John Glover in Milan THE privatisation of Stet, Italy’s telecom group, originally set for next March, now seems certain to be delayed. Meanwhile, IRI, the giant state holding company of which premier Romano Prodi was twice president and which controls Stet, is sliding fast toward disaster. Preventing IRI from going over the edge is vital. […]

In Cape Town NAT ZENO reports on a much- hyped project to film South Africa’s ravers as drug-free, eco-friendly Generation X-ers THERE are two sides to any story and it is easy to criticise, but when sitting in film producer Chris Roland’s office listening to him wax eloquent about “the project”; you are drawn by […]

The new Labour Court’s president says the Public Works Department’s motto should be `we do not serve; we sleep’, report Marion Edmunds and Mungo Soggot THE Judge President of South Africa’s new Labour Court, Judge John Myburgh, has slammed the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and has savaged the government for ineptitude in implementing the new […]

voters’ cards Anthony Kunda in Lusaka THE Zambian government has sworn it will prosecute former president Kenneth Kaunda in the face of upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on November 18. Kaunda has been holding rallies around the country in the last week, asking people to turn their voters’ registration cards over to his party, so […]

Eddie Koch SAKKIE VAN NIEKERK had just spotted Willie, who had caused a bit of bother by hiding in a thick copse of trees on the farm near Pretoria, and was getting ready to fire a dart packed with powerful sedatives into his backside. “Well, wouldn’t you also hide away if you were going to […]

to Minister of Land Affairs Derek Hanekom went to KwaZulu-Natal to give away land, but it turned out to be no easy task, as this week’s guest writer Pippa Green discovered WE are shooting north up the mountain pass to the dusty outpost of Jozini, which overlooks the shimmering plains of the Makathini Flats stretching […]

Glynis O’Hara `MUSIC never made violence or a vandal,” says Lord Yehudi Menuhin, visiting South Africa to perform as part of a world tour celebrating his 80th birthday. The violinist and musical ambassador handed over 200 child-size violins for the South African Music Education Trust (Samet) training programmes to President Nelson Mandela (right) at a […]

AT stake in this week’s court battle over the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s (IBA) recent licencing process is more than the question of the rightful buyer of Radio Jacaranda. Hanging in the balance is the authority and credibility of the IBA, already damaged by the admission that they were inquorate when they made crucial privatisation decisions. […]

Stefaans Brmmer AS African leaders met in Nairobi this week to discuss the rapidly worsening crisis in the Great Lakes Region, South Africa’s envoy, Welile Nhlapo, had to sit outside and wait. The summit on Tuesday, attended by the presidents or prime ministers of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, and by Organisation of […]

Paul Webster in Paris INTERNATIONAL efforts to get a reluctant Mobutu Sese Seko to return to Zaire from his Riviera villa increased this week when he was asked to co-operate with French plans for a multi-national force to protect refugees in eastern Zaire. President Jacques Chirac is trying to persuade Zaire’s president, convalescing after surgery […]