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/ 17 October 2007

Mongolia’s gold rush

Gingerly touching the bruises on her forehead, Enkhmaa — a middle-aged mother and illegal gold miner — explains why she is afraid to go out on the street with a green plastic bowl. Three days earlier, she says, the Mongolian police seized, beat and imprisoned her for wandering too close to a foreign-owned mine.

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/ 17 October 2007

‘A milestone for Africa’

The 2007 Partnership in International Management (PIM) conference takes place in Johannesburg from October 24 to 26 and is being hosted by Wits Business School. ”It is a milestone for Wits Business School, as well as a milestone for the continent of Africa,” said Professor Mthuli Ncube, the director of the business school.

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/ 17 October 2007

Confession — I’m babyphobic

There seems to be a baby boom at the moment. People are having babies all over the place, which is fabulous if you adore babies in general, but not so fabulous if you’re not that keen on them, unless they’re yours or closely related, then you can gaze adoringly at the little miracles for ever. I find that 10 minutes admiring the dinky little fingers and heavenly widgy face and saying, “What a lovely baby”, is about enough for me.

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/ 16 October 2007

Where death is a corporate norm

Last year I had the difficult responsibility of addressing a memorial service at AngloGold’s Tau Tona mine, where five miners perished under the rocks. The recovery process was drawn out and emotionally tormenting. I kept imagining the grim faces of the families. At such times my imagination is not driven by a scavenging process that seeks a target to blame, writes Frans Baleni.

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/ 16 October 2007

NPA: No imminent arrest of Makhanya

Western Cape police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Tuesday scoffed at claims that police are about to arrest Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya and deputy managing editor Jocelyn Maker. ”We wish to state that there is no truth in reports that [they] will be arrested and/or be brought before court this week,” NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said.

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/ 16 October 2007

Fifa satisfied with 2010 Cup progress

A senior Fifa official gave his seal of approval on Tuesday to South Africa’s preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, playing down concerns about stadium construction after a recent strike. ”I am satisfied with the general preparations,” Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said.

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/ 16 October 2007

Cosatu backs students over fee increases

The ”crisis” caused by proposed fee hikes at two Johannesburg universities this month should be handled by the Ministry of Education, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Tuesday. ”We urge the Ministry of Education to intervene in the current negotiations at the University of Johannesburg and Wits,” Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said.