Globetrotting for his new book Eat the Rich, America’s favourite rightwing iconoclast found laughter in squalor and corruption everywhere. PJO’Rourke speaks to the Mail & Guardian Eat the Rich contrasts different economic systems around the world. What gave you the idea? I wanted to find out why some countries are so rich and others are […]

Ken Daniels Horse racing Picking a Fort Wood horse to win a feature race is about as easy as predicting that the price of alcohol and cigarettes will go up in the budget. After picking off three of the four choice plums in the Cape racing feature season, the Mike de Kock/Weichong Mawing combination returns […]

THERE is a link between the El Nio weather phenomenon and deadly horse epidemics in South Africa, British scientists said this week. In an article published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, researchers from the Institute of Animal Health said that climate changes resulting from El Nio caused a population explosion of the biting midge, […]

Martin Jacques EAST AND WEST by Chris Patten (Macmillan) This is a book in at least three parts. In fact, it often feels more like a collection of essays than a coherent ensemble. But a common polemical thread runs through the book: it might have been entitled Patten’s Revenge. During his spell in Hong Kong, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Friday 10.30am. OIL giant Shell will next week launch the world’s first large scale commercial solar electrification project which will eventually bring power to 50000 homes in the Eastern Cape. President Nelson Mandela will attend the inauguration of the scheme in the Bipa area on February 24, pulling the switch on […]

Andy Capostagno Rugby There is a theory which states that northern hemisphere rugby will only improve if it changes its playing season to coincide with that of the southern hemisphere. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. (This paragraph with apologies to Douglas Adams). For how else can we explain the […]

FORMER Rwandan health minister Casimir Bizimungu has been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of war crimes and will be moved to the International Criminal Tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, a tribunal spokesperson said on Friday. “He has not been accused but he is a suspect,” spokesperson Kingsley Moghalu said. The court was set up by the […]

market Mail & Guardian reporter The Mail & Guardian’s circulation grew by 6% between the last six months of 1997 and the last six months of 1998, as quality niche publications bucked the trend of declining newspaper circulations throughout the country. According to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures, the M&G sold an average […]

The bright lights of Hillbrow are still luring visitors from all over the world. Emeka Nwandiko sampled its pleasures The crown jewels of South Africa’s tourism are the “big five” at Kruger National Park, the majestic Table Mountain with its beaches below, the Drakensburg region and Hillbrow. Hillbrow? The densely populated inner city suburb where […]

the Congo Howard Barrell The Angolan government has withdrawn most of its forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks, because they are needed in the war against Unita. This leaves Congolese President Laurent Kabila’s regime dangerously exposed to a new rebel offensive. Angola has pulled back troops, air support and logistics. This […]