Frontline Club bloggers
12 people killed during nightclub police raid
Reports are emerging this morning that 12 people, including three police officers, were killed yesterday during a police raid on the News Divine Nightclub in Mexico City. The capital’s police chief said hundreds of youths marking the end of the school year had panicked when police raided the News Divine club. He said there had […]
Congo’s Crumbling Castle
Dungu Castle The castle looms up out of the jungle, overlooking a muddy river which bisects the town. You can just imagine the soirees on the lawn which runs down to the riverbank. Talk would have been of that day’s hunting while couples danced to music from a gramophone in the shimmering light from flaming […]
A view on the security situation in Baghdad
I thought I’d take Arianna Huffington’s advice and point you to someone claiming to be giving the facts on the ground in Iraq. Dr Mohammed blogs at Last of Iraqis. He’s been blogging about his life as a dentist in the Iraqi capital for some time now and has contributed to the BBC’s iPM radio […]
Frontline Journalism Awards tonight
Webcam chat at Ustream John D. McHugh will talk about his work as he accepts the inaugural Frontline Journalism Award at the Frontline Club tonight. Brent Stirton will also receive the inaugural Frontline Memorial Tribute. Please tune in to our live stream channel to watch and listen to John in conversation with Jon Lee Anderson […]
Abeche: Chad’s Dusty Outpost
The French troops at the N’Djamena airport were wearing short shorts (pictured) – the kind you usually associate with cheesy beach movies starring Elvis, only these were in camo pattern. We trudged aboard a Greek C-130 for the quick flight to Abeche, the fortified eastern outpost occupied by the Chadian army, EUFOR and the U.N. […]
Arianna Huffington slams media coverage of war in Iraq
Just back from listening to Arianna Huffington, the founder of the Huffington Post, at the BBC. In between some interesting comments on the American election and her citizen journalism project, ‘Off the Bus’, she thought she’d spend a bit of time telling assembled journalists how much of a disaster she thinks the Iraq war has […]
Africa Reading Challenge. 4. The Wizard of The Nile
Joseph Kony is an enigma wrapped up in a riddle disguised by two decades of misunderstanding as his ragtag band of rebels tries to bring down the Ugandan government. That he came close at times and has managed to evade capture or defeat has long baffled observers who believe Kony’s few public statements suggest he […]
Afghanistan: Medieval Warfare?
The savagery of medieval warfare is widely acknowledged and understood; yet the idea of chivalry as an important and influential force in the conflicts of the Middle Ages somehow lives on in seemingly comfortable juxtaposition with this awareness. In By Sword and Fire I show that such notions of incongruent compatibility do not reflect the […]
Green Grass
I write this from my beautiful green garden in Kabul, which has changed so much as to be almost unrecognizable. We now have aubergine, mint, coriander, roses, grapes and mulberries growing, along with a lot of other stuff that I’m sure is edible but don’t know the names of. As always, there’s lots happening in […]
Blinding Sandstorm of War
Contradictory reports. Evidence that doesn’t make sense. Rumor getting repeated until it seems true. Military historians call this the “fog of war.” What do you call it in a place that’s way too dry for fog? The blinding sandstorm of war? A week ago rebels in eastern Chad announced that they were launching their third […]
Which One is the Chief`s Hut?
The chief`s house in Dungu, Democratic Republic of Congo It`s the one with the satellite dish
Carjacked!
I hit the ground in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, late on Monday night, sans my photographer, who was due in a day or two. Twelve hours later I was staring down the barrel of a well-used AK-47 near N’Djamena city center. I’d been carjacked. Since I’m sitting here, wired to one of the city’s […]
Bribe culture in action
Corruption within Mexico’s law enforcement agencies is reputedly rife, and recent figures show that people here spent more on bribes last year than they did during 2005. But it’s always interesting to see hearsay happen, and yesterday I had the pleasure of witnessing the power of the bribe first hand.
