Mature economies are battling to expand rapidly; while this may mean nirvana for some theorists, it could spell hell for Britain’s Labour Party, writes Victor Keegan in London LOOSEN your seat belts, the world is slowing down. According to the latest figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the 15 economies of […]

Controversial film-maker Larry Clark is coming to SA to promote his film, Kids, reports CHARL BLIGNAUT ‘DAD, I’ve never seen anything like that before.” So said photographer and film- maker Larry Clark’s 12-year-old son after watching the premiere of his photographer father’s debut movie Kids. Hardly surprising, considering Kids is one of the most original […]

Stephen Bates in Brussels and Larry Elliott in London FEARS were growing in Brussels, Belgium, this week that Germany’s inability to tackle the costs of its mounting unemployment crisis could scupper the Maastricht timetable and delay the start of monetary union for at least a year. Despite official protestations that the single currency will happen […]

emerges Fay Davids IN the mining industry, the proof of the pudding is in productivity. And in an industry where production hit a 40-year low last year, the story of a newly qualified miner at Gengold’s Beatrix mine is inspiring. In a 24-shift month he achieved a face advance – the rate at which a […]

Holy hormones! The Preacher’s Wife has Whitney Houston renouncing sex in the bid for sainthood. JOHNATHAN ROMNEY is not happy THERE are many things to respect Whitney Houston for: Like the fact that her song I Will Always Love You is the number one favourite to be played at funerals; or her glacial composure when […]

The lineout Steve Tshwete will field in his match with Louis Luyt could include the Receiver of Revenue, reports Stuart Hess SPORTS Minister Steve Tshwete’s special task force will use alleged tax evasion, a charge with criminal implications, as the main thrust of its investigation into rugby supremo Louis Luyt. The Mail & Guardian established […]

NATIONAL Party leader FW de Klerk is juggling the chicken and the egg, and cannot decide between the two. The chicken is the current NP: it clucks about forming a “new new” National Party and scratching for dirt on the African National Congress, particularly in the backyards of the Western Cape, where it struts its […]

GLYNIS O’HARA speaks to the versatile Sibongile Mngoma, a young soprano who is riding the wave of opera in South Africa SUPERLATIVES fly for Sibongile Mngoma (25), the soprano whose voice has overwhelmed critics, conductors and the public. “I think she’s great,” says Robert Maxym, freelance American conductor and musician resident in South Africa. “She’s […]

South Africa’s brain drain Marion Edmunds SKILLED foreigners should be lured to South Africa to fill the gap left by the brain drain, according to research for an influential government task team on immigration. Social scientist Robin Cohen says official statistics have not adequately reflected the exodus of professionals with valuable skills from South Africa, […]

Nick Price had his first victory in 15 months last weekend, and he’s hoping it will be the first of many this year GOLF:Jon Swift THERE’S a new lady in Nick Price’s life. A fat one. And she has much to do with the Zimbabwean’s changing fortune in tournament play. The new fat lady is […]