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 […]
Europe / Iceland
It is counter-productive to humiliate another nation
Published in The Independent (January 7th, 2010) Sitting amid the trawlers in Reykjavik harbour is a solitary gunboat, a reminder of what happened when Britain and Iceland last […]
Economics
The economist who got it right
Published in The Independent (January 6th, 2010) As we stand on the cusp of this new decade, shivering in the snow and contemplating a general election in a […]
Europe / Iceland / Travel
The island at the heart of the world
Published in The Independent (December 26th, 2009) My hands were freezing as we lumbered across the lava fields, swaddled in several layers of clothing, clad in thick neoprene […]
Africa / Rwanda
The dark shadows that stain the new darling of Africa
Published in The Independent (November 27th, 2009) There are few things that unite Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, but one of them is Rwanda. All three […]
Health / Policy
It is patients who will end up losing out
Published in The Independent (November 13th, 2009) Nurses are the lifeblood of the health service. Without good people on the medical front line, all the technological breakthroughs, genetic […]
Disability
Mind your language: words can cause terrible damage
Published in The Independent (November 6th, 2009) Racism was rife in the playgrounds of my youth. It seems incredible looking back, but if someone would not share their […]
Travel
24-Hour Room Service: Margutta 54, Rome
Published in The Independent (October 31st, 2009) The plan seemed simple. A couple of days in Paris, then the overnight train to Rome followed by a day showing […]