fiction Jeremy Cronin: Crossfire During the past months there has been kite- flying around the idea of a merger between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party. Peter Mokaba, in the flurry of interventions he made prior to the ANC annual conference in December, punted the idea. The IFP’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi slapped down […]

Dr Nina Simone is not a woman to mess with. Her first love was classical piano, but she was forced into jazz and soul. Forty years on, her music is as potent a political weapon as ever. Michael Bracewell spoke to the diva Back in 1987, when the regenerated town centres of boom-economy Britain could […]

Mercedes Sayagues Swaziland’s claims on land south of Maputo bolstered supporters of Mozambique’s decision last year to reintroduce compulsory military service. Mozambique, one of the world’s five poorest countries, will recruit 6 000 young men and women every year to strengthen its army. The military service Bill was pushed through Parliament by the ruling party […]

THURSDAY, 6.00PM: THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange struggled for direction on Friday, tussling with profit taking. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s adjustments appropriations speech in Parliament was generally well received by the market. The all gold index lost 11,6 points to close at 823,8 while the industrial index fell 23,2 points to a 7 823,9 close. The […]

Government’s hands-off approach has ensured an economic success story, writes Tim Trulock For 27 years, the former president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, nationalised not only the large flagship companies, but also many small, nickel-and-dime operations. The government became the major shareholder in Zambia and then proceeded to run it into the ground, destroying not only […]

At 27, Paul Thomas Anderson is winning plaudits with Boogie Nights, about the early days of blue movies. Jonathan Romney meets the man who has made Burt Reynolds hip again Hollywood in the late nineties is more than ever committed to child’s play, to effects- laden nursery diversions designed to make grown-up money. No wonder […]

Mandela claims crime is waning, but criminal syndicates could be gaining strength, writes David Beresford South Africa appears to be teetering on the brink of the nightmare of crime which is reality for Russia and Colombia, in the wake of the recent heists and the controversy surrounding this country’s so-called “public enemy no 1”, Collin […]

Andrew Higgins As banks wobble and crash across Asia, a sparkling, futuristic structure is rising on the Avenue of Eternal Peace in Beijing. It is a grandiose declaration of confidence by China’s biggest commercial bank. But the edifice stands on unsteady foundations. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)is, by any reckoning, a wreck. […]

trade David Sharrock in Tangier Ask any teenage northern Moroccan male what his future will be and he will tell you he has three options: to escape across the sea to Europe; become a contraband dealer; or get into the hashish trade and end up either rich or in prison. Mohamed, who has tried all […]

The Mail & Guardian announces two new features. From this week we are launching a new political column, Crossfire, which is to be written on a rotational basis by some of the leading commentators in the country. In the first Crossfire, Jeremy Cronin asks under what conditions a merger between the African National Congress and […]