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/ 8 September 2007

Bush defends economic record

The Bush administration defended its economic record on Friday, following a report that showed the economy lost 4 000 jobs in August, the first job loss in four years. The administration said that the tax cuts enacted in Bush’s first term in office were ”helping keep our economy strong, flexible and dynamic”.

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/ 8 September 2007

Disgruntled Akhtar returns home after expulsion

Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar returned home on Saturday after being expelled from the inaugural Twenty20 championship following a spat with teammate Mohammad Asif in South Africa. The 32-year-old struck his new-ball partner Asif with a bat during a practice session in Johannesburg on Thursday, prompting the team’s management to send him back.

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/ 8 September 2007

All Blacks rout struggling Italy

Hot tournament favourites New Zealand got their World Cup campaign off to the ideal start at the Stade Velodrome with a scintillating 76-14 rout of rivals Italy. The contest was dead and buried after the first 20 breathless minutes, during which the All Blacks scored five converted tries against an Italian team shown up to be woefully inept in their early defensive alignment.

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/ 8 September 2007

Tourists caught photographing reed dance

Two foreign tourists were arrested and later released on warning for taking photographs without approval at the Zulu royal reed dance at kwaNongoma in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reports. Organisers said that a man and a woman had failed to obey rules made to protect the participants and retain the dignity of the ceremony.

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/ 8 September 2007

Brown won’t attend ‘Mugabe circus’

Britain has warned fellow European Union nations that Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not attend a planned Europe-Africa summit if Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe does, diplomatic sources said on Saturday. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband made London’s position clear on Friday during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers

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/ 8 September 2007

China blasts planned Taiwan-Africa meetings

China blasted planned meetings between Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian and African allies this weekend. Chen was scheduled on Sunday to meet leaders from Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Swaziland — an apparent attempt to cut into rival China’s growing influence in the region.

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/ 8 September 2007

Car bomb kills 10 in Algeria

A car bomb killed 10 people in eastern Algeria on Saturday, a security source said. The source gave no further details of the bomb attack in Dellys town, 100km east of Algiers. The explosion happened two days after a suicide bomb attack in the town of Batna that killed at least 20 people, including the attacker.

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/ 8 September 2007

Two African teams withdraw from 2010 World Cup

The Central African Republic and São Tomé and Príncipe have pulled out of the 2010 World Cup, precipitating a change in the first phase of the African qualifiers. Fida said in a statement it had changed the draw for the opening round of African qualifying matches, in which the 10 lowest ranked teams had been paired.