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/ 5 September 2007

SAA talking to unions on restructuring

South African Airways (SAA) is finalising the standardisation of working conditions with trade unions in its ”deep and fundamental” restructuring process, chief executive Khaya Ngqula said on Wednesday. He also said the process of grounding SAA’s costly Boeing 747-400 fleet by November is on track.

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/ 5 September 2007

Manuel: Provincial govt spending has improved

The latest spending patterns by provincial departments show a measurable improvement, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday. Although provinces still face capacity challenges, there is improvement, he told journalists during the Treasury’s tabling of provincial budgets and expenditure review in Parliament.

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/ 5 September 2007

Sierra Leone calms media ahead of high-stakes poll

Sierra Leone media authorities are trying to tone down party political broadcasts alleging executions and machete attacks to try to defuse tensions ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Saturday. The poll, the culmination of the first elections since United Nations peacekeepers left, pits opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma against Vice-President Solomon Berewa.

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/ 5 September 2007

Lekota defends Umshini Wami remarks

African National Congress national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota has defended his negative remarks about people singing freedom songs such as Umshini Wami, saying the issue was not about ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, but about policy. ”These liberation and freedom songs are not pop songs … which we sing for personal entertainment here and there,” he said.

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/ 5 September 2007

Blanchett’s take on Dylan has critics raving

With hair teased into the familiar bird’s nest of frizz, Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Bob Dylan is already being tipped for Oscar success. Yet as Todd Haynes’s surreal biopic I’m Not There was premiered at the Venice film festival on Tuesday, the director revealed that the Australian actor’s decision to take on the role had been far from instant.