Luanda/Johannesburg  - European and African election observers gave a generally clean bill of health to last weekend's general elections in Angola - the first in 16 years, in which President Eduardo dos Santos' party was poised for a landslide win.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the elections, which the European Union's 108-member observer team described in a preliminary report as "tranquil and peaceful," showed Angola was consolidating its democracy.

Berlin  - The powerful German metalworkers union IG Metall announced Monday it would seek a wage increase of between 7 and 8 per cent for 3.6 million workers in the key sector, its highest demand in 16 years.

IG Metall boss Berthold Huber told journalists in Frankfurt discussions with shop stewards were continuing and that the final demand should become clear in a fortnight.

London, Sept. 8 : British MPs have reportedly introduced a proposal to place a cap on the number of immigrants settling in the country with a view to having a more “balanced” immigration policy.

According to The Times, a YouGov poll-cum-report initiated by a new cross-party parliamentary group suggests significant cuts in immigration, a decision backed by most political parties.

The report calls for a balanced migration policy under which immigration is capped in line with the number of emigrants to maintain a stable population.

The reports authors say that ministers should reduce the number of non-EU migrants allowed to settle permanently in Britain.

Naypyitaw, Myanmar  - Myanmar's police chief on Sunday claimed to know nothing about a hunger strike being staged by Nobel laureate and political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi to protest her five-plus years under house arrest.

Addressing a press conference in Naypyitaw, the military's new capital situated 350 kilometres north of Yangon, Police Chief Khin Yee said Suu Kyi had recently been visited by her lawyer and doctor and neither had told the government about her hunger strike.

Prague  - Czech and US negotiators completed talks Friday on a second missile shield pact defining conditions for stationing US troops at the system's planned base on Czech soil, the Czech Defence Ministry said.

The center-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is to take up the so-called Status of Forces Agreement within two weeks, said ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek.

Signing in Prague by Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova and a US representative should follow within days after the cabinet gives its approval, he said.

Berlin  - Germany promised Friday to erect prefabricated homes for 1,800 homeless refugees in Georgia.

The Foreign Ministry in Bonn said it was granting 8 million euros (11.5 million dollars) to the German development aid agency GTZ, which would put up the buildings. They will contain 350 apartments.

Georgia had asked for help to house the people who fled from South Ossetia during last month's conflict and could not return.