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/ 13 November 2006
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
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
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
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
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
”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.
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/ 13 November 2006
Having just been given yet another year in office — albeit with slightly diluted powers — Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is quickly becoming Africa’s Houdini. Until mid year, the chance that Gbagbo would be given a second extension of his already prolonged mandate was considered unlikely. However, this is exactly what African leaders eventually called for and what the United Nations Security Council agreed to when it passed Resolution 1721 late last month.
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/ 13 November 2006
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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/ 12 November 2006
”I’m not here to see the dead white one — I’m waiting for the black one,” said a coloured woman as she draped herself over the Dutch Reformed Church wall next to bored-looking policemen patrolling the perimeter and gates of the church grounds. It’s PW Botha’s funeral in George and a woman selling McDonald’s burgers in the shop next to the Moeder Kerk says quietly: ”It’s a pity those Boere only eat koeksisters and not burgers after their funeral. Even at his funeral PW spoils the fun.”
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/ 12 November 2006
Local broadband provider iBurst is an affordable, strong performer in both the fixed and mobile markets, according to a recent consumer guide prepared by broadband activist group MyADSL and the University of Johannesburg. The guide was based on results derived from a number of performance tests conducted by users in real world and laboratory conditions.