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/ 17 November 2006

DRC vote challenge has Tutu worried

South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu expressed concern on Friday that Jean-Pierre Bemba’s decision to reject the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) election results could spark more violence. ”You have to be crazy not to worry,” Tutu told reporters in Brussels, ahead of a debate on good governance in Africa.

Tony Allen: Beast of no nation
/ 17 November 2006

Tony Allen: Beast of no nation

Herculean, the first single from the yet-to-be-named group featuring Fela Kuti’s former drummer Tony Allen, Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz), Paul Simonon (The Clash) and Simon Tong (The Verve), is an Orwellian take on the general state of the world, using a reimagined, post-apocalyptic West London as its muse. The song, complete with pained imagery of dark […]

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/ 17 November 2006

Mbeki: Face the future with confidence

Although there is a long way to go in creating a fully non-discriminatory and prosperous society, progress is being made and South Africans must embrace the challenges ahead with confidence, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. Expecting to eradicate a deeply entrenched 350-year-old legacy of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment in a very short time was entirely unrealistic.

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/ 17 November 2006

Brand the beloved continent

The continent-watchers among you may have heard of Christoph Blocher, a historian who specialises in making the Swiss look hard at their World War II past and see roses. He doubles as the Swiss justice minister. Recently he said, "How one should deal with Africa, I do not know. Leaving it to itself is one possibility. Nobody knows how Africa can be industrialised. Perhaps they will manage on their own one day."

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/ 17 November 2006

Climate treaty in hot water

The United States, Russia, China and India continued to be seen as among the key obstacles to a new climate change treaty as the United Nations climate conference in Nairobi drew to a close. The Kyoto protocol ends in 2012. But many of the Nairobi delegates were deeply sceptical about whether the current round of talks will deliver a mandate to negotiate a new convention at the same time next year.

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/ 17 November 2006

The boss of MeerKAT manor

Anthropomorphism and science are usually, at best, uneasy bedfellows — but, as the acronym for the Karoo Array Telescope is KAT, it is not surprising the astronomers involved have nicknamed the prototype antenna dish Kitty. The project, a fully-fledged radio telescope in its own right, is also an example of South Africa’s ability to build the â,¬1,5-billion Square Kilometre Array .

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/ 17 November 2006

Diplomat to be charged

The Department of Foreign Affairs has laid charges of misconduct against its former ambassador to Brazil Mbulelo Rakwena for allegedly contravening the foreign service code. Rakwena is to appear before the department’s internal disciplinary committee before the end of the month. It is not yet clear what the indictments against him are and he has not yet been suspended.

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/ 17 November 2006

Jewish Report censors Kasrils

The South African Jewish Report last week refused to publish Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils’s right to reply to an article that questioned his stance on Israel. This makes it the second time in recent weeks that Kasrils has been barred from expressing his radical anti-Zionist views.

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/ 17 November 2006

A bloody Christmas

Gang-related shootings and attacks on the Cape Flats are on the increase yet again, and gang bosses warn that more violence can be expected as a result of large numbers of gang members being released from prison over the past few months. The department of correctional services said recently that about 20 000 prisoners are released every year after serving only half their sentences, sometimes even less, as part of the early parole programme.