As we go to press

October 9: With about 75,000 South African miners on strike in the gold and platinum sectors, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s biggest platinum producer, has fired 12,000 striking miners for not appearing before disciplinary hearings. The striking Amplats miners are defying the dismissals and vowing to continue the strike until their demands are met. One of the strike leaders declared, “If the mine is going to dismiss us, no one is going to work at the mine.”