Published in the Daily Mail (January 13th, 2011) The rows of tents seem to stretch on for ever, a symbol of Haiti’s hopelessness. Each one has been home […]
Travel / United States / World
Mississippi yearning: driving down America’s Great River Road
Published in The Guardian (December 4th, 2010) As we nudged the Mustang on to the vast metal bridge spanning the Mississippi, a glorious sunset broke behind us, shading […]
United States
This award is premature – and potentially very foolish
Published in The Independent (October 10th, 2009) When Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the American humourist Tom Lehrer declared that political satire was […]
Education / Policy / United States / World
Lessons from the flood
Published in The Sunday Telegraph (September 12, 2010) Five years ago, America was struggling to come to terms with the destruction of New Orleans. The nation was stunned […]
Arts / Books / Kashmir
Caught in the crossfire
Published in The Spectator (July 24th, 2010) Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer (Harper Press) Maqbool Sheikh dreaded hearing a knock at the door of his home. For he […]
Haiti / World
Throw open our doors to Haitians
Published in The Independent (January 28th, 2010) Two weeks on, and they are still pulling people from the living hell of entombment in the rubble of Port-au-Prince. Each […]
Aid / Haiti
Death, disaster and a shocking reality
Published in The Independent (January 16th, 2010) Around the world, presidents and prime ministers mouth platitudes about sharing the pain of Haiti. But they should consider a simple […]
Afghanistan / World
False hopes and phoney democracy
Published in The Independent (July 15th, 2009) And so the charade begins once again. A state ripped apart by war, poverty and corruption promises to hold elections, and […]
Travel / United States / World
Virginia and Maryland: On the trail of the lonesome pine
Published in The Independent (September 24th, 2005) First there was the twang of country music, which turned out to be an apposite version of “Take Me Home, Country […]
Sri Lanka / Travel
The calm after the storm
Published in The Independent (March 26th, 2005) The two elderly ladies, with their blue rinses and bubble-perms, were explaining how they ended up going on holiday to Sri […]