commission meetings.
NY ALESUND, Norway - Climate seminar in the Arctic with head of U.N. Climate Secretariat Yvo de Boer and U.S. chief negotiator Harlan Watson continues (to Aug. 22).
COLOMBO - Closing news conference of the 8th International Congress on AIDS. ** BRISBANE - A Brisbane court is expected to hand down its decision about Indian doctor, Mohamed Haneef, whose visa was revoked after he was suspected and later acquitted of taking part in a Britain bomb-plot. ** JOHANNESBURG - Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi visits South Africa (to Aug. 23). ** TAIPEI - Hundreds of farmers are expected to protest in front of the American Institute and Agriculture Bureau after the Taiwanese Cabinet said it would retain a ban on local use of ractopamine, an animal drug that promotes the growth of lean meat in livestock, while allowing foreign imports containing the same substance to enter Taiwan.
WEDNESDAY, AUG 22 ** MARTINIQUE/GUADELOUPE - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will travel to the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe to visit areas that were ravaged by Hurricane Dean (to Aug. 23). ** TORONTO - (CANCELLED) Mexican President Felipe Calderon delivers speech to the Economic Club of Toronto on his meetings with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President George W. Bush (1615).
NEW DELHI - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to visit India (to Aug. 23), meets counterpart Manmohan Singh.
BEIJING - Lao Premier Bouasone Bouphavanh visits China (to Aug. 28).
MOSCOW - Deadline for Belarus to pay Gazprom latest instalment of gas bill.
ISLAMABAD - Japanese Defence Minister Yuriko Koike arrives in Pakistan to meet with President Pervez Musharraf and Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal. ** KUALA LUMPUR - (POSTPONED UNTIL SEPTEMBER) Peace talks between the Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim separatist group, the Moro Liberation Front (MILF), due to resume.
LONDON - German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (c. 1600), news conference (c. 1700).
HELSINKI - Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers meets his Finnish counterpart Tarja Halonen (0900).
PENANG, Malaysia - Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hold retreat talks on final day of Chulanont's visit to Malaysia. [20070821 151850 GMT]
THURSDAY, AUG 23
NEW DELHI/KUALA LUMPUR - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets the son of an Indian judge who opposed punishing Japanese World War Two prisoners of war on his visit to India (final day). Abe then travels to Malaysia (to Aug. 25).
BRUSSELS - European Union will review a ban placed on all British fresh meat, milk and live animal products after an emergency meeting of veterinary experts on Aug. 8. The ban was placed because of the country's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
LIMA - Vatican Secretary of State and Pope Benedict's top aide, Tarcisio Bertone, will visit the victims of last week's earthquake.
ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court resumes hearing into a petition filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is seeking to return home after a seven years in exile since he was ousted in a military coup.
SEOUL - South Korea will ship emergency aid supplies worth $7.5 million to North Korea across their militarised border over three days in the wake of flooding that left hundreds dead in North Korea.
UNITED NATIONS - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition.
MELBOURNE - Arumugam Rajeevan, who was arrested in Sydney on July 10, due to re-appear in court to face terrorism charges for being a member of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., - The 13th annual Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films (to Aug. 29).
MONTREAL, Canada - The Montreal World Film Festival (to Sept. 3). Link: http://www.ffm-montreal.org/en_index.html
FRIDAY, AUG 24
ANKARA - Turkey's parliament expected to hold the second round of voting for a new president. The third and final round will be held on Aug. 28.
NEW DELHI - Japanese Defence Minister Yuriko Koike visits India.
UKRAINE - Independence Day.
SAN SALVADOR - Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian visits El Salvador.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules which requires makers of vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements taken by millions of Americans to show the products are free of contamination and contain exactly what the label says, takes effect. But they will be phased in so that large companies comply by June 2008, while companies with fewer than 500 employees have until June 2009 and firms with fewer than 20 employees have until June 2010.
MIAMI - U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler is due to pronounce a decision on claims of Panamanian strongman General Manuel Noriega's designation as a "prisoner of war" in 1992 that entitles Noriega to repatriation to Panama rather than extradition to France or any other country.
CASABLANCA, Morocco - Editor of current affairs magazine Tel Quel (As It Is) and sister publication Nichane (Forthright), Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, is due to appear in court for writing editorials in both magazines questioning the usefulness of parliamentary elections next month in the country where monarchy wields ultimate power.
ORLANDO, Fla. , - Pre-trial hearing of Lisa Nowak, accused of trying to kidnap a woman, whom she viewed as a rival for the affections of Navy Commander and astronaut William Oefelein, after driving from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers to avoid a bathroom stop.
SATURDAY, AUG 25
BRUSSELS - European Union's ban placed on all British fresh meat, milk and live animal products following the country's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease will formally remain in place until Aug. 25.
SAVONLINNA, Finland - Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships. LINK: http://www.savonlinnafestivals.com/en_index.htm
OSAKA, Japan - 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. (to Sept. 2). Link: http://www.iaaf.org/WCH07/preview.html
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., - HORSE RACING - 138th Travers Stakes, the oldest thoroughbred horse race in the United States (also known as "The Mid-Summer Derby").
TOKYO - Asakusa Samba Carnival 2007.
SUNDAY, AUG 26
BEIJING - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits China (to Aug. 29). Merkel is expected to meet with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao.
LONDON - Europe's largest annual street festival - Notting Hill Street Carnival (to Aug 27).
DHAKA - Begum Khaleda Zia, former Bangladesh prime minister, Tareque Rahman, Khaleda's elder son and presumed political heir, and several co-accused are due to attend a court hearing over extortion charges.
LOS ANGELES - The Teen Choice Awards (0001 on Monday).
