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/ 14 February 2008

Greeks on edge after two strong quakes

Two powerful earthquakes jolted southern Greece on Thursday, sparking a rush for safety by panicked residents, but Europe’s seismic capital appeared to escape major damage. The main quake measured at least 6,5 on the Richter scale with its epicentre just off the southern coast, according to Greek experts.

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/ 14 February 2008

Eskom mulls buying back power

South African power utility Eskom will consider buying back ”significant” amounts of power from industrial customers in order to ease an energy crisis, CEO Jacob Maroga said on Thursday. Maroga also said industry had responded well to an appeal to cut electricity consumption by 10% after gold and platinum mines were forced to halt production.

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/ 14 February 2008

Govt to speed up land redistribution

The government intends acquiring five million hectares of land next year in an effort to have 30% of agricultural land in the hands of black farmers by 2014, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulu Xingwana said in Cape Town on Thursday. Currently, black farmers own 4,7% of farm land, she told a press briefing.

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/ 14 February 2008

Zuma turns to highest court in graft case

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma has asked the Constitutional Court to strike down a court ruling allowing seized documents to be used against him in a corruption case. Zuma and his lawyer Michael Hulley argued that prosecutors and investigators had acted illegally when they raided and seized documents.

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/ 14 February 2008

Zimbabwe inflation rockets to 66 000%

Zimbabwe’s annualised inflation rate rose to a record 66 212,3% in December, dealing another blow to President Robert Mugabe’s efforts to pull the once prosperous African nation’s economy out of a deep crisis. Mugabe has made the battle against inflation the cornerstone of his government’s effort to reverse an economic slide.

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/ 14 February 2008

Lebanon simmers three years after al-Hariri death

Three years after Rafik al-Hariri’s assassination, the crisis unleashed by his death opens ever deeper rifts in Lebanon and threatens the state and society the leader tried to rebuild after the civil war. The February 14 anniversary of al-Hariri’s death has become a symbol for divisions between the heirs to his legacy and their opponents.