It was a German by the name of Helmut Muller who will always be credited with development of the first environmentally friendly drain plug, patenting the first version of the “pop-up” style, spring-loaded drain plug in 1977. It was then in the mid-1980s that a Dutchman by the name of Poul van Santen would go on to invent an improved version of the aforementioned product.

An approach to production practices that emphasises efficiency through the systematic identification and elimination of waste, the lean approach was derived from the Toyota Production System, developed in 1948. The lean approach seeks to produce the maximum amount of value for the customer from resources expended in production.

To say that 2013 was a good year for African Minerals is, in truth, something of a major understatement. While the company itself may be more modest about such things the reality is that this is the company that last year was responsible for completing Africa’s fastest major mine development.

The UK supermarket’s joint venture with the state-run China Resources Enterprise (CRE) will combine Tesco’s 131 outlets in the country with CRE’s almost 3,000 stores, called Vanguard. CRE will own 80 percent of the new chain, with Tesco holding the remaining 20 percent stake.

"The partnership creates a strong platform in one of the world's largest markets," Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said in a statement. "We can now combine our strengths to build a profitable multichannel business, offering our customers in China the best of modern retail."

Previously delayed for a number of years, the Simandou project is poised to become the largest iron ore and infrastructure project developed in Africa.

The $20 billion "investment framework" deal signed by the aforementioned players provides legal and financial backing for the project. If ratified, the three parties said they would complete a feasibility study, including timeline and costs, within about a year.

Meetings may be an essential part of the business world, however there are those among us who have no idea how to behave in these situations.

We’ve all been in meetings where someone has made us see red either by texting on their phone, not contributing or even not shutting up.

1) Time-wasting
Time is an extremely valuable commodity, so meetings that go on much longer than they need to are not only costing you money, but also disrespecting everyone’s time.

Egypt's two day election started at 0600 GMT on May 26 following more than three years of political upheaval that has seen the overthrow of two presidents overthrown, civil unrest in which thousand have lost their lives, a spate of terrorist attacks and, as a result, an economy in tatters.

Saskatchewan covers a similar area to Texas, the largest of the United States barring Alaska, but while Texas has nearly 26 million people Saskatchewan is home to just 1.1 million. Some might say that would make it much easier to supply power to everyone, but considering the power grid covers the entire province from the 49th to the 60th parallel that is not necessarily so. “We have a significant infrastructure to maintain,” says the CEO of SaskPower Robert Watson, “and I think we do a good job.”

The Boikarabelo field in South Africa's Waterberg region, to the north of the country and close to the border with Botswana, is an outstanding coal asset by any standards. An extensive coal seam, between 120 and 130 metres in depth and containing zones of varying quality thermal and soft coking coal, lies only 20 metres below the surface in terrain that is flat and easy to get at. It is the ideal site for an open pit mine: the shallow overburden means that a small fleet of equipment can produce a lot of coal.