In Brief

Zim court suspends telecoms law * HARARE – A Zimbabwe court on Monday suspended a statute forcing firms to route their international calls through a state-owned fixed line operator TelOne after the statute was challenged by two private mobile phone companies.

The private companies Econet Wireless and Telecel Zimbabwe operate their own international gateways and argued that re-routing calls through TelOne was meant to subsidise the loss-making state company. A High Court judge granted the two companies an order suspending the government statutory instrument pending a constitutional challenge to the law by Econet in two weeks.Devon to explore for oil in Angola * LISBON – A group led US-based oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp., which includes Portugal’s Galp, will invest 30 million euros (N$282 million) to explore for oil in the north of Angola, Diario Economico daily reported yesterday.The consortium expects to begin exploration at an onshore block in the northern province of Cabinda by the end of the first quarter of 2007, according to the Portuguese newspaper.It awaits the approval of the country’s government.According to the newspaper, Cabinda’s offshore exploration produces 530 000 barrels per day (bpd), or 38 per cent of Angola’s total oil output.The group also includes state-run oil company Sonangol, Spain’s Repsol and US based Gulf Energy Resources.Sasol wins Moz exploration licence * JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of synthetic fuel from coal, has been granted an exploration licence in Mozambique, and plans to launch gas exploration in the first quarter of 2007.Sasol said it had won conditional approval of an environmental impact assessment report, allowing it to explore for hydrocarbons such as gas in an area covering some 10 000 square km off the Mozambican coast.”Sasol will now initiate work required to satisfy conditions set out in the EIA by the Mozambican authorities.This will lead to the commencement of exploration activities in the first quarter of 2007,” the group said in a statement.ICoast toxic waste arrives in France * LE HAVRE – A ship carrying thousands of tonnes of deadly toxic waste blamed for the deaths of 10 people in Ivory Coast arrived in France yesterday, the port of Le Havre said.The MN Toucan arrived at France’s main Atlantic Ocean port, and its 3 000 tonnes of toxic waste was expected to be unloaded later on Tuesday.The waste is to be transported by train to an incineration plant south of eastern city of Lyon.Some 6 000 tonnes of contaminated materials have been removed from sites around Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan after waste materials were illegally dumped in August, forcing 100 000 people to seek medical consultations and leaving 69 in hospital.Nampa-Reuters-AFPA High Court judge granted the two companies an order suspending the government statutory instrument pending a constitutional challenge to the law by Econet in two weeks.Devon to explore for oil in Angola * LISBON – A group led US-based oil and gas producer Devon Energy Corp., which includes Portugal’s Galp, will invest 30 million euros (N$282 million) to explore for oil in the north of Angola, Diario Economico daily reported yesterday.The consortium expects to begin exploration at an onshore block in the northern province of Cabinda by the end of the first quarter of 2007, according to the Portuguese newspaper.It awaits the approval of the country’s government.According to the newspaper, Cabinda’s offshore exploration produces 530 000 barrels per day (bpd), or 38 per cent of Angola’s total oil output.The group also includes state-run oil company Sonangol, Spain’s Repsol and US based Gulf Energy Resources. Sasol wins Moz exploration licence * JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of synthetic fuel from coal, has been granted an exploration licence in Mozambique, and plans to launch gas exploration in the first quarter of 2007.Sasol said it had won conditional approval of an environmental impact assessment report, allowing it to explore for hydrocarbons such as gas in an area covering some 10 000 square km off the Mozambican coast.”Sasol will now initiate work required to satisfy conditions set out in the EIA by the Mozambican authorities.This will lead to the commencement of exploration activities in the first quarter of 2007,” the group said in a statement.ICoast toxic waste arrives in France * LE HAVRE – A ship carrying thousands of tonnes of deadly toxic waste blamed for the deaths of 10 people in Ivory Coast arrived in France yesterday, the port of Le Havre said.The MN Toucan arrived at France’s main Atlantic Ocean port, and its 3 000 tonnes of toxic waste was expected to be unloaded later on Tuesday.The waste is to be transported by train to an incineration plant south of eastern city of Lyon.Some 6 000 tonnes of contaminated materials have been removed from sites around Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan after waste materials were illegally dumped in August, forcing 100 000 people to seek medical consultations and leaving 69 in hospital.Nampa-Reuters-AFP