Simon Caulkin in London It was trumpeted as the key to reducing unemployment. Everyone, just everyone, agreed: flexible working was A Good Thing. It was the wonder drug for good management. As with the medical variety, management wonder drugs all too often turn out to have nasty side effects. Indeed, sometimes the complications are worse […]

John Aglionby in Jakarta The future of the Indonesian economy hung in the balance this week as President Suharto refused to adhere to conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Suharto is risking the termination of the IMF lending programme as he continues to draw fire from the institution for establishing a currency […]

Diplomatic relations have all but broken down. In Washington earlier this month, Tony Blair’s most senior advisers ratcheted up the pressure. All-out war cannot be far away. For the British government has the enemy clear in its sights: it is the BBC. Labour fired off two heat-seeking missiles within 72 hours, as the prime minister’s […]

But health inspectors remain watchful, writes Wonder Hlongwa Durban health authorities are concerned about traditional healers’ hospitals which are springing up in the city and may not conform to health regulations. At the corner of Brand and Moore roads in Durban is a two-storey building belonging to Judas Milazi, a traditional healer who operates a […]

Lizeka Mda: CITY LIMITS In Diagonal Street shopkeepers give a good impression of being eager for your custom. None of the sulky reception here, nor the grudging service that one often gets in the fancier stores. “Come in and see,” touts urge from surprisingly – for Johannesburg – uncluttered pavements. And if you should be […]

to our cousins Scientist George Schaller wrote of gorillas: “The eyes have a language of their own – being subtle and of emotion that in no other visible way affects the expressions of the animal. I could see hesitation and uneasiness, curiosity and boldness and annoyance.” He believed it was impossible to observe other species, […]

Arguing about the rights and wrongs of cloning humans ignores the fact that it’s not technically possible at present, writes David Shapshak Sensationalising human cloning ignores the simple fact that, at the moment, it cannot be done. Claims last weekend that South Africa was ready to start cloning humans have not only been met with […]

Ann Eveleth Fresh legal action has been launched by 20 South African workers against chemical giant Thor. The workers are claiming unspecified damages from the corporation’s United Kingdom parent company, Thor Chemical Holdings Ltd, for ailments arising from chronic mercury poisoning allegedly sustained during their employment at Thor’s Cato Ridge mercury-processing plant in KwaZulu-Natal. Lephila […]

Wally Mbhele Former minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok will be called to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty hearing of 10 security policemen who claim they are responsible for the chilling murder of prominent anti-apartheid activist Stanza Bopape. TRC sources this week could not confirm if Judge Louis Harms – who […]

Neve Gordon in Indiana We had just left the headquarters of Arthur Andersen, a consulting and accounting firm that employs more than 50 000 people, as I said to my friend: “The proof is in the cubicle.” In 1996, short of space, Arthur Andersen had relocated to a nicer building in downtown Chicago. Many of […]