MATHEW HORSMAN

When chief executives leave their posts early - without another job to go to and a stack of out of the money options - the reasons presented through official lines rarely bear a great deal of scrutiny. The old baloney about wanting to spend time on other interests or their families is simply code for poor old Smithers not being up to the job.

EMMA DALY

August can be an excitable month for politicians and journalists. Yesterday saw claims that Labour is retreating on its commitment to a referendum on voting reform. This follows earlier changes on plans for regional government and reform of the House of Lords. Are Labour's modernisers being routed?

Lawrence Spivak, broadcaster, died Washington 9 March, aged 93. Built a reputation for tough questioning as originator and moderator of NBC's Sunday news show Meet the Press, 1947-75.

UNTIL now the law has been fairly even-handed in its treatment of gypsies. It recognises the suspicion and hostility that nomadic life arouses in the majority who live in houses. But it also values the right of gypsies to pursue a lifestyle, rich in culture, that has survived for centuries.

FOR 10 years Paris has been famous for its grands projets - the Louvre Pyramid, the Grande Arche at La Defense, the park at La Villette - memorable three-dimensional advertisements for the city's cultural strength and the president's patronage. Now, with the electoral rout of the Socialists, the future flow of new monuments is in doubt.

September and January are the busiest months for divorce lawyers. Couples finally give up the struggle of pretending that normal family life can continue - possibly after a disastrous make-or-break holiday or a Christmas spent closeted with in-laws - and they decide to separate.