Staff Reporter
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/ 28 February 2008

Thieves pick wrong night for robbery

Two armed thieves picked the wrong night to rob a Sydney club, disturbing a meeting of 50 motorcycle bikers, who tackled and hog-tied one of the thieves until police arrived. The Southern Cross Cruiser Club was staging its monthly meeting on Wednesday night in the club in Sydney’s west when two men armed with machetes entered the club.

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/ 28 February 2008

France foots bill for SA power station

France is giving a R15,5-billion (â,¬1,4-billion) coal-fired power station to South Africa as a gesture of friendship. The agreement was signed on Thursday between Buyelwa Sonjica, the Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, and Jean-Marie Bockel, the French Deputy Minister for North-South cooperation.

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/ 28 February 2008

Cosatu: ‘Rescue mission post-Polokwane is on’

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Thursday said it will no longer take a ”triumphalist” approach to the outcomes of the African National Congress (ANC) Polokwane conference. ”The campaign to save the ANC from the clutches of the technocrats who sought to bureaucratise the liberation movement is far from being over, ” he said.

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/ 28 February 2008

SA sees progress in Iran nuclear dispute

South Africa said on Thursday that a report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency showed ”increasing confidence” that Iran did not intend to use its nuclear programme for military purposes. But it added that further oversight was needed to verify that Tehran was not building atomic weapons.

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/ 28 February 2008

DA criticises Erwin’s job-loss comments

Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin should refrain from making unsubstantiated comments on the job-loss threats faced by thousands of mineworkers, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. On Wednesday Erwin said that it was unclear whether proposed job cuts in the industry were caused by power cuts and electricity rationing.

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/ 28 February 2008

Sarkozy arrives in SA for state visit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning for a two-day state visit, which will include discussions with President Thabo Mbeki and top business leaders. Sarkozy was welcomed by Mbeki at Tuynhuys, where a 21-gun salute was fired in his honour while a military band played the French and South African national anthems.

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/ 28 February 2008

JSE recoups earlier losses

The gold mining index and industrials helped perk up the JSE by noon on Thursday, helping it to reverse its losses from the morning session. By noon, the JSE’s broader all share index added 0,62%. The gold mining index collected 1,86%, resources gained 0,35% but the platinum mining index pulled 0,96%.

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/ 28 February 2008

AU chief pushes ahead with Kenya talks

African Union chief and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete pushed ahead on Thursday with talks to end the Kenyan political crisis. Kikwete chaired talks between President Mwai Kibaki, opposition chief Raila Odinga and former United Nations secretary general and chief mediator Kofi Annan in a fresh bid to resolve the two-month crisis.