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/ 16 January 2006

Businesses need to plan for power failures

The recent power outages reported in areas of Johannesburg have increased awareness of the necessity for businesses to have a strategic contingency plan, says Paul Skivington, a director of Enterprise Risk at Alexander Forbes Risk Services. Power failures in the city have regularly left businesses powerless.

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/ 16 January 2006

China, Russia pressed over Iran

Europe and the United States pressed China and Russia on Monday to shed their reservations and agree to a tougher line on Iran that could see Tehran hauled before the United Nations Security Council over its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons. Senior officials were meeting behind closed doors in London as diplomatic efforts gathered pace.

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/ 16 January 2006

Loan sharks give micro-lenders a bad name

Loan sharks are posing a threat to South Africa’s micro-finance industry by charging people interest rates of 100% and more, the Consumer Profile Bureau said on Monday. ”They leave the perception in the market place that all micro-lenders, including legitimate ones, operate the same,” the bureau said.

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/ 16 January 2006

New Liberian leader starts tough job

Thousands of women from all over the continent travelled to celebrate not only the inauguration on Monday of Liberia’s 23rd president, but also, more importantly, to witness the installation of Africa’s first-ever elected female leader, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who is expected to announce her Cabinet later this week.

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/ 16 January 2006

British school introduces Chinese classes

In a clear sign of China’s growing economic and political clout, a British school has become the first in the country to make Mandarin Chinese a compulsory subject for all pupils. Richard Cairns, headmaster of Brighton College, announced on Monday that the subject would become part of the private, fee-paying school’s core curriculum from September.

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/ 16 January 2006

French ‘asbestos’ ship poised for Suez crossing

Egyptian technicians on Monday were to inspect an old French aircraft carrier, heading for an Indian scrapyard, ahead of its planned transit through the Suez canal after a delay caused by controversy over the warship’s asbestos insulation. In a further potential legal snag, India’s Supreme Court on Monday banned the ship from entering Indian waters before February 13.

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/ 16 January 2006

Venus crashes out of Australian Open

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams crashed out of the Australian Open on Monday, joining ninth seed Elena Dementieva as a first-round flop, as sister Serena narrowly avoided the same fate. It was the former world number one’s worst performance since she exited the French Open at the opening hurdle in 2001.