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/ 1 June 2008

Daring to be a Daniel

POINT: In April 2001, 22 months after Thabo Mbeki became president, the Mail & Guardian ran a full-length front-cover photograph of him alongside the question: ”Is this man fit to rule?” Letters to the paper the following week convey the intensity of the reaction. ”Who are these racists masquerading as newspapermen?”

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/ 26 May 2008

Govt under pressure over violence

The South African government came under pressure on Monday to deal with the aftermath of deadly anti-foreigner violence that has displaced an estimated 35 000 people. As thousands headed for the borders, a growing humanitarian crisis was developing domestically with crowds of foreigners sheltering at police stations.

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/ 31 March 2008

Govt to probe extent of racism in education

The Department of Education is to investigate the extent of racism and other forms of discrimination in higher education, it said on Monday. A ministerial committee is expected to look into discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and disability, with a particular focus on university residences, said spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele in a statement.

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/ 17 February 2008

SA battles national identity crisis

A draft loyalty pledge has plunged South Africa into a new identity crisis as it mulls its common values 14 years after discarding apartheid to forge a united society under a single flag. As the motley rainbow nation quibbles over a government proposal to introduce a pledge of allegiance in schools, some ideological battle lines are being redrawn.

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/ 13 December 2007

ANC on knife edge ahead of Polokwane

President Thabo Mbeki risks being cast aside by his party next week in favour of an arch rival who may yet be charged with corruption. Mbeki still has two years left as head of state but analysts say a defeat at the hands of Jacob Zuma in the African National (ANC) Congress leadership contest could leave him a lame duck.

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/ 3 October 2007

Scorpions under spotlight again

The Scorpions crime unit is in the political spotlight again amid reports it was preparing to arrest the nation’s police commissioner, the latest high-profile official targeted by the elite force. Unease over the unit has been building within the ruling African National Congress since President Thabo Mbeki announced the formation of the FBI-style crime unit in 1999.