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/ 15 January 2008

Opposition parties voice concern over Eskom

Opposition parties on Tuesday voiced their concern over Eskom’s inability to avert a power crisis in the country, with the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) calling for the appointment of a multiparty task team to handle the situation. FF+ spokesperson on energy Willie Spies said it was evident that the government did not have the capacity to deal with the current power crisis.

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/ 15 January 2008

Parreira happy with Bafana preparations

With all the tension and trauma surrounding Bafana Bafana’s forthcoming test of strength in the African Cup of Nations, the man in the middle of the cauldron of emotions displayed his usual cool and composed demeanour on Tuesday. And Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira believes his Bafana squad are on course for their acid test in Ghana.

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/ 15 January 2008

Refinery fires cost Engen R200-million

Two separate fires and the subsequent repairs at Durban’s Engen Refinery have cost the company close to R200-million rand, refinery spokesperson Herb Payne said on Tuesday. However, while the cost of the blaze is known to the company, the eThekwini municipality has yet to release the results of air-quality assessment tests taken at the time of the blaze.

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/ 15 January 2008

Deported Malians trash plane in Bamako

A group of Malian illegal immigrants deported from Mozambique started trashing their plane in protest as it arrived in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday, airport officials said. The 80-strong group of deportees tried to damage both the interior and exterior of the plane in front of cabin crew from South Africa.

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/ 15 January 2008

Driving drunk — on a lawnmower

A New Zealand man has been charged with driving a lawnmower while drunk, police said on Tuesday. Richard Gunn (52) was driving the lawnmower down a street in the northern New Zealand town of Dargaville late on Monday evening when police stopped him, police spokesperson Sarah Kennett said.

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/ 15 January 2008

Pakistani politicians face ‘looming threat’

Pakistani political leaders face a looming threat of attack and must get serious about their security and avoid unnecessary exposure in the run-up to a February general election, the government said on Tuesday. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on December 27.

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/ 15 January 2008

India reports fresh bird-flu outbreak

India on Tuesday confirmed a bird-flu outbreak among poultry following the deaths of thousands of chickens in the past week in the state of West Bengal. It is the country’s third outbreak since 2006 and the first since India, home to 1,1-billion people, declared itself free of the disease last November.