Mail on Sunday

[ Former Iraqi Dictator... ]

FORMER Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has allegedly been attacked during an appearance at a court hearing in Baghdad. It is not known if he was injured by the assailant, who has not been identified. The clash is believed to have happened as the 68-year-old fallen president, left, was leaving the courtroom on Thursday, after being questioned about the brutal suppression of Kurdish and Shia uprisings in 1991.

[ He's Enjoying Holiday... ]

[ Just Two Months... ]

[ the Last Big... ]

THE last big break she had was to her ankle in a skiing accident in Switzerland earlier this year. But just when it appeared that presenter Anthea Turner had disappeared from our screens for good, I can reveal that the former GMTV golden girl is making a comeback. After reluctantly resigning herself to a life out of the limelight, tucked away in her Surrey mansion where she and husband Grant Bovey run their property business, Anthea, 45, has been asked to film a new BBC reality TV show.

Tv Dragon's Red Letter Crisis

Rivals Are Closing in On Mail Monopoly

HARD evidence that Royal Mail could lose swathes of Government business to private contractors has emerged with the revelation that two major Whitehall departments are planning trials of rival postal services. The Department for Work Pensions, with responsibility for a range of benefit payments, and the tax-collecting Revenue Customs are the two biggest Government users of postal services. Both are to test new systems within weeks.

Top Bosses Rapped in Mis-Selling Fiasco ; 'Get a Grip On Endowment Complaints' Warns the Fsa

THE bosses of building societies, banks and insurers that sell endowments have been ordered to take personal control of their complaints handling as part of a major clampdown by the Financial Services Authority in the mis-selling scandal. Financial Mail has seen a letter that is being sent to 80 chief executives in which the City watchdog warns that it holds them responsible for the way complaints are being handled.

Going for Gold ; South Africa's Economy Is Booming After the Apartheid Era. But Is It the Place for Investors to Strike It Rich?

Football-crazy South Africans are looking forward to hosting the World Cup in 2010 with more than the usual enthusiasm. But it is not only the prospect of seeing the planet's finest players that is fuelling their excitement. Crucially, it will inject huge impetus into much-needed improvements to infrastructure such as transport, electricity and water supplies.

City Fears Over Rbs China Plan

ROYAL Bank of Scotland is expected to confirm this week that it will take a Pounds 1.3 billion stake in Bank of China a move that concerns some City investors. Bank of China, the biggest in the country with 12,000 branches, is one of a number of state-owned banks being prepared for privatisation and stock market listings.

City Cautious As Sky Sales Hit Pounds 4bn Peak

BSkyB boss James Murdoch is poised to report record sales of more than Pounds 4 billion when he unveils full-year results on Thursday. The news comes only days after his younger brother Lachlan's shock resignation from their father's News Corporation media empire.

At Last Woolworths Sells Off Ailing Mvc ; After Four Months, High Street Giant to Name Buyer for Its Music and Dvd Outlets

WOOLWORTHS is about to announce the sale of MVC, its loss-making record and video shop chain. There could be a statement to the stock market as early as tomorrow. The business is being bought by a financial consortium led by Argyll Partners, a corporate finance boutique founded by Chris Steed, formerly head of retail for Deloitte Corporate Finance.

Key to the Future... Or Cream for the Fat Cats?

BLACK economic empowerment is a flagship policy of the ANC aimed at redistributing wealth and control from the white minority, which still dominates much of the economy. The policy is founded on a mix of social and economic measures guiding employment and the development and control of enterprise.

The Great Paper Chase Pays Dividends

MEDIA moguls are not always the most accessible of people. But on a recent three-day visit to South Africa, Gavin O'Reilly made himself available morning, noon and night. The chief operating officer of Independent News Media was in town to showcase what he considers one of the Irish publisher's most successful investments.

Curse of the Small Screen

THE floors of television studios are awash with the blood and tears of company bosses who wanted to be famous. The lucky ones get away with looking ridiculous. The more unfortunate find it can be the death knell for their careers.

Be Patient with Me, Pleads Tv Dragon Who Burned Herself

As one of the judges on the BBC's Dragons' Den, Rachel Elnaugh holds the fate of entrepreneurs in her hands. She decides whether their businesses receive funding or not, whether their dreams live or die. But this weekend, the 40-year-old businesswoman found herself on the receiving end. Amid speculation that top executives at her Red Letter Days gift experience company were in a crisis meetings deciding whether to pull the plug, Elnaugh hit back at 'scurrilous' rumour mongers for putting her ...

Fsa Wakeup Call for Cynical Bosses

Not before time, the Financial Services Authority has decided to call a halt to the abusive prevarication that has seen tens of thousands of endowment mortgage complainants hung out to dry by companies that missold them the product. Financial Mail has reported extensively on the shabby tactics and breathtaking cynicism deployed to dodge paying compensation where endowment policies were wrongly sold.

Cable Firm's Pounds 90m Sale

CRP, the maker of underwater cables for the offshore oil, telecoms and marine industries, is up for sale for as much as Pounds 90 million. The company, bought by Barclays Private Equity in 2000, has grown from a single office in 1974 to a business with operations stretching from northern England to America, Continental Europe, the Far East, India and Australia.

Olympics Battle of the Logos

BRITISH companies are already out of the starting blocks in the Pounds 450 million sponsorship race to win the best position for their logos at the 2012 London Olympics. Big names such as British Airways and BT, which backed the Olympic bid and may be hoping for an advantage in securing deals, could be in for a shock, according to George Hirthler, the international Olympics strategist who helped manage the successful bids for China and Canada.

Homing in On Cities

BRITISH investors are also taking a shine to South African property. It is estimated that up to 30,000 properties in Cape Town and the surrounding areas are owned by families whose main homes are in the UK and Europe.

An Engine for Investment...

South Africa is helping to fuel spectacular performance for UK investors who have their money in emerging markets funds. With 25 unit trusts and open ended investment companies (Oeics) available to UK savers, global emerging markets have beaten every other sector over both the past year and the past three years.