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/ 6 September 2007

Union opposes SAA restructuring plan

The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union on Wednesday vowed to counter a South African Airways (SAA) restructuring plan, saying management had lied to it and that ”the laws of the jungle shall now apply”. The union issued a statement after the airline’s chief executive, Khaya Ngqula, told media on Wednesday that it was essential to revise work packages.

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/ 6 September 2007

Egypt lead list of Nations contenders

Holders Egypt head the list of heavyweight contenders seeking to confirm their qualification for next year’s African Nations Cup finals this weekend. A win in Burundi on Sunday would ensure Egypt finish top of their group and join the seven teams already through to the 16-team finals being hosted by Ghana in January.

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/ 6 September 2007

Nando Matola killed in car accident

Missing soccer player Nando Matola has been reported to have died in a car accident, according to a report on Mozambique state radio on Thursday. It was reported that Matola, a Mozambican national who played for the Black Leopards in South Africa, was accompanied by his wife and three children when their car veered off the road and hit a tree.

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/ 6 September 2007

Tsvangirai summoned over price freeze

Zimbabwe’s police have summoned the main opposition leader for questioning on Thursday on his tour of shops to assess the impact of President Robert Mugabe’s controversial price freeze, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Zimbabweans have struggled to buy basic goods since Mugabe’s government ordered businesses to slash their prices to mid-June levels.

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/ 6 September 2007

Mboweni: Tentative signs of spending easing

South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday that while there were some tentative indications of a slowdown in consumption, such as vehicle sales, it was still "early days". Mboweni said that while the current account deficit was being adequately financed by financial inflows, there might be inflationary pressures in the future if the deficit widened.

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/ 6 September 2007

Sudan has drones, is pursuing missiles

Sudan has developed unmanned surveillance planes, is developing missiles, and is now ”self-sufficient” in conventional weapons, a Sudanese state news agency reported. The rare public announcement on Sudan’s military capability gave no details on how far missile development had progressed or where the surveillance drones might be used.

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/ 6 September 2007

China denies cyber-spying charges

From the German chancellery to the Pentagon, government computer networks have been targeted by cyber spies that media reports say were directed by China’s military. The reported Pentagon attack was the ”most flagrant and brazen to date”, said Alex Neill, an expert on the Chinese military at London’s Royal United Services Institute.

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/ 6 September 2007

Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti, hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, died in the early hours of Thursday, his manager Terri Robson said. ”Luciano Pavarotti died one hour ago,” Robson said in an SMS to Reuters. He was 71. He shot to fame with a stand-in appearance at London’s Covent Garden in 1963 and had soon had critics gushing about his voluminous voice.