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/ 15 November 2004

Fight for survival in Sudan killing fields

On their knees and begging for food, the women pleaded at the feet of the commander, Lam Akol, but there was little he could do. They offered him a chicken, one of the few remaining in their village, as a gift. Ignoring their tears, the Sudanese rebel commander offered them harsh advice, telling them to ”tighten their belts”.

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/ 15 November 2004

Sex pioneer Kinsey’s biopic stirs up the right

In the late Forties and early Fifties, during the height of McCarthyism, Alfred Kinsey’s investigations into sexual behaviour was so unsettling to the authorities that they branded him a communist, cut his funding and impounded his study aids. Half a century later, as a film into Kinsey’s life hit the screens on Friday, some in the field of sexual research in the United States believe they are once again under threat,

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/ 15 November 2004

Iraq vote could be delayed

Iraq’s deputy prime minister has indicated for the first time that the much-heralded elections due in January could be derailed by the country’s violent insurgency. Barham Salih said the authorities were determined to hold the vote, but admitted they would have to assess the security situation nearer the time.

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/ 15 November 2004

South vs North: Lost in translation

There is a continuous sequence of connections between all of us – “six degrees of separation” some have called it – and yet we seldom bother to look in the mirror and try to make sense of them. Like that song: “the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the knee bone”, et cetera, et cetera. How can we go on without recognising each other? And yet, willy-nilly, we do.

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/ 15 November 2004

‘Climate change an investor issue’

South African asset managers should use their collective power to demand disclosure on how to manage risk posed by climate change, says Frater Asset Management, a forward-looking fund manager on the issue of shareholder activism. Last week, the R4-billion fund upped the ante on governance and disclosure when it said that it would publish all its proxy voting decisions at company annual general meetings on its website.

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/ 15 November 2004

Hungry Earth calling planet Pahad

As a Zimbabwean, I can understand if middle-class South Africans have difficulty appreciating the magnitude of the food crisis in my country. For most middle-class South Africans, the luxury of three square meals a day is taken for granted. The mind boggles, however, when government officials fail or, rather, refuse to accept the reality on the ground.

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/ 15 November 2004

Pirates trounce Sundowns

Drama unfolded at the Loftus stadium on Sunday when a nine-man Orlando Pirates side held on to beat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in a Premier Soccer League match. Edward Malinga received his marching orders after tripping Raphael Chuwku, while Gift Leremi was red-carded for arguing with the assistant referee.

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/ 15 November 2004

Condoms: Getting men to ‘shower with an umbrella’

Earlier this year, a chilling statistic cropped up repeatedly at a conference on reproductive rights that was held in London. It is believed that men in sub-Saharan African only have access to about three condoms a year. As condoms have long been acknowledged as a key part of efforts to contain the spread of Aids, this limited supply of prophylactics would appear to have dire implications for Africa.