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/ 18 October 2002
The IDC has been in touch with the World Bank and IMF over the funding of black empowerment in South Africa’s mining industry. The move is likely to prove controversial within the ruling alliance, many of whose members accuse the bank and IMF of undermining Third World development.
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/ 18 October 2002
Jim Tukane wears a warm smile as he stands in his wheat field with the ripening ears reaching up beyond his belly. His battered old tractor groans into sight. "The tractor must rest for 15 minutes at the end of each row and drink five litres of water," he says.
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/ 18 October 2002
One might think from the hullabaloo around the maize deal announced by the government last week that the problems of rising staple food prices have been solved at a stroke. This is very far from true — indeed some commentators see the announcement as little more than a public relations exercise.
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/ 18 October 2002
With a peppercorn goatee, oversized glasses and clad in white ankle-length robes and Islamic cap, Abu Bakar Ba’aysir looks decidedly unthreatening. But when he gets on to the subjects of Islam and the US, he becomes transformed into the fiery preacher he has been for more than 30 years.
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/ 18 October 2002
The ANC Women’s League’s surprise attack on this month’s anti-privatisation strike has prompted speculation that its president, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, is feeling politically vulnerable. A senior ANC leader said that Madikizela-Mandela’s court battles ”have in essence paralysed” the league.
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/ 18 October 2002
Mudslinging, grandstanding and a numbers war dominated the second week of floor crossing, as the Democratic Alliance and the New National Party intensified their drive for the hearts and minds of about 300 DA councillors who have not declared themselves.
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/ 18 October 2002
Environmentalists are scrambling to ensure that a land claim settlement in Mpumalanga does not mean death for South Africa’s most endangered bird, the blue swallow. The misty grasslands of Kaapschehoop are home to 10 of the estimated 60 to 80 breeding pairs of blue swallows left.
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/ 18 October 2002
Allegations of foul play by the Jali commission investigating team has seriously tarnished the integrity of the commission, with the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union walking out on proceedings in Port Elizabeth this week.
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/ 18 October 2002
Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network has been blamed for the Bali bomb attacks by the United States, Australia and, surprisingly, even Indonesia itself. President Bush said he assumed the attack was the work of al-Qaida,, while Australia’s Foreign Minister said it was likely Jemaah Islamiyah.
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/ 18 October 2002
The food security crisis in South Africa and the region is escalating out of control. In response, the Cabinet on October 10 released an announcement of measures to address high food prices. The measures amount to the government ”doing little” to address the plight of the poor.