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/ 17 January 2006

Tips for purchasing short-term insurance

First and foremost, always be honest with your insurer or broker if you do not know the answer to any question they ask, always check it out and get back to them with the correct answer. 1st For Women recommends keeping an insurance history record, to make sure you never forget important historical insurance details. […]

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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

RMI moves to end fuel confusion

The Retail Motor Industry (RMI) has moved to end what it calls confusion in the fuel sector, saying on Monday it has taken steps to help drivers choose proper fuel for their cars. "An alarming 60% of motorists up until the end of last year had still not made the switch to unleaded," RMI CEO Jeff Osborne said in a statement.

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/ 16 January 2006

I feel like dancing, says relieved Serena Williams

A hyped-up and relieved Serena Williams said she felt like dancing on Monday after keeping her Australian Open defence on track with a testing three set win over China’s Li Na. Responding to criticism of her fitness in the lead up to the tournament, Williams insisted she was full of energy after surviving a scare to grind down the fiesty Li 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2.

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/ 16 January 2006

Syrian officials give more evidence to Hariri probe

Two Syrian intelligence officers began giving evidence in Vienna again on Monday to the United Nations commission investigating the murder 11 months ago of Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, a Syrian diplomat said. They are Syria’s former head of intelligence in Lebanon, Rustom Ghazale, and his deputy, retired colonel Samih Kashaami.

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/ 16 January 2006

Old Mutual increases Skandia acceptances

London- and South Africa-listed financial-services group Old Mutual has received acceptances for 68,6% of Skandia shares under its R38-billion offer for the Swedish insurer, up from the 64,28% it had received under the first offer period, which closed on December 16, the company announced on Monday.

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/ 16 January 2006

Scion drops case against Bolivar takeover

South African gold-mining group Gold Fields and Toronto-listed Bolivar Gold on Monday announced that Scion Capital has delivered a notice of dissent in respect of its approximately 19% common share interest in Bolivar and that Gold Fields intends to waive the condition in section 7.2(e) of its arrangement agreement with Bolivar.

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/ 16 January 2006

Zimbabwe to phase out leaded fuel by March

Zimbabwe will ban leaded petrol from March in line with a regional agreement to phase out the fuel this year, a spokesperson for the energy ministry said on Monday. "We have set the end of March as the deadline for using unleaded fuel as this is in line with other countries in the region," said Justin Mupamhanga, secretary in the energy ministry.

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/ 13 January 2006

Kenya orders crackdown on outlawed sect

Kenyan authorities on Friday ordered police to be ruthless with an outlawed cult blamed for murders and violent robberies and held by officials to be attempting to win legitimacy by transforming itself into a political party. "Despite the sect having been banned, there are obvious indications that it is still alive," said National Security Minister John Michuki.

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/ 13 January 2006

Ever been to Cambodia?

Tourist arrivals in Cambodia jumped by 35% in 2005, a senior official said on Thursday as the country seeks nearly to triple the number of foreign visitors in the next five years. ore than 1,4-million arrivals were recorded last year, up from just more than a million in 2004.

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/ 13 January 2006

A role model for positive living

Peter Busse, who died last Friday, was one of the foremost Aids activists in South Africa, Africa and internationally. Living with HIV for 20 years, he was one of the first people in South Africa with the courage to disclose his HIV status. In this he became a role model and enabled many other people living with HIV to follow his example.

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/ 13 January 2006

Cowboy country to miss out on Brokeback Mountain

It’s tipped for Oscar honours and stars one of the country’s biggest screen hunks — but gay western romance <i>Brokeback Mountain</i> is unlikely to be seen by those in Australia’s own "cowboy country". The film will not be shown in parts of north and central Queensland state when it opens later this month because it has "limited release" status.

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/ 13 January 2006

I buy Keeromstraat shares. Hah!

"The business landscape is pretty hectic these days. There is Cyril Ramaphosa, who not too long ago presided over a telecommunications and media empire stretching from Cape Town to Mussina. Then the empire was chopped in two and now a couple of former unionists have nicked his company," writes Kevin Davie.

