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/ 2 December 2004
Three explosions rocked the Chenjiashan coal mine in northern China on Thursday, but rescuers searching for the bodies of 166 workers killed in a weekend blast escaped unharmed. The first blast ripped through the mine at 3.25am on Wednesday with another two following in the next four hours, highlighting the dangers facing rescue teams.
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/ 2 December 2004
Restructuring at the international news agency Reuters has sparked objections by journalists that quality could suffer, but management has said that talk of big job cuts is inaccurate. The British-based agency embarked on a drastic restructuring programme in February 2003, after posting the biggest loss in its history.
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/ 2 December 2004
The winds of change are sweeping through southern Africa, with the long-term leaders of both Namibia and Mozambique preparing to hand over to their successors after more than a 15 years at the helm. However, both departing heads of state are assured of living out their autumn years in style thanks to perk-packed retirement deals.
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/ 2 December 2004
The Zimbabwean government is seeking leave to appeal the acquittal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason, a newspaper reported on Thursday. In October, the Harare High Court acquitted Tsvangirai of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe and stage a coup, saying there was insufficient evidence against him.
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/ 2 December 2004
As Mozambique calmly voted on a second and final day on Thursday for a new president and parliament, foreign observers and voters said the strength of its maturing democracy will be measured by the transparency of the count – and the reaction to the outcome. With 17 parties running for Parliament and five contesting the presidential race, many here believe the county is moving toward a presidential runoff next month.
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/ 2 December 2004
Swarms of locusts have invaded the Portuguese Argave region, one of Europe’s top tourist areas and home to some of the country’s most beautiful beaches. The locusts are the same species that recently swept across Spain’s Canary Islands, according to an expert at Lisbon’s Faculty of Science.
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/ 2 December 2004
How’s this for creative thinking? A cafe has opened with pyjama-clad servers pouring cereal day and night, topping it off with everything from fruit to malted milk balls, and serving it in ”bowls” resembling Chinese takeout containers. Behind glass-door kitchen-style cabinets at Cereality are 30 varieties of brand-name cold cereal.
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/ 2 December 2004
Growth in new vehicle sales continued unabated with sales in November showing a 32,1% increase over sales during the same month in 2003. A total of 41 663 vehicles were sold during November, which brings the year’s sales to date to 413 639 units.
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/ 2 December 2004
More than 900 people are confirmed dead or missing in the eastern Philippines after two tropical storms triggered floods and mudslides this week. The worst-affected towns on the east coast of the main island, Luzon, are cut off from help because of destroyed roads and bridges. Aid flights have been suspended due to a third typhoon expected to hit Luzon on Thursday.
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/ 2 December 2004
A Japanese city council will require male employees to take a total of six weeks of paid leave before their babies’ first birthdays and then explain what they learned in a bid to end perceptions that child care is only a woman’s job, officials said on Thursday.