News: March 2007 Archives
Giraffe
Jonathan Ledgard's first novel, Giraffe, is a strange and compelling tale set in the communist Czechoslovakia of the 1970s. The story, with its savage climax, about a herd of giraffes captured in Africa and transported to a Czechoslovak zoo is......more
Fires of Helmand
I had often wondered what it would be like to be pitched from the warm, sleep inducing sightless world of an armoured personnel carrier straight out the door into a fire fight. The moment arrived on the west bank of......more
Kitbag: Jane Kokan
Jane Kokan is an independent news and documentary director/ reporter/ camera woman specialising in the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Iran, SE Asia and Africa working for a variety of international broadcasters. Often her films were made in extremely......more
The US press bites back
The recent Washington Post exposé by Dana Priest and Anne Hull of the egregious treatment of wounded troops at the military showcase Walter Reed hospital brought back memories of the aggressive watchdog coverage of the past for many.The subsequent efforts......more
Afghanistan diary
In a ten day combat reconnaissance mission last week the Royal Marines of 'J' Company, 42 Commando, pushed into the Pashtun heartland of northern Helmand, the traditional bastion of the Taliban insurgency. Weaving between the towns of Sangin, Naw Zad......more
Economical with the truth
At the end of an IMF assessment mission to Zimbabwe last month, the IMF team leader remarked on the parlous state of Zimbabwe's economy. He noted that inflation is the highest in the world, at 1600 percent, that 80 percent......more
Intifada: The Long Day of Rage (1)
The first boy was shot at around three o'clock. He was carried past, trying to be brave but sobbing with the pain of his shattered elbow. The next was shot 15 minutes later. The third was shot about 45 minutes......more
Intifada: The Long Day of Rage (2)
In the foreword to this perceptive and timely book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, David Pratt notes that amid the hatred and bitterness it has generated over the decades, both warring communities cling resolutely to "their respective narratives of victimhood." Put......more
Inside Out - March 07
When Gary Knight and Rod Nordland appeared at the Frontline Club in February, they were just back from a Newsweek assignment in Darfur. Gary's pictures and Rod's narrative reminded us what a humanitarian crisis Darfur remains and how the situation......more
In Memoriam: Danny McGrory (1952 - 2007)
The Coroner said Danny McGrory had an unusually big heart. All his friends knew that - he was one of the most generous of colleagues, someone you were always pleased to be away with, reassuring personally and professionally.To those at......more