113I oliticians are extremely expensive to 1. the country, and for that expense we expect a return. It is therefore very annoy- ing to hear that Mr Michael Heseltine is...

A ripeness man Colin Welch few post-Franks reflections. One is that Michael Foot, though Leader of the Opposition, can't lead the Opposition in the House. In a debate like...

T suppose that there is no chance of stop- -L ping the extension to the National Gallery? Judging from experience of new buildings since the war it will be hideous. It may...

• UK Eire Surface mail Air mail 6 months: E15.50 1R£17.75 £18.50 £24.50 One year: £31.00 1RE35.50 E37.00 £49.00 US subscription price: $65.00 (Cheques to be made payable to...

Pity the poor Filipinas Auberon Waugh Manila J ournalists attending the second — and possibly last — Manila International Film Festival have been asking themselves whether...

Bohdan Nahaylo 'D isarmament — Complete Deadlock at Geneva — A Barren Year'. These were the headlines in the Manchester Guar- dian 50 years ago, shortly after the Disar- nament...

Richard West T he expulsion by Nigeria of nearly two million Ghanaians is far more brutal and dangerous than the expulsion from Ghana, in 1969, of 250,000 aliens, most of them...

Sam White Paris A couple of weeks ago the principal leader of the Opposition, Jacques Chirac, created a brief stir following an off- the-record chat with American correspon-...

James Hughes-Onslow W estern Australia is currently pro- moting itself, on car number plates among other things, as the State of Excite- ment. The intrepid Perth motorist is...

Andrew Brown Stockholm I f you can learn about a country from its scandals, this has been a revealing week. From the municipality of Stockholm to the Mafia and the KGB,...

The contest for Haddingtonshire, vacated by the succession of Lord Elcho to the Earldom of Wemyss, comes off on Monday, and is likely to be a close one. The Tory candidate is Mr...