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/ 27 February 2008

Cosatu’s Madisha given marching orders

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) axed Willie Madisha as its president on Wednesday over his involvement in a missing donation scandal. This comes after a commission probing the matter presented its findings and recommendations to Cosatu’s central executive committee at its meeting this week.

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/ 27 February 2008

Chad holding secret talks with rebels

Chad’s foreign minister said the government is holding secret discussions with rebel groups who support peace and national reconciliation following a coup attempt earlier this month. But Foreign Minister Ahmad Allam-Mi said on Tuesday that the government is not negotiating with any of the rebel leaders who attacked and destroyed much of the capital Ndjamena.

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/ 27 February 2008

Toll from Cyclone Ivan rises to 60

The death toll in Madagascar from Cyclone Ivan stood at 60 on Tuesday, with another 17 missing, the government said. Figures released by the disaster management centre also said 147 000 were homeless because of the cyclone that hit on February 17 carrying winds of up to 230km/h and torrential rains.

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/ 27 February 2008

Talks fail: Army is Kenya’s best hope

Britain on Tuesday said that the Kenyan army is now ”by far the best option” to stop a sectarian bloodbath as peace talks in Nairobi between the government and opposition were suspended. Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan suspended talks between the government and the opposition negotiating teams after it became clear they were going nowhere.

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/ 27 February 2008

EU hits Microsoft with record €899m antitrust fine

The European Commission fined Microsoft a record €899-million on Wednesday for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust ruling against the United States software giant. The fine comes on top of the €497-million that Microsoft already had to pay after Europe’s top antitrust watchdog found the company guilty in 2004 of abusing its dominant market power.

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/ 27 February 2008

‘Black art’ draws new collectors, higher prices

Landscapes are the images that come to mind in the work of artist Richard Mayhew. The New York-born expressionist credits that to his part African-American, part Native-American roots. ”It’s a dual commitment to nature,” he says. ”The land is very important to both cultures in terms of stimulation and spiritual sensitivity, and it’s very important to me.”

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/ 26 February 2008

Whatever happened to literary love?

”I am alone next to the pool at Le Prince Maurice Hotel in Mauritius. In contrast, all the people around me are paired off. Every coupling is a story pitted with conflict, resolution, stalemates, passions, misunderstandings, wars and truces. A pity, then, how little hope they have of picking up a good modern novel and finding some reflection of, or consolation for, or explication of, their private experiences,” writes Tim Lott.