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/ 23 December 2004
The unpaid mayor of a small English town has applied for unemployment benefits, but been rejected since he spends too much time at mandatory civic events, the Daily Telegraph said on Thursday. Roy Miller lost his full-time job at a print factory, which closed at the weekend after laying off its 400 employees.
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/ 23 December 2004
A speeding taxi driver who ran a series of red lights trying to rush a heavily pregnant woman to hospital may face fines and have his licence endorsed, state media said on Thursday. Gao Haijun jumped several red lights on Sunday after an anxious couple asked him to take them to the closest delivery ward.
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/ 23 December 2004
People who marry drink less — perhaps because they socialise less or are less likely to drown their cares with alcohol. But heavy drinking is more likely to help you find a partner — which, in turn, will help you cut down on your drinking. These are the findings of Australian National University researcher Bryan Rodgers.
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/ 23 December 2004
The recent escalation in fighting between warring factions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) appears to be abating as a result of the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers and strong political messages from the international community, a senior UN official said on Wednesday.
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/ 23 December 2004
Frenchman Alain ”Spiderman” Robert will climb the world’s tallest building, the 508m Taipei 101, on Saturday as warm-up for the skyscraper’s official opening on December 31, Taipei 101 management said on Thursday. Robert (42) will climb Taipei 101 up to its spire with bare hands but wearing a safety belt.
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/ 23 December 2004
An English mother who was highly allergic to tomatoes went into shock and died after opening a can to prepare spaghetti bolognaise for her four children, press reports said on Thursday. Raya French (37), who knew of her allergy, was opening a tin of minced meat and chopped tomatoes when she suffered anaphylactic shock.
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/ 23 December 2004
Power will be restored by Christmas Eve in the district of Piet Retief after a substation was severely damaged by an explosion and fire on Wednesday night, Eskom spokesperson Sithembele Tshwete said on Thursday. Engineers from Eskom and the Piet Retief municipality are investigating the cause of the explosion.
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/ 23 December 2004
There were few surprises this week when the final results for Mozambique’s general elections on December 1 and 2 were announced. On Tuesday, the National Elections Commission said the presidential poll had been won by Armando Guebuza of the ruling Frelimo party. This group also garnered a majority of seats in Parliament.
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/ 23 December 2004
The JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) was mixed at midday on Thursday after a lacklustre morning’s trade. While resources were down on the back of a stronger rand, stocks with a local economy focus remained in fashion. The rand was quoted at R5,64 per dollar from R5,70 when the JSE closed on Wednesday.
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/ 23 December 2004
A stalling police vehicle caused the death of a police officer in a road rage incident in Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Thursday. Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo said Inspector Sithembiso Louis Mkhize (41) was travelling in a police car along Woodhurst Drive when it began stalling on Wednesday night. The vehicle came to halt on the on-ramp to Higginson Highway and Mkhize got out of the vehicle.