Initiatives such as the Asian-African Strategic Partnership established to improve investment opportunities between Asia and Africa, the annual China-Africa Co-operation Forum and frequent trips by high-level Chinese officials to resource-rich countries such as South Africa and Nigeria have bolstered the China-Africa relationship.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: An African "Marshall Plan"

In 2014 it intends to launch, at a cost of a few million dollars, a set of small space telescopes whose purpose will be to seek out asteroids which are easy to get to and whose orbits return them to the vicinity of Earth often enough for the accumulated spoils of a mining operation to be downloaded at frequent intervals.

ECONOMIST: Mining asteroids: Going platinum | The

Return guarantees are a frequent feature but are not integral to the operation of the tax game.

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As the date of the operation approached, my calls became more frequent.

NEWYORKER: Clara

As usual, Four Seasons has brought in a seasoned veteran to run the operation: GM James Kostecky comes from the same position at frequent award-winning sister hotels, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Thailand, and prior to joining the company, he worked in Kenya with a local hotel group.

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