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/ 12 November 2007
The price of oil set yet another record this week as low stocks of fuel and further falls in the dollar spurred a frenzied round in the buying of crude. United States light crude futures rose by more than $3 a barrel to break through $97 a barrel to a peak of $97,07, nearly a dollar above the previous high last week.
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/ 12 November 2007
As a leading commodity producer and exporter, South Africa’s current account deficit appears uncharacteristic given the backdrop of strong commodity price performance. This is due mostly to a combination of rising imports and poor exports during this commodity cycle. There are various factors, but regulatory risk remains the greatest concern.
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/ 12 November 2007
If there’s a vehicle that is red-hot in our globally warming world, it’s the plug-in hybrid. The best-known hybrid, Toyota’s Prius, is now 10 years old and has sold more than 800 000 units worldwide. It is available in South Africa, where about 20 vehicles are sold on average each month.
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/ 12 November 2007
Empty shelves in Caracas. Food riots in West Bengal and Mexico. Warnings of hunger in Jamaica, Nepal, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa. Soaring prices for basic foods are beginning to lead to political instability, with governments being forced to step in to artificially control the cost of bread, maize, rice and dairy products.
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/ 12 November 2007
There are new signs of life in the domestic nuclear industry as United States-based Westinghouse announced an acquisition, saying it was increasing its local presence to supply South Africa’s new nuclear power programme. Government has said that it wants nuclear power to supply 30% of the country’s energy needs by 2025.
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/ 12 November 2007
Pervez Musharraf’s second coup, or "emergency plus" as it is being referred to in the Pakistani media, was widely expected by the time it was finally announced on the afternoon of November 3. It is being seen here as the last roll of the dice by a desperate gambler.
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/ 12 November 2007
They dug up yet another mass grave in Spain recently, this time near the village of Arandiga, 45 miles from Zaragoza. The bones of eight men, all trade unionists, lay where they had been hurriedly buried more than 70 years ago in the early days of the civil war. They had been shot at the same spot by supporters of General Francisco Franco.
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/ 12 November 2007
"Life is leaking out of Madagascar. The gross deforestation of the island has left brown rivers of sand flowing towards the sea, and it has been devastated by gem mining and a high rate of malaria infections and deaths." Zahira Kharsany visited Madagascar during its recent Mother and Child Health Week.
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/ 12 November 2007
The Bush administration took a hard line last week on United States diplomats resisting postings to Iraq, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the US ambassador in Baghdad issued blunt reminders of their duty to serve anywhere in the world.
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/ 12 November 2007
Margaret Legum, who died unexpectedly in Cape Town last week as a result of complications following an operation, was a woman of many accomplishments. She was best known in South Africa for her columns on economics. Born Margaret Roberts in Pretoria 74 years ago to a well-to-do family, she first came to prominence as a student at Rhodes University in the 1950s.