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Friday, April 17, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Beth Shirley.

Making headlines today:

The South African Navy has confirmed that it's seeking to establish a new Marine Sea Safety Training Centre, in the Western Cape, through a public-private partnership model. However, it declined to provide a capital-expenditure estimate for the project.

The initiative was designed to raise training facilities standards to an international level and increase the yearly throughput of trainees.

Navy project manager Captain Lilla du Preez said that some of the navy's facilities were outdated and weren't fully compliant with all of the International Maritime Organisation standards.

To remedy the situation, the Navy to planned build a new facility, which could be operational by about 2012 or 2013.

Scientists have reported that the recent decades-long drought that killed 100 000 people in Africa's Sahel may be a small foretaste of monstrous "megadroughts" that could grip the region as global climate change worsens.

Droughts are part of the normal pattern in sub-Saharan Africa. Some may even last for centuries. But the added stress of a warming world will make these dry periods more severe and more difficult for the people who live there.

University of Arizona climatologist Jonathan Overpeck said that much of West Africa is already on the edge of sustainability. He said that the situation could become much more dire in the future with increased global warming.

Also making headlines:

China's March crude steel output stays high.
Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel and Toyota reportedly agree on a steel price cut.
Telecoms providers Telkom and AT&T team up to tackle African corporate opportunities.
And, the Industrial Development Corporation will consider auto industry aid requests on a case-by-case basis.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.

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