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/ 30 October 2006
Almost a pensioner now, he was in town for a brief visit to catch up with old buddies and maybe see some sights, just like any other tourist from the United States. Over breakfast at his hotel his hosts filled him in on their news, which was not especially good, and afterwards he strolled through the war monument at Plaza de la Paz.
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/ 30 October 2006
The equity markets are breaking new records and the party has only begun. No, sorry, they have peaked and could be looking at a sharp correction … Anyone could be confused by the conflicting messages coming from market pundits. The only things we can be certain of are that the JSE and Wall Street are hitting new highs and that no one is sure what the next move is going to be.
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/ 30 October 2006
Plans for a global fund to help contain rainforest destruction and slash carbon emissions will be unveiled next month by the Brazilian government. The project, by which rich nations would offer financial incentives to developing countries that combat deforestation, will be announced at a convention on climate change in Nairobi.
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/ 30 October 2006
Audit reports for the past year indicate continued high levels of financial mismanagement and poor compliance with reporting procedures, Auditor General Shauket Fakie told members of Parliament recently. Compared with seven in the previous financial year, 11 departments received qualifications, meaning their reports were inadequate.
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/ 30 October 2006
The Zimbabwean government appears determined to extradite suspected mercenary Simon Mann to Equatorial Guinea, however, it is being hamstrung by the country’s inefficient legal system. Mann’s fate is still hanging in the balance and lawyers in the Attorney General’s office confirmed that "they were putting their papers together.
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/ 30 October 2006
Until two weeks ago, Tom Thabane was Lesotho’s minister of communication. Except for a three-year stint when he was living in South Africa, Thabane has served in every post-independence Lesotho government, either as a senior public official or as a Cabinet minister. Thabane had been seen as the heir apparent to Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, but was sidelined in a recent Cabinet reshuffle.
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/ 30 October 2006
Anglo American broke firmly with its colonial recently, appointing an outsider and woman, Cynthia Carroll, as chief executive. The announcement surprised many as Anglo has a tradition of appointing insiders who are familiar with the company’s corporate culture and history.
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/ 30 October 2006
To reach the heart of Venezuela’s agrarian revolution you drive west of Caracas towards the Andes, deep into tropical countryside where it is always hot, and stop at the end of a dirt track where a sign reads Mixta Aracal. As far as the eye can see rolls a patchwork of fields, maize, bananas, black beans, tomatoes, dotted with some stooping figures in red T-shirts, and some tractors from China and Iran.
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/ 30 October 2006
The hope that years of strife and stand-off may be giving way to a more inclusive and participatory Aids policy cannot come a moment too soon. It is particularly important to ask how the mixed messages of the government and its conflicts with civil society exacerbate fears and beliefs about antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
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/ 30 October 2006
Africa’s political leaders are being offered a $5-million prize and a stipend for life if they do not plunder the national coffers or rig elections. Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are backing the initiative to be formally launched in London this week by a foundation started by a Sudanese-born telecom tycoon, Mo Ibrahim.