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/ 17 December 2007

ANC hopes to start voting on Monday

The African National Congress’s Polokwane conference may deal with nominations for the party’s presidency late on Monday, according to a senior party official. The nomination process is expected to result in a head-to-head clash for the top post between party president Thabo Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma.

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/ 16 December 2007

Rhetoric, ambition and the ANC

There are moments in history when the future appears as a series of stark choices between life and death, good and evil, progress and regression. Such is the national mood as the ANC gathers at Polokwane. We might call it the end of post-apartheid innocence — something similar to what other African countries experienced after a decade or more of independence.

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/ 16 December 2007

ANC elections running late

The first day of the African National Congress’s (ANC) Polokwane conference ended abruptly just after 9.30pm on Sunday, without dealing with nominations for the party leadership. ANC national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota told delegates to come back on Monday, explaining there were ”a few details” the national executive committee wanted to tie up.

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/ 14 December 2007

German dads jump at chance to stay home with kids

German fathers are staying home with their newborn babies in unexpectedly high numbers in the first year of a generous government subsidy meant to boost the country’s low birth rate, officials said on Friday. Fathers accounted for about 10% of subsidy beneficiaries in the third quarter of this year, a major shift in the attitude of German men taking time off work.