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/ 17 September 2007

MDC: Zim crisis is world’s worst

The humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe has become the world’s worst but is still largely ignored by the international community, a member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Monday. David Coltart said the crisis in the former British colony had far outgrown the ability of any single nation to tackle.

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/ 17 September 2007

Ambassador condemns Muslim cartoon bounty

Algeria’s ambassador to Sweden on Monday condemned death threats from al-Qaeda in Iraq against a Swedish artist who drew a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad and a newspaper editor who published it. ”I vehemently condemn this kind of practice … Islam has nothing to do with this, by any means,” Merzak Bedjaoui said.

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/ 17 September 2007

Motor-strike talks to resume

Negotiations in a bid to resolve a crippling motor-industry strike will resume on Monday night, the Retail Motor Industry said on Monday. The four-day strike has seen several motoring-manufacturing plants temporarily closing their doors as parts became unavailable.

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/ 17 September 2007

Higher salaries to come for teachers

Proposals are on the table to increase the salary scale of teachers substantially, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday. Speaking in Cape Town after a meeting of the Council of Education Ministers, she said the entry salary for graduates to the profession, for example, will rise from R99 625 to R115 492.

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/ 17 September 2007

SA concerned at N Korea’s nuclear activities

South Africa remains concerned that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is still unable to draw any conclusions regarding North Korea’s nuclear activities, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Monday. ”It is our hope that [North Korea] will return to the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty],” she said during the 51st session of the IAEA general conference.

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/ 17 September 2007

War with Iran must be avoided, says French PM

Everything must be done to avoid the prospect of war with Iran, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Monday, a day after his foreign minister said the country should prepare for that possibility. The United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China have backed two rounds of United Nations sanctions against Iran.

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/ 17 September 2007

Four in court over ‘witchcraft’ killings

Four people appeared in the Manguzi Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with the murder of two women accused of bewitching a northern KwaZulu-Natal school. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe said police had conducted an ”operation” that resulted in 13 people being taken into custody last week.

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/ 17 September 2007

McLaren chief dismisses Hamilton outburst

McLaren chief Ron Dennis has moved to diffuse the latest row between his world-championship-chasing drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren pair were involved in a thrilling battle at the first corner of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix that ended with Alonso forcing a charging Hamilton to take evasive action.

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/ 17 September 2007

National parks get R500m energy-efficiency boost

The Environmental and Tourism Affairs Department has secured R500-million for the installation of energy-efficient facilities in the country’s national parks. Speaking at the launch of South Africa’s National Parks week, Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said the funds would ensure that the country’s national parks were projected as exemplary sites for energy efficiency.