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. […]

Lynda Gledhill While a nurse’s job is to heal the sick, mending the profession’s racial wounds is proving difficult. The recently formed Democratic Nursing Association of South Africa is struggling to overcome the still-prevalent problem of racism, especially in private hospitals. “These places are still predominately white,” said the association’s president, Philda Nomusa Dudu Nzimande. […]

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 […]

Belinda Beresford The news that 20% of the world’s silver supply had been bought by one company has the potential drama of a Hollywood script, especially since the last time someone tried to make a serious killing on the metal they lost about $1-billion. And the protagonists, Warren Buffett and his company Berkshire Hathaway, have […]

Mail & Guardian reporter Tony O’Reilly spends as he earns – liberally. When the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis came under the hammer at Sotheby’s two years ago, O’Reilly paid $2,6- million for a 40-carat diamond engagement ring given to the former first lady by Aristotle Onassis. The former Ireland rugby star-turned-ketchup king was last […]

Monica Hilton-Barber : Slice of life The golden glow of goodwill between different South Africans may have dimmed and the initial dream of racial integration become more distant since the initial euphoria following the elections four years ago. But the rainbow is still bright and beautiful in many parts of the country. Number 23 Van […]

Mail&Guardian reporter THE third bidder for a private television licence comes under the spotlight today. Station for the Nation (SFTN) will be questioned on its bid which is led by Gladwin Marumo with the controlling consortium pulled together largely by the Thebe Investment Corporation, one of the country’s leading black investment holdings companies. That gives […]

football Alex Duval Smith In a world where a single transfer fee for a top football player could save the economy of a small country, it seems almost inconceivable for one of the poorest nations on the planet, Burkina Faso, to be organising a major soccer championship. But as the African Nations Cup play-offs gather […]