China company files landmark bid to purchase Unocal with federal regulators News
China company files landmark bid to purchase Unocal with federal regulators

[JURIST] The China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd. (CNOOC) [official website] submitted the details of its $18.5 billion bid to purchase Unocal [corporate website] to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States [official website] Friday. The purchase would mark the largest acquisition of a US corporation by a Chinese company. US leaders have voiced concern over the potential national security implications of the acquisition, with the US House recommending that President Bush review the bid [Chicago Tribune report]. The People's Republic of China maintains a 70% ownership stake in CNOOC. Xinhua has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.