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/ 5 September 2005

EU confirms deal on China-EU textile impasse

The European Union confirmed on Monday that a deal has been reached to end an impasse that has left millions of Chinese-made textiles blocked at European ports. "They have reached an agreement today [Monday]. This is what I have heard," Leonor Ribeiro Da Silva, spokesperson for European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, told reporters.

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/ 5 September 2005

DA slams govt spending on Jakarta summit

The Democratic Alliance has criticised as ”astronomical” and ”excessive” South Africa’s expenditure on transporting a singer and band to the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta in April. ”Miriam Makeba is a South African icon, but did we need to spend half-a-million rand to transport her and her supporting band for a few days to a political conference?” asked the party.

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/ 5 September 2005

Five survive Indonesian jet crash

At least five passengers survived the crash of the Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 in the Indonesian city of Medan on Monday, the search and rescue agency said. The plane crashed into a crowded neighbourhood just outside the airport’s perimeter shortly after take-off.

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/ 5 September 2005

Bafana in Germany for ‘battle of the losers’

The Bafana Bafana contingent returned to Bremen on Sunday for what is being termed ”the battle of the losers” after the demoralising and devastating 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat against Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou on Saturday. ”But we have a job to do,” said Bafana general manager Stanley Tshabalala, referring to the friendly international against Germany.

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/ 5 September 2005

Montoya wins Italian GP

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Italian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday and Renault’s Fernando Alonso finished second to maintain the inside track on the season championship. Alonso’s teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, was third and McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth for the most impressive performance of the day.

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/ 5 September 2005

Smugglers force refugees into the sea

About 75 Ethiopian and Somali boat refugees are feared to have drowned when smugglers taking them to Yemen forced them to jump into the sea, with scores more missing. Forty-five bodies have been recovered on the shores of Shabwa province, said an official with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

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/ 5 September 2005

Volkswagen preparing to cut thousands of jobs

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car maker, said on Monday that it planned to step up job-cutting measures, particularly at its main plant in Wolfsburg, north Germany. "Despite rising sales, the Volkswagen group still has considerable overcapacity and will therefore be intensifying its efforts to cut back manpower," the car maker said in a statement.

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/ 5 September 2005

Zimbabwe bank chief pleads against IMF expulsion

Zimbabwe’s central bank head on Sunday obliquely pleaded against the country’s threatened expulsion from the International Monetary Fund and denied using undeclared foreign exchange to pay back part of the IMF debt. ”Our non-payment of our dues to the IMF remains a source of embarrassment to every self-respecting Zimbabwean whether in the country or the diaspora,” said Gideon Gono.