Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH The news that American farmers have filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Monsanto, for introducing “potentially dangerous genetically modified (GM) seeds to world markets without adequate testing”, couldn’t have come at a better time. Following so hot on the heels of the “Battle of Seattle”, the lawsuit signals that the […]

If the world does end on December 31, at least it will be having a good time. Christina Goumeas and Marthali Brand survey the globe’s millennial celebrations The first permanently inhabited place to see in the millennium officially is Pitt Island, part of the Chatham Islands, 850km east of New Zealand. Just 55 people, thousands […]

Sudan Mohamed Osman in Khartoum Sudanese president Omar el-Bashir on Sunday declared a three-month state of emergency, and state-run television said he was dissolving Parliament. Bashir said:”There are dangers against the country from abroad, and internal problems that will aggravate the country’s problems will not be allowed. In order to preserve the unity of the […]

A war’s being waged in Durban, writes Alex Sudheim of the Battle of the Bands Having witnessed the unspooling drama of Durban’s seminal Battle of the Bands from the various perspectives of contender, manager, spectator, judge and now journalist, I must say the view from each hill is remarkably different. As contender I got pissed […]

democracy SERGEANT AT THE BAR Politicians do not like limits placed upon their power. They have a vision, whether fuelled by greed or

Hutu detainees are fighting disease and hunger in concentration camps, while the Burundi army blocks attacks on the capital, writes Chris McGreal Josephine Ntahuga fears her son is dead. He was among 350 000 Hutus herded by Burundi’s army into dozens of camps beyond the capital, Bujumbura. Then he vanished. The army said he must […]

Kit Peel Linda Shaw’s Horoscope 2000, published last month, reveals a neurotic, feminine country in the hands of a man of overwhelming masculinity – a virile, dominant man handling a country with very low self- esteem. It’s Cosmopolitan magazine meets the cosmos, and it’s a lot of fun. Little Miss South Africa, let us call […]

Behind the beautiful, graceful film installations that won this year’s Turner Prize, hides an unassuming, bear-likeman. And, surprise, surprise, he hates talking about his art. Sabine Durrant reports To reach Steve McQueen’s Turner Prize- winning entries at the Tate, you have to walk through the rest of the shortlist first. Past Tracy Emin’s bed, onlookers […]

Channel vision As any year draws to a close it is usual for columns, such as this one, to be devoted to retrospection. What was the best and worst television of the past year? Fortunately such solemn assessments will not be my responsibility this year. This is because my various deep moles in the halls […]

David Le Page It has been announced that the Internet, which is changing the way we work, play and seek sex, will also save the world. At least, it will slow down the United States’s generous and unstinting contributions to global warming. This is the finding of a report from the Centre for Energy and […]