19 August 2002

From the Editor…

Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly

Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

Cover story

Prison can be the right place for kids

When Angela Neustatter talked to young offenders, she was startled at how many found the security of being locked up a welcome escape from their chaotic lives

By Angela Neustatter

Features

Swaziland's conquering heroines

By Richard Dowden

As world leaders descend on southern Africa to debate global ills, the continent faces its greatest ever catastrophe. Richard Dowden talks to HIV-positive women determined to change the world before they die

Paving the way for the Red Brigades

By John Lloyd

The economy is failing, unemployment is up. No wonder Italians are losing patience with Silvio Berlusconi. But beware what could come in his wake, writes John Lloyd

Essay

NS Essay - Happy to be handcuffed by the state

By John Gray

Liberals refuse to accept that the greatest threat to freedom comes not from an over-mighty government but one that is too weak to guarantee its citizens' safety

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Cheap airline tickets cost the earth

Darcus Howe despairs of ethnic prejudices

By Darcus Howe

Authoritarians who speak for themselves, but not for their people

Competition

Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store

Culture

Behind the scenes at the museum

By David Puttnam

British galleries have thrown off their fusty image and ought to be entering a golden age. But resources are urgently needed to invest in the successes of recent years