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/ 11 October 2006
South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad threw a security blanket around Herschelle Gibbs after he arrived in India on Wednesday to be probed for match-fixing allegations. Gibbs arrived in the western metropolis of Mumbai where the South Africans are based for the 10-nation tournament and was promptly whisked away to the team hotel to avoid the media stationed at the airport.
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/ 11 October 2006
Japan is likely to announce new sanctions on North Korea later on Wednesday in response to its reported nuclear test this week, Tokyo television said, while the reclusive communist state held out the threat of more tests. NHK TV said Japan’s government had decided to impose fresh sanctions on Pyongyang and the decision would be formalised later in the day.
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/ 11 October 2006
Hundreds of people prayed for rain on Wednesday in an Indonesian province hard-hit by forest fires as south-east Asian environment ministers prepared to gather to discuss ways to tackle smoke haze covering the region. Dry season fires caused by farmers and big businesses such as plantations have been burning for weeks in parts of Indonesia.
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/ 11 October 2006
The United States Department of Homeland Security plans to develop software that analyses and summarises opinions expressed in articles, providing a possible tool for better monitoring what is written about the US in the global press. The department says it will spend ,4-million supporting research to analyse human language in texts.
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/ 11 October 2006
Dancing Barbie met Cyberman on Wednesday as British toy retailers listed their top dozen must-have presents for tech-savvy kids this Christmas. Hollywood also featured prominently with toy spin-offs from the hit movies Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean joining such perennial classics as the Trivial Pursuit board game.
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/ 11 October 2006
South African retail sales rose by 9,7% year-on-year in July at constant prices, accelerating from the previous month and signalling spending remained robust despite a rate hike, official data showed. Statistics South Africa also said on Wednesday the annual retail sales increase for June was revised down to 8,7%.
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/ 11 October 2006
At least 11 000 children are still with armed groups or unaccounted for more than two years after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) launched a programme to release and re-integrate child soldiers back into civilian life, Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Girls in particular were worst affected, with most of those snatched by armed groups still unaccounted for.
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/ 11 October 2006
Britain vowed on Wednesday it would not back down over a November deadline for reaching a power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland as it prepared to host crucial talks with the province’s politicians. Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said he believed a deal was possible but stressed that London was serious about closing down Northern Ireland’s Stormont assembly if a deal is not reached.
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/ 11 October 2006
Cash-in-transit security guards threatened to strike in response to the recent spate of violent heists, the Motor Transport Workers’ Union (MTWU) said on Wednesday. ”The union met with shop stewards from around the country today [Wednesday] on the crisis. It has had enough,” said union general secretary Emily Fourie.
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/ 11 October 2006
A bid by the African National Congress to wrest back power in Cape Town, a lone bastion of opposition to South Africa’s ruling party, has triggered a fierce backlash across the political spectrum. Western Cape minister of local government Richard Dyantyi has summoned members of the city council to a meeting next Tuesday where he will flesh out plans to amend the system of government.