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Geopolitics Mandela, Adieu

Mandela Family Battle Brewing Over Name, Inheritance

JOHANNESBURG — “As long as he’s alive, his family members still refrain, but you’ll see when he passes away …” Earlier this year, a man close to several of Nelson Mandela’s relatives told Le Monde of his fear that the unity displayed during the moments of reverence around South Africa’s global icon of reconciliation, would […]

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Geopolitics

Praying For Mandela In Soweto, Birthplace Of Apartheid Revolt

Forty years after government killings here sparked the militant anti-Apartheid movement, the ailing grandfather of modern South Africa is a reminder not to return to the past.

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Geopolitics

Ukraine Arrests, Pistorius “Besotted,” Dinodog

“COUNTERTERRORISM” UNDERWAY IN EAST UKRAINE The Ukrainian police arrested 70 pro-Russian protesters who were occupying government buildings in the eastern city of Kharkiv as part of what acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described as “a counterterrorism operation,” Ria Novosti reports. According to Reuters, the standoff continues in Luhansk and Donetsk. VERBATIM“I was besotted,” Oscar Pistorius […]

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Society

The Tragic Fall Of Oscar Pistorius, A Modern-Day Icarus

The Greek tragedy featured man-made wings melting under the sun. In South Africa, the bladerunner may have gotten too close to the gods as well.

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Geopolitics

While Zuma Sings And Dances, South Africa Pays The Price

PRETORIA – Jacob Zuma sang in the choir when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island in the 1970s. South Africa’s president has a remarkable voice, and these days he uses it particularly effectively during election campaigns. Not necessarily when he gives speeches (he tends to read these) but in the songs he sings; […]

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Geopolitics

Mandela Memorial, Kiev Cleared, China Hackers

MANDELA MEMORIAL TODAY • Mourners gathered for former South African leader Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in rainy Soweto today. • In his remarks at the memorial, President Barack Obama characterized Mandela as “a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.” • Notably, and in […]

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Society

Poor South Africans Living On Toxic Remains Of Defunct Gold Mines

MOGALE CITY – Patience Pumlangadu’s black skin is now a yellowish color. “I put this powder on my face to protect it from the sun,” explains the South African mother of three. Pumlangadu makes this sun protection herself by mixing water with bits of crushed rock she says are “good for your health.” But in […]

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Economy

Pirate Gold Mining Thrives In The Remnants Of South Africa’s Boom Times

WELKOM – It’s a small open-air factory, impossible to spot from the road. You have to go into Thabong, the township in Welkom, three hours south of Johannesburg, to discover it in an old mining town in the G-Hostel, where a dozen workers are clustered, busy transforming rocks into gold. Behind the apparent disorder hides […]

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