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/ 4 November 2005
Reading through some magazines in the dentist’s waiting room the other day, I suddenly realised what is lacking in the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>. What this newspaper needs is something to set off its level of formidably prescient and relevant journalism, something to mollify its incisive comment.
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/ 4 November 2005
Syria is facing its greatest challenge for more than 20 years, a crisis that may bring down the Damascus regime — yet the ultimate dilemma for the country as a whole is that, at a time when the regime’s survival is threatened, there is no credible opposition ready to take power.
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/ 4 November 2005
Lewis ”Scooter” Libby, the vice-presidential adviser who helped build the United States case for the Iraq war, stood before a judge on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to five counts in total, including lying to a grand jury, making false statements to federal investigators and obstruction of justice.
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/ 4 November 2005
Like tinsel in the shops and Christmas carols on the radio, an increase in cash-in-transit heists signals the onset of the festive season. The recent spike in such robberies — there were 13 across the country this week — reflects the growing volume of cash being transported in South Africa’s major cities as the Christmas shopping season looms, say experts.
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/ 4 November 2005
United States President George Bush left his problems at home on Thursday only to find himself flying into a whole new world of hurt at the Summit of Americas in Argentina, where tens of thousands of protesters, led by the football star and broadcaster Diego Maradona, were due to greet the president in a "say no to Bush" march.
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/ 4 November 2005
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla is to advise the government on how to respond to a report detailing abuse of the Iraq oil-for-food programme — while her party, using her daughter’s law firm, is suing the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> for publishing similar facts.
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/ 4 November 2005
Giant French defence company Thales is set to be charged alongside Jacob Zuma when the provisional indictment against the former deputy president is delivered. Charging Thint strengthens the state’s case against Jacob Zuma and adds to the legal pressures facing parent company Thales.
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/ 4 November 2005
The theatre around who is to succeed President Thabo Mbeki in the African National Congress involves a formidable political cast, comprising not only the president and his deputy, but also almost every significant figure in South Africa’s ruling political hierarchy.
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/ 4 November 2005
The final version of the first phase of the codes of good practice for black economic empowerment address a few contentious issues, but leave many questions unanswered. The codes clarify concerns around the measurement of bonus points, the issue of whether pension funds’ indirect equity holdings count as empowerment, and the so-called flow-through principle.
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/ 4 November 2005
It was noble of Visdorp mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo to tell last week’s council meeting that urgent steps must be taken to end racism and intolerance; but things went pear-shaped when she started bemoaning the shortage of engineers in the OR Tambo municipality. This district, she said, has only one engineer "and he is not even South African". Clearly the good mayor has forgotten about one Blackman Ngoro, an engineer of sorts, who wasn’t South African either.