A new levy for the mining industry is currently under consideration by Government. The purpose of the tax would be to finance the clean up of toxic acid water which rises and flows out of abandoned mines. Pollution from acid mine water is a major problem in Gauteng. Very unpleasant.
Which puts us behind Iran. The Global Peace Index, put together by the Institute for Economics & Peace, is apparently made up of a couple of factors – including levels of democracy and transparency, education and national wellbeing. Top three are New Zealand, Iceland and Japan, with Iraq coming in last (149th place).
If you say the word ‘protest’ too frequently in a cell-phone conversation in Beijing, your call gets cut off. No spice. We have pretty strict phone etiquette policies here at 2ov, granted, but generally we allow calls, once placed, to proceed without Big Brother intervention.
In a press conference in Dharamsala, India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he’d be stepping down as political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, to make way for an elected representative. He will be retaining his position as Tibet’s spiritual leader.