Trade union and government negotiators in the public service remain light years away from a settlement, raising the real prospect of another pay strike involving up to a million public servants next week. "This is not a fight that we are going to end up losing," said Fikile Hugo. "It may take us the three years of the intended three-year agreement, but it’s something we will pursue."
Far from rescuing our economy, as Robin Friedland suggests, "Old King Coal" (<i>Mail & Guardian</i>) is an obstacle to a rational energy policy and public-interest electricity pricing. Friedland’s justification of more coal-fired power stations ignores energy efficiency, including conservation, and fails to distinguish between energy costs and market prices, writes Richard Worthington.
Researchers in Europe have identified a handful of mosquito genes which the Science and Development Network says could be crucial in the control of the strain of malaria common in Africa. Focusing on the go-between — the mosquito — rather than the human victim could be the key, the team says. ”We now see a way to potentially stop the parasite in its tracks,” says a researcher.
While Jake White busies himself growing back some hair, he has earned the right to carve this motto above his dressing room mirror: “I told you so”. The Springbok coach has earned instant celebrity status by guiding his team to the Tri-Nations trophy merely by keeping his own counsel and backing his own judgement.
You’ve got to love this guy Jose Mourinho. The new Chelsea boss, who guided Porto to supremacy in Portugal, just doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. With Roman Abramovich’s open chequebook at Chelsea, he has no choice but to achieve European dominance by next May.
So now we know. Arsenal, 3-0 winners against Blackburn on Wednesday night, really are the best team in Britain, if not the universe. Yes, Nottingham Forest’s 42-game unbeaten record lies shattered, the goals are flowing and Thierry Henry appears to have forged a partnership with young Spaniard Jose Reyes.
Gabriel Heinze, Manchester United’s costly yet elusive off-season signing, is running the serious risk of causing irreparable damage to his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson after the latest breakdown in contact between the Argentinian international and his increasingly irritated manager.
The lure of Old Trafford is simply too strong for most players and Sir Alex Ferguson invariably gets his man. Should they edge nearer to Everton’s valuation of Wayne Rooney ahead of the closure of the transfer window, the 18-year-old will surely be wearing a red shirt by the time he has recovered from the metatarsal fracture sustained at Euro 2004.
While a breakneck Arsenal overtake rivals in the record books, let’s hear it for the slowcoach. Even in his youth Dennis Bergkamp did not specialise in outstripping opponents and now that he is 35 the Dutchman is more suited than ever to being the still point in a side of incorrigible sprinters.
Imagine that you juxtaposed photographs taken in the late Eighties, one of Ronald Reagan, the other of Frank Williams, one showing an intense scowling figure, the other a light-hearted joker. Eminent historian Frank Mclynn indicts the dour and ruthless head of the Williams team.