Bloggers around the world being arrested
More bloggers are being arrested by repressive regimes than ever before according to this article in The Guardian. The report that the article is based on can be found here. It says that collectively bloggers have served 940 months in jail and that ‘China, Egypt and Iran account for more than half of all arrests […]
Celebratory Gunfire
Some audio from my recent trip to Beirut. This is what celebratory gunfire from within a densely-populated urban centre sounds like – the Lebanese ‘government’ reversed two decisions that had provoked Hezbollah to take over much of Beirut, and people were pretty happy. As always, there were casualties from the large amounts of falling lead […]
Bags of journalism
Frontline bloggers, Rob Crilly and Alex Strich are on the move today. Rob is off to the DRC and Alex is on his way back to Kabul before moving on to Kandahar. They’ve both blogged what’s in their kitbag. For Rob, it’s back to the future, Sony Tape Recorder – call me old school, but […]
Returning to Afghanistan
Flying back to Kabul tomorrow and then on to Kandahar later in the week. Photo above is of the kit I’m taking with me (minus clothes and my aging Sony Vaio FS750P/W). Am looking forward to seeing how my new mini Asus copes in Kandahar (dust, heat, speed etc). Finally replaced my old Ipod mini […]
What’s in my Kit Bag
Back on the road tomorrow, heading for the Democratic Republic of Congo. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be disappearing deep into the jungle. Here’s the gear I’ll be taking: Sony Vaio S Series – at 13.3in it’s a smallish size notebook but still big enough to feel comfortable. Performance has been slower ever […]
Chad Rebels on the Attack?
First the news came to me from two different sources. One of my fixers in eastern Chad called yesterday to say that an airplane had been shot down and “my country is dangerous right now.†Around the same time, a source told me there were big things going on in Chad that weren’t getting reported […]
Alex heads back to Afghanistan
Live from the streets of London via Twitterpower. Alex begins the process of heading back to Afghanistan.
David Axe heading to Chad
Frontline blogger David Axe is heading to Chad and Sudan tomorrow. He’ll be blogging when he can. He’ll also be the second Frontline blogger to experiment with the mobile phone live streaming video tool called Qik. Kyle is already a big fan, but David will see how (and if) the service works in the field. […]
Kaki Cruises to Win
Abubaker Kaki is world indoor 800m. He trains with blocks of concrete Abubaker Kaki’s build-up to the Olympics continues in impressive style. Last night he won the Golden Spike 800m, his second win in his last two outings. The men’s 800m featured two outstanding juniors, Abubaker Kaki of Sudan and Kenya’s David Rudisha. The finish […]
A Well-Earned Break for Kenyan MPs
Missed this gem yesterday in The Nation. Parliament resumes this afternoon to prepare for the Budget to be read on Thursday. The House took a break three weeks ago after it became apparent that it did not have business to transact. These, you remember, are some of the world’s most highly paid MPs. And I […]
U.S. Warship Rescues Somalis
“USS Russell (DDG 59) responded to a vessel in distress between Bossasso, Somalia and the Yemeni coast in the Gulf of Aden June 8,†the Navy reports. Russell hosts the kickass The Destroyermen blog: A Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 air asset notified Russell of the small boat’s distress call. Russell, operating nearby, proceeded at […]
The view from a British soldier in Afghanistan
As I’ve discussed previously finding a British military blogger updating from Afghanistan or Iraq is a difficult task. This is about the best I can find at the moment. Lachlan MacNeil is section commander of Section 1, 2 Platoon, A Company, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He’s currently in Helmand province in Afghanistan fighting the […]
How to be a Journalist
I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some extremely talented journalists over the years. Many of them have delivered sage words of advice. Some are still ringing in my ears. For anyone aspiring to be a penniless freelancer who can only afford to live in Africa, here are some of the nuggets that helped […]
“Sweet Jesus! Apple has just revolutionized citizen journalism with their AP app for iPhone”
Well, that’s according to @tacomasha on Twitter. @tonysteward is more restrained – Okay, the AP iPhone app is legit, it will take citizen journalism to a whole new level. Exciting! As is @miguelmanalo – Dude AP on-the-go citizen journalism? Kickass. And @benkerney – AP’s new iPhone app will win citizen journalism And others. So, what […]
Somali Journalist Killed
Another journalist has been killed in Somalia. Nasteh Dahir Farah, who worked for the BBC and AP, was shot dead by gunmen in the port city of Kismayo over the weekend. He is the 10th journalist to be killed in Somalia since February 2007. Farah had written about the dangers of reporting from Somalia in […]
Who Are Somalia’s Al Shabab?
Two years ago an alliance of moderate Islamic Courts ruled Mogadishu and much of Somalia. Then Ethiopia, fearing a stable and prosperous Somalia — and hungry for access to Somalia’s ports — destroyed the Islamic Courts and propped up the unpopular Transitional Federal Government. Islamic insurgents rose up to challenge Ethiopian and TFG troops. But […]
You Couldn’t Make it Up
The Queen’s Birthday Party went off well last night, according to my sources with diplomatic plates. The usual embassy folks, hacks and politicians crammed into the garden of the British High Commissioner’s residence for mini fish and chips washed down with Boddingtons. It’s the social event of the year for Nairobi’s British contingent. (I had […]
