Hutchison confirmed on January 23 that it had entered into exclusive talks to buy the British mobile business of Telefónica for £10.25 billion, a deal that would create the UK’s largest mobile group. This merger would transform the British mobile market, however it is not without risk to the Hong Kong billionaire say Prof Skilton (pictured), a technology evangelist in information systems strategy and digital best practice.

Gulf Minerals is an Australian company that is developing manganese smelters in Kupang the capital of West Timor. The facilities will take advantage of the low cost of ore, with labour and power being the majority of operating costs. Indonesia’s ban on raw mineral exports was designed to encourage downstream investment in the country's mineral processing industry, and Gulf Minerals supports this policy.

With a shared interest in Building Information Modelling (BIM) the two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding which will see them explore ways to collaborate on research, shared lectures, placements and more.

Peter Westland, dean of the university’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, signed the agreement with Simon Dale, director of Mace.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria and run by Michel Maalouf the energetic Lebanese entrepreneur who founded it in 2005, Conciel started life as a management consultancy business, focusing on software solutions for communications and assisting companies to get ISO certifications in quality management or environmental performance, or to manage their data and automate their workflow. The company forged a niche for itself in telecommunications, later focusing on data centre management.

Zambia's government is under increasing pressure from the mining sector to reduce the royalty increases introduced at the beginning of this year. The government royalties on open-pit mines increased from 6% to 20% and has received fierce criticism from mine operators in the area.

Two major stakeholders include First Quantum and Barrick both who have mines affected by the royalty increase. 

Occupying the number one spot is none other than former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. With 100 employees working for her, she turned over an impressive £30 million in 2014, a 2,900% rise from five years ago.

The Rt Hon Dr Vere Cornwall Bird Sr was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, serving from 1981 to 1994, just five years before his death in 1999 - and upon retirement he was declared a national hero. Bird was unique among West Indian politicians, lacking any formal education except primary schooling. He was an officer in the Salvation Army for two years but because he saw the way the land owners were treating the local black Antiguans and Barbudans he decided to leave his post to fight for the freedom of his people.

The World Health Organization believes that since February 2014, there have been nearly 18,000 reported Ebola cases and more than 6,000 deaths. According to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speed of response is the key to ending the Ebola epidemic, mostly affecting Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.