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/ 5 February 2008
Horacio Pietragalla felt "like a cat raised in a family of dogs" and was puzzled that, at the age of 14, he was already taller than his father. It was only later that he discovered he was the child of a left-wing activist murdered by the Argentine military during the "dirty war". The executioners gave Horacio away to a general’s maid more than a quarter of a century ago.
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/ 5 February 2008
What Natasha does on the bed in the dingy room with flaking orange paint so shames her she cannot bring herself to use the word. She calls it "so and so" and sells it here from midday to midnight, six days a week. On a very good day she makes £45. With each 30-minute session earning £2,50 that works out at 18 different men, many drunk, some violent. She tries to forget the very good days.
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/ 5 February 2008
Most Mozambicans living in flood-prone areas have heeded calls to evacuate in the face of rising waters this year, but they’ll be back once the rivers subside. Françoise Le Goff, head of the International Federation of Red Cross told the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> recently that even though the water levels were higher than the deadly floods in 2000 and 2001, only eight people had lost their lives.
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/ 5 February 2008
With just eight years to go before the 2015 target for achieving the Millennium Development Goals one would expect to hear accounts of how motherhood is increasingly becoming a safer experience for women as countries strive to fulfil the fifth development goal of "improving maternal health". Sadly, this is not the case for the majority of Zimbabwean women.
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/ 5 February 2008
The international financial system is in turmoil. The world is heading for a big fat recession. Developing economies, already vulnerable to global shocks such as sharp oil price hikes, will likely catch the proverbial cold. Widespread power failures are shutting down South African cities and industries.
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/ 5 February 2008
I’m not one of those high-maintenance women, truly I’m not. Wild Caucasian ponies couldn’t induce me to endure that refined form of torture that is a leg wax, and a Brazilian wax is simply the devil’s work. I’ve never been heard to wail over a broken nail or to refuse to leave the house until I’ve put on a face full of slap.
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/ 5 February 2008
In our days as journalism students, there were those who felt strongly that a distinction should be made between ”reporters” and ”journalists”. While some argued that they were one and the same, others suggested a difference: while reporters were content with cataloguing events, journalists went a step further to provide analysis, writes Simphiwe Sesanti.
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/ 5 February 2008
After much bargaining and dithering Nepal’s governing alliance, which includes the former Maoist guerrillas, has finally agreed to hold its twice-postponed elections in April. A lot of things can go wrong between now and then, as has happened in the past. Maoist hardliners could try to sabotage polls in which they feel they will have a poor showing.
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/ 4 February 2008
Though it may be difficult to believe, the principle of accentuating the positive remains an important aspect of journalism. Yes, even the Mail & Guardian is sometimes guided by it. I accept that it is easier to apply to the sports pages (Buffoona Buffoona’s recent woes not withstanding) than to other beats such as crime and politics (I admit that the difference between these two often confuses me).
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