BENIN has sought Nigeria’s support in its bid to host the headquarters of a proposed west African gas pipeline project. Four west African countries – Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – are participating in the project being implemented by west African regional grouping ECOWAS. – AFP

Zapiro distills the hopes and fears of the nation in his cartoons. Jane Rosenthal visited him in his studio The studio of Jonathan Shapiro, known to the nation as the cartoonist Zapiro, has the feel of a real workplace. It is dominated by an unpretentious “mid-century” architectural drawing table with pulley-operated parallel rule and custom-made […]

Cedric Mayson spirit level Faith comes in two versions. There is faith as a focus and faith as a force, faith that imparts knowledge and faith that imparts experience, faith that informs your thinking and faith that kicks you in the bum. Neither of them is limited to religion. Faith as a focus deals with […]

Tim Radford Life is what you make of it. Right now, what you make of it is money. You can isolate a length of DNA, describe it, make something inventive, propose a use, pay some money and claim it as yours at a patent office. Congratulations. You have joined the 21st-century gold rush. You have […]

Guy Clapperton A photographer who takes a picture retains the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. But if the picture is held electronically, international copyright law becomes null and void. Sounds ludicrous? Not according to Sygma, the French picture library that was recently acquired by Bill Gates’s picture giant, Corbis. The company […]

Guy Clapperton A photographer who takes a picture retains the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. But if the picture is held electronically, international copyright law becomes null and void. Sounds ludicrous? Not according to Sygma, the French picture library that was recently acquired by Bill Gates_s picture giant, Corbis. The company […]

It’s head-smashing, thumping, shaking time again. This year, like every year, you need to know how to get the better of a dreadful festive season hangover. Dehydration caused by the alcohol you consumed combined with the effects of congeners (the other ingredients and flavourings in drinks) cause the hangover. Some of them are natural to […]

Brenda Atkinson The Prophetic Nun by Guy Butler (Random) It’s not an easy task to review a book which, although evidently written as a work of great personal interest and passion, has (or so I imagine) limited appeal for most people. The Prophetic Nun is such a book. A well-researched document of the artistic and […]

Fiona Macleod THORNS TO KILIMANJARO by Ian McCallum (David Philip) On one level Thorns to Kilimanjaro is a tale of adventure about climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world; on another it is about a man’s quest to lay to rest a few bothersome personal ghosts. The main character, Hamish Malcolm, sets off to […]