MONDAY, AUG 27 ** RICHMOND, Va., - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick accused of helping run an interstate dog-fighting enterprise known as "Bad Newz Kennels" from early 2001 through April 2007, will plead guilty.
SEOUL - Public trial of Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group (0600).
SOCHI, Russia - Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are expected to visit the Russian city of Sochi which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics (to Aug. 29).
JAMAICA - General elections.
NEVADA - Burning Man Festival (to Sep. 3). LINK: http://www.burningman.com/
NEW YORK - TENNIS - US Open 2007.
LLANWRTYD WELLS, Wales - World Bog Snorkelling Championships. LINK: http://llanwrtyd-wells.powys.org.uk/bog.html
WORLDWIDE - Seats for the first commercial flight on the new Airbus A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, due to fly from Singapore to Sydney, will be sold in a charity auction on auction Web site eBay between Aug. 27 and Sept. 10.
OSLO - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits Norway to discuss cooperation in research on climate change.
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to reshuffle his cabinet after his party suffered a defeat in July's elections.
TUESDAY, AUG 28
PYONGYANG - (MOVED TO OCT. 2) South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will visit North Korea for a summit meeting with leader Kim Jong-il, the second only since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war (to Aug. 30). The first summit held in 2000 led to decreased tension and unprecedented cooperation between the two states.
ANKARA - Turkey's parliament expected to hold the third and final round of voting for a new president.
MIAMI - French extradition hearing in the case of former Panamanian strongman General Manuel Noriega on various money-laundering charges. Noriega is currently serving sentence in a Florida prison for more than 17 years after being convicted on charges of drug trafficking, racketeering and conspiracy.
WEDNESDAY, AUG 29
TOKYO - German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Japan (to Aug. 31) to meet Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
VIENNA - Contact Group (including Russia, the United States and the Europen Union) to meet with Belgrade representatives to discuss Balkan situation (to Aug. 30).
CALIFORNIA - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to meet Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to discuss emissions trading schemes (to August 31).
CHILE - National strike over government rejection of minimum wage hike.
VENICE - 64th Venice Film Festival (to Sept. 8).
BUNOL, Spain - 'La Tomatina' Tomato Throwing Festival. Link; http://www.tomatina.com/
MIAMI, Florida - Nominations announced for 8th annual Latin Grammy Awards (1230). ** MOSCOW - The Third International InterAuto Exhibition (to Sept. 4). LINK: http://www.interauto-expo.ru/
THURSDAY, AUG 30
BRUSSELS - European Parliament hosts the U.N. International Conference of Civilian Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace (to Aug. 31).
NAHVILLE, Tn., - Nominees for the 41st annual Country Music Association Awards to be announced. Link: http://www.cmaawards.com/2007/
FRIDAY, AUG 31
BOGOTA - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit Colombia to meet counterpart Alvaro Uribe.
LONDON - A service of thanksgiving in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, will be held in London, the tenth anniversary of her death.
WASHINGTON - Nomination period for the next chief of International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to close.
BERLIN - The world's largest consumer electronics trade fair, IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) opens with 1,202 exhibitors from 40 countries (to Sept. 5).
MALAYSIA - Malaysia turns 50 as the southeast Asian nation celebrates its Independence Day.
MANILA - 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Awards Presentation Ceremonies (0830). Every year the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation gives away prizes to Asian individuals and organisations for achieving excellence in the fields of Government Service, Public Service, Community Leadership, Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication arts, Peace and International Understanding and Emergent Leadership.
LISBON - EU Environment Council meeting (to Sept. 1).
WASHINGTON - Karl Rove, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's closest aides to leave the White House at the end of the month.
CHINA - The State Council, or cabinet, has set a deadline of Aug. 31 for provincial governments to report their work to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on the inspection campaign, targeting small brickworks, mines and other rural work sites for labour rights breaches. [20070821 151904 GMT]
** PRISTINA, Serbia - Germany hands over command of NATO troops in Kosovo to France.
NEW DELHI - Liberhan Ayodhya Commission to submit its report into the destruction of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
MEXICO CITY - Pharmacies in Mexico face a deadline to use up stocks of cold remedies that contain pseudo ephedrine, a chemical that can be used to make highly addictive methamphetamine, in a bid to stop drug gangs from using them to make illegal drugs.
NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE, Pakistan - Afghan refugee camp, Jalozai, in the North West Frontier Province near the Afghanistan border is scheduled to be closed.
LISDOONVARNA, Ireland - Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival (to Oct. 7).
BEIRUT - The mandate for the interim force in Lebanon expires.
SEPT 2007
TBC - Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear arms programme expected to resume.
TBC - Foreign and defence ministers from the United States and Russia plan to hold talks in September on U.S. plans to place 10 interceptors in Europe and radar in the Czech Republic as part of a shield designed to protect Europe from missile attacks by states such as Iran and North Korea. Russia has harshly criticized the plan.
MIDDLE EAST - Middle East Envoy Tony Blair is expected to visit Middle East for the first two weeks in September and report back to the Quartet of Middle East mediators on his strategy of economic and institutional reforms for the Palestinians.
KHARTOUM/N'DJAMENA/TRIPOLI - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to visit Sudan to expedite speedy deployment of a United Nations-African Union force for Darfur. Ban Ki-moon is also expected to visit Chad and Libya.
WASHINGTON - China will send its second delegation of vice-ministers to the United States to discuss food and product safety following a spate of product recalls and also Chinese safety measures with U.S. authorities from the Food and Drug administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
SIERRA LEONE - (TENTATIVE) Presidential runoff vote.
VIENNA - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei is likely to issue a report on the shutdown of Yongbyon nuclear complex in North Korea.
PSKOV, Russia - Russia and India expected to hold a joint military exercise in the north-western Pskov region in September.
PARIS - Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin will meet judges