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/ 13 January 2006

An ignoble end

So, Cyril Ramaphosa is to get another footnote in the history of South Africa’s economic restructuring. His resignation this week from the board of Johnnic Holdings came at the blood-soaked end of the first real knock-’em-down, drag-’em-out battle for a listed company to be played out entirely by black-owned contenders.

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/ 12 January 2006

IMF to make new mission to Zimbabwe

A five-member delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to arrive in Zimbabwe later this month as the Southern African country struggles to pay back about $146-million owed to the lending club, the finance minister said on Thursday. The IMF has threatened to expel Zimbabwe from its ranks for failing to pay back loans since 2001 and has given the country until February to settle its accounts.

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/ 12 January 2006

Hundreds killed in hajj stampede

At least 345 people were killed on Thursday in a stampede at the procession symbolising the stoning of the devil during the annual pilgrimage, said Saudi Health Minister Hamad bin Abdullah al-Maneh. About 289 other pilgrims were wounded in the accident due to "unruly pilgrims, and a problem of luggage," al-Maneh told reporters.

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/ 12 January 2006

Mystery still shrouds Kim’s apparent China trip

The location of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il remained a mystery on Friday amid a series of rumours that he was in Beijing, possibly for nuclear talks. Other rumours, quickly picked up by global media outlets, had him in southern China near the border with Hong Kong staying at a luxury hotel while more speculation placed him in Russia.

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/ 12 January 2006

Ukraine leader demands Parliament rescind vote

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko demanded on Thursday that Parliament rescind its vote taken earlier in the week to sack his pro-Western government. The president said that lawmakers who supported a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Yury Yekhanurov’s government on Tuesday did so "in order to form an unstable situation in Ukraine".

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/ 12 January 2006

Four Shell oil workers taken hostage in Nigeria

Four Shell foreign oil workers have been abducted from an offshore oilfield in southern Nigeria, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. The Nigerian press said two of the Shell employees were Britons and the two other Hondurians, who were aboard a tanker, the <i>Sea Eagle</i>, loading crude oil in an offshore extraction zone.

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/ 12 January 2006

Britain lifts ‘no smile’ rule for child passport photographs

A rule obliging British parents to undertake the near-impossible task of making their babies adopt a "neutral" expression on passport photographs has been dropped after thousands of pictures were rejected. In less than three months last year, more than 15&nbsp;000 applications for children’s passports were turned down because the applicants’ expressions were deemed irregular,

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/ 12 January 2006

Fiat has big plans in SA for new year

After a challenging year for Fiat Auto South Africa in 2005, MD Giorgio Gorelli is confident that the recent merger with Fiat Auto Brazil will reap benefits for the local operations. In December 2005, Fiat Auto South Africa officially merged with Fiat Auto Brazil to become part of the Brazil-South Africa ‘pole’.

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/ 11 January 2006

Woolworths’ six-month sales up 16,3%

Listed clothing and food retailer Woolworths has reported a 16,3% rise in sales for the six-months to end-December 2005 compared to the same period a year earlier. In a trading statement released on Wednesday, Woolworths said trading over the festive season had been in line with expectations.

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/ 10 January 2006

Cholera outbreak hits Dar es Salaam

At least 52 people have been taken ill with cholera in Tanzania’s commercial capital this month amid a drought that is plaguing East Africa, officials and health workers said on Tuesday. "Although nobody has died so far, it is worrisome that we are getting new cases almost daily despite mass health education programmes," said Dar es Salaam City Council spokesperson Gaston Makwembe.

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/ 10 January 2006

Alleged serial killer extradited to France

A self-confessed French serial killer believed to have murdered at least seven young women over a 15-year period was extradited on Monday from Belgium to France to face trial. Journalists saw 63-year-old carpenter Michel Fourniret handed over to French authorities after arriving at the French-Belgian border in one of two grey unmarked Belgian police cars.

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/ 10 January 2006

Resilient buys Highveld Mall for R270m

Resilient Property Income Fund has agreed to acquire Highveld Mall, a retail centre in Witbank that is now under construction, for R270-million, the company said on Tuesday. The 40&nbsp;000 square metre centre, which is due for completion in April 2007, will be anchored by branches of retailers Edgars, Woolworths and Pick ‘n Pay.