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/ 14 June 2005

The day of the African child

Screen idol Brad Pitt was almost in tears when he visited a hospital in Durban in May to be confronted with the young victims of HIV/Aids. Pitt was experiencing for the first time the circumstances under which millions of children on the continent live and often die.

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/ 14 June 2005

Jackson found not guilty

Michael Jackson, one of the world’s biggest pop stars, was acquitted on Monday on all charges of molesting a teenage boy at his Neverland ranch. The 46-year-old singer, who faced up to 18 years in prison had he been found guilty, reached for a tissue and wept as the clerk of the court finished reading the not guilty verdicts.

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/ 14 June 2005

Economic Erwin

Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin spoke to the <i>Mail and Guardian</i> about the current renegotiating of shareholder compacts with the state owned enterprises, the role of the public enterprise’s role in industrial policy and about the possibility of opening up our skies.

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/ 14 June 2005

Behind the New Mutual

Old Mutual MD Roddy Sparks epitomises the company’s energy. On Thursday the insurance giant threw a big bash to celebrate 160 years of existence. Yet, with its new-found empowerment partners, the company has confidently branded itself the "New Mutual". Well, there is nothing like acquiring a young partner to make one feel new again.

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/ 14 June 2005

Capital’s gain is labour’s loss

The health of an economy is measured by its profitability. This is true for any economy in which the private sector dominates. Declining profitability leads to a drop in investment and, hence, lower employment. When considering what drives growth and unemployment in the long run, we need to look at the evolution of profits and capital accumulation.

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/ 14 June 2005

Malawian farmers look forward to better harvest

Malawian civil society has welcomed tax reforms and subsidies for agricultural inputs in the 2005/06 budget that will ease the burden of small-scale farmers plagued by poor harvests again this year. Unveiling the budget on Friday, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the reforms as an attempt to "improve the economic buying power of individual Malawians".

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/ 14 June 2005

Villagers fall victim to India’s caste war

Suresh Chandra Pandey’s mutilated body was discovered more than a year ago, less than half a mile from his mud and stone house in the sleepy village of Nunnar, about 350 kilometres south-east of Delhi. It was a violent execution-style killing; the 50-year-old farm labourer was hung up, shot in the chest and finally had his arms removed from the elbow joints.