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/ 27 September 2005

Typhoon destroys protective dyke in Vietnam

Up to 15km of a protective dyke have been destroyed by Typhoon Damrey in the two provinces in northern Vietnam hardest-hit by the storm, local officials said on Tuesday afternoon. Tens of thousands of houses in Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh have also reportedly been destroyed, and in China the storm killed at leatst 16 people.

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/ 27 September 2005

Six thousand tuskers in firing line

The Kruger National Park wants to shoot up to 6 000 elephants as part of a national culling programme that could start next winter, the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> has learnt. Thousands of elephants in other state and private reserves around the country will also be culled, if a South African National Parks report on elephant management is endorsed by the public.

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/ 27 September 2005

Getting the private investor on to the JSE

South Africans are lagging far behind the Australians when it comes to investing directly into shares on the JSE. In South Africa about 200 000 private investors invest directly into shares rather than through mutual funds or pension funds. That figure for Australia is 5,7-million. There are many lessons South Africa can learn from the Australian stock exchange.

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/ 27 September 2005

Rwandan rebels disarm, prepare to return

The leader of a splinter group of Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has said his fighters are disarming and preparing to return home. Seraphin Bizimungu said members of his breakaway faction of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, had turned in their weapons and begun educational courses to ready themselves for re-integration into Rwandan society.

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/ 27 September 2005

Volkswagen chooses Wolfsburg for new SUV plant

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car maker, said on Tuesday that its new compact sports utility vehicle, the Golf Marrakesh, would be built at its plant in Wolfsburg, north Germany. VW management had threatened to relocate production of the SUV to Portugal where unit costs were much cheaper, if the works’ council in Wolfsburg did not agree to new employment conditions.

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/ 27 September 2005

Iraq’s al-Qaeda number two killed

Iraq on Tuesday claimed a major coup with the killing of al-Qaeda’s number two in the country but insurgent attacks continued as a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police recruiting centre, leaving 10 dead. ”We managed to kill the number two of al-Qaeda in Iraq,” National Security Adviser Muwaffaq Rubaie said.

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/ 27 September 2005

Storms lay bare US refinery crisis

If proof were needed that United States oil refineries are stretched to breaking point, the twin hurricanes of Katrina and now Rita have provided ample evidence. A total of 859 rigs and platforms in the Gulf are unmanned after being evacuated last week before Rita swept through, US government figures showed on Monday.

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/ 27 September 2005

SA confirms ongoing Zim loan talks

South Africa confirmed on Tuesday that talks with Zimbabwe are continuing on possible loan assistance to its troubled northern neighbour. ”We have not broken off discussions,” National Treasury spokesperson Logan Wort said in Pretoria. ”Zimbabwe has not rejected assistance.”

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/ 27 September 2005

It’s better to cry wolf now over oil

Are global oil supplies about to peak? Are they, in other words, about to reach their maximum and then go into decline? There is a simple answer to this question: no one has the faintest idea. Consider these two statements: 1. "Last year Saudi Aramco made credible claims that as much as 500-billion to 700-billion barrels remain to be discovered in the kingdom." 2. "Saudi Arabia clearly seems to be nearing or at its peak output and cannot materially grow its oil production."