South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope array, although still under construction, has successfully participated in an unprecedented international collaboration that has opened a new era in astronomy. For the first time, a major astronomical event - the collision of two neutron stars - has been observed in both the electromagnetic spectrum and by gravity waves. The US Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Ligo), which is composed of two sets of detectors, at Hanford in Washington state and at Livingston, Louisiana, detected a gravitational wave source (designated GW170817) on August 17. Almost immediately afterwards, the same wave was detected by the six-country European collaborative Virgo gravity wave observatory, near Pisa in Tuscany, Italy, and then, about two seconds later, the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency's Fermi space telescope detected a gamma ray burst from the same area. The observations by the thee gravity wave detectors on two continents, followed by the observation of the gamma ray burst by the space telescope, allowed a triangulation of the source. This, in turn, permitted follow-up observations by some 70 optical, infrared, ultraviolet, radio, and X-ray telescopes, on both the Earth and in space. view more

The transition from centralised electricity systems to ones that increasingly comprise both large-scale centralised resources and distributed energy resources (DERs) is under way globally. However, to successfully manage the shift will depend substantially on sending the right economic signals, a leading Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) energy academic argues. In fact, Professor Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga, who is visiting professor at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research and a leading contributor to MIT's 'Utility of the Future' research effort, likens the human body to the emerging electricity system, where a comprehensive system of "efficient tariffs and regulated charges" acts as the nervous system. view more

Eskom's application for a 19.9% tariff hike from April 1, 2018, is unacceptable and will result in the partial or full closure of plant capacity and increase unemployment, the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) states in a written submission to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa). The regulator called for all written comments to be delivered to it by October 13, ahead of public hearings, which will take place between October 30 and November 16. view more

JSE-listed Group Five has received an unsolicited R1.6-billion offer from global real estate firm Greenbay Properties for its European division. Group Five said in a statement that the intention letter it received from Greenbay included confirmation that it had R1.6-billion cash held in escrow by Webber Wentzel Attorneys. Greenbay had raised R4.5-billion in an accelerated bookbuild on August 21. view more

The motives behind government's failure to act in the national interest should be questioned as it undermines trust and service delivery in South Africa, Cas Coovadia, managing director of the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), said on Monday. Coovadia in a statement called on Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba to show leadership and use the tabling of the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), also called the mini budget, on October 25 as an opportunity to fill the void and acknowledge the leadership crisis. view more

South African power utility Eskom on Monday suspended its planned supply interruption to the Govan Mbeki local municipality in Mpumalanga after it reached a payment agreement with the municipality. This comes after Eskom started cutting the power supply to Govan Mbeki Local municipality from Monday last week and affecting areas such as Secunda, Embalenhle, Bethal, and Emzinoni as the municipality was over half a billion rand in arrears. The local municipality is situated under the Gert Sibande District Municipality. view more

BMW Group sales of electrified vehicles in the first three quarters of 2017 have exceeded those achieved in the whole of 2016, says the German car maker. In September, group electrified vehicle sales topped the 10 000-unit mark for the first time in a single month. view more

During the 2016 financial year, Imperial Logistics investigated 86 cases of truck hijackings with a value of more than R134-million. A dedicated Imperial Logistics investigation team successfully recovered more than 90% worth of trucks, trailers and vehicles, says Imperial Logistics chief strategy officer Cobus Rossouw. view more

The  Department of Water Sanitation has urged the South African financial sector to support its efforts to close the water services R30-billion-a-year infrastructure funding gap.  The department is in the process of drafting a new national water and sanitation master plan, which is expected to be completed in March 2018.  view more

South African poultry producer Astral Foods said on Monday it expected to report a rise in full-year profit of at least 80% after no further losses were incurred due to avian flu and better than expected September results. Astral expects headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 1 737 cents and 1 930 cents for the year ended Sept. 30, compared with 965 cents for the same period the previous year. view more

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