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/ 13 November 2006

Mujuru camp falls prey to Zisco

A clerk stormed into the September hearing of the industry and international trade portfolio committee, which was gathering evidence about corruption at the state-run Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company. Obert Mpofu, the Minister of Industry and International Trade, was testifying. He had just declared that there was a ”shocking … thick file” implicating people in high places.

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/ 13 November 2006

Ronaldinho leads Barca back to top of table

A magnificent Ronaldinho led Barcelona to a dramatic 3-1 comeback win over Real Zaragoza in the Nou Camp on Sunday which moved them back to the top of the Primera Liga. After the European and Spanish champions had fallen behind to an early strike from Zaragoza’s Gabriel Milito, the Brazilian playmaker headed Barca level in the 30th minute.

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/ 13 November 2006

The bruiser who became a political liability

Days before the election George W Bush told journalists that there was no way Donald Rumsfeld would leave his job during the president’s administration. But, as Rumsfeld famously once observed, ”Stuff happens”. What happened was a sudden shift in the terms of trade in American politics; Rumsfeld became too heavy a liability for a president struggling to salvage a legacy.

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/ 13 November 2006

Swaziland’s image task team

Worried about the country’s dented image and the slump in the economy, the government of Swaziland has appointed a team of eminent persons to advise both King Mswati III and his government on economic and business issues. The mandate for the team of 20, is to advise the king and government on political issues as well as on measures to encourage economic growth and curb poverty.

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/ 13 November 2006

Water is a human right

In the 1970s, the Club of Rome and others warned of the coming dire scarcity of food, oil and other essentials — the seemingly inexorable consequence of rising demand for limited resources. More recently, we have heard forecasts of inevitable ”water wars”, predictions rooted in fears that there is simply not enough fresh water to meet the needs of an expanding and quickly urbanising global population.

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/ 13 November 2006

Learning to live with unrest

As the October rains finally rolled in over Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, last week, storm clouds of a different kind were gathering over the country’s universities. Learning ground to a halt and students were sent home as lecturers entered their second week of industrial action over stagnating salaries.

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/ 13 November 2006

Far from paradise

When the Maldives features in the media it is usually in the form of a paean to its silver sands, its magical island resorts in the crystal-clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Little is heard of the ways in which journalists who challenge the omnipotence of the government are harassed and suppressed.

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/ 13 November 2006

Fielding horrors return for England

England’s fielding horrors returned on Tuesday as their three-day practice match with New South Wales petered out to a tame draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground. NSW batted out their second innings from lunch to an agreed stumps on the final day, yet England blotted their Ashes preparations with a couple of fumbles.

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/ 13 November 2006

The police must also respect the Constitution

”I am going to charge you with the murder of that dead person.” With these words Superintendent Ngubane of the Booysens police station turned what had been just another dreary encounter with dysfunctional police into a full-on fight over the state of policing in Gauteng. I am a Quaker and on Friday evening, November 3, I was attending a meeting in Rosettenville, writes Justine White.