News
Somalis, Saracens and their Secret Donor
What do six Russians, two South Africans, the Ugandan President’s brother, a private security firm, a former CIA officer, and a senior ex-US diplomat all have in common? Somalia and its semi-autonomous regions of course! The British registered private security firm Saracen International is currently training over 1000 militia men in Somalia’s Puntland region as […]
Kabul, kaboom, kabubble or kabust
So I fell behind on these blog entries. Time permitting, I’ll hopefully fill in some of the gaps but for the moment I want to forge on. I’m in Kabul, where I’m moving around unilaterally. Having previously spent so long in the city under lock and key and after a solid month embedding, it’s refreshing […]
Looking back at 2010: In the Picture photography events
This year, Frontline’s In the Picture strand has drawn in some big names in photography while giving a platform for new blood in the industry to showcase their work. Topics covered reached from sex-trafficking to disaster photography and from as far afield as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Below you can read about all and watch […]
Looking back at 2010: Insights at the Frontline Club
Our Insight events bring prominent figures in their field to the Frontline Club to talk about their life and work, and respond to questions and comments from the audience. The past year has seen a host of events offering unique insights into the lives of some great thinkers, academics, journalists and campaigners. Here is a […]
The world’s most wanted house guest by Vaughan Smith
Having watched Julian Assange give himself up last week to the British justice system, I took the decision that I would do whatever else it took to ensure that he is not denied his basic rights as a result of the anger of the powerful forces he has enraged. This decision – which will result […]
The Frontline Club: spotlight on London’s ‘best hiding place’
When it emerged in court that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had been staying at the Frontline Club in recent months, the media around the world turned its attention turned to the Club. Here’s a round up of just some of the coverage from around the world: In London’s best hiding place, Ian Curtis of […]
The Secular Fatwa on Julian Assange by Charles Glass
In February 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa inciting the faithful to murder author Salman Rushdie for blasphemy. Within a few days, professional writers convened in London, New York, and elsewhere to discuss countering this threat. In London, we met at the National Union of Journalists’ offices in Gray’s Inn Road. We had fierce arguments […]
Looking back at 2010: First Wednesdays at the Frontline Club
At our First Wednesday events the focus is on finding informed, respected panelists to discuss topical issues and creating a public meeting atmosphere, with lots of time for questions comments and debate from the floor. Looking back over 2010, we have covered many of the big stories – from Haiti in the wake of the […]
WikiLeaks causing a stir in Yemen
Yemen’s deputy prime minister, Rashad al-Alimi, is in trouble. A recent WikiLeaks cable documents a meeting with him and President Saleh in which he jokes about having just “lied” to the parliament, telling them that Yemeni (not American) forces had carried out air strikes which killed scores of civilians in December. Al-Alimi’s comments prompted 50 […]
Looking back at 2010: Wikileaks at the Frontline Club
By Will Spens WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website that is in the process of releasing tens of thousands of classified documents relating to US military and diplomatic affairs, has been the subject of intense media scrutiny in recent months. Now under arrest following allegations of sexual assault, Julian Assange and his legal team is now fighting his possible […]
WikiLeaks – The US embassy cables
Watch event here. By Will Spens The continued release from WikiLeaks and several major newspapers including The Guardian, Der Spiegel and The New York Times of 251,287 leaked US embassy cables is causing a flood of headlines across the world. Last night at the Frontline Club author and broadcaster Tom Fenton chaired a heated discussion […]
A first batch of Pics
These are a few pictures that I took during my first week long embed in Nangarhar Province . . . . I’ll add a short selection like this once in a while. Meanwhile, I’m off to COP Wilderness and then COP Spera both in Khost Province . . . […]
Monkeys, demons and the dude
It wasn’t much of a surprise when the words “we’re taking indirect from the mountain” burst over the radio. The day had been long and so perhaps the threat had slipped to the back of my mind but as the message crackled over the interference I realised I’d spent the whole day anticipating it. Those […]
Aid & accountability: still a happy couple?
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Gianluca Mezzofiore Public interest in international aid is slowly growing across the UK, as catastrophic disasters such as the Pakistani floods make demands on people’s generosity. But what is the level of accountability and transparency of aid agencies and NGOs responsible for delivering money […]
Virgin Territory
Day two in Lal Por and something more substantial was planned. Building on the same idea as the day before, the unit wanted to probe the area that they believed insurgents are regularly passing through. North of Lal Por is a village called Saray that coalition forces haven’t been to yet, which can hardly be unusual in […]
Wikileaks and the embassy cables: media coverage
I’m afraid I might not be able to look at the latest Wikileaks release of U.S. embassy cables in too much detail as I’m scrambling to finish up my PhD thesis. If, for some reason, you want my thoughts on Wikileaks I wrote a couple of blog posts on the organisation last month – ‘Some […]
Hill 911
Lal Por nestles up against the Pakistan border bounded by mountains to the north and the Kabul river to the south. It is the capital of the district of the same name, which is sparsely populated apart from along the banks of the river that forms its southern limits. Although a bridge is under construction […]
Little America
To be clear right from the start, this is the first time that I’ve officially embedded with military forces. I say officially, because I’ve traipsed around in various places with a bunch of militia, guerrillas, terrorists, freedom fighters or paramilitary of one kind or another depending on your opinion and even found myself caught up […]
Islam’s Billy Graham arrives in Yemen
Yemen have enlisted the help of Amr Khaled, a popular Egyptian TV preacher to help in its fight against Al-Qaeda. Khaled, known as the Arab world’s Billy Graham, will be teaming up with well-known clerics and youth leaders to launch a full-scale media blitz aimed at rebuffing religious extremism in Yemen. Today in Sana’a, the […]
Caucasus Conflict Voices
Although actually underway since June 2008, it’s especially been a labour of love for the past year, but now some of the essays solicited for a personal online project are available as a free e-book for reading online or downloading. Accompanied by colour photographs, the book contains opinions on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the conflict between the […]
And now, since I promised . . .
. . . Here’s that shooting incident. Well yes, I admit I may have used the cheapest of soap opera tactics to entice you to this second entry, and although it was hardly a cliff hanger, if you were expecting bullets ricocheting from walls as I ran for cover with a cacophony of explosions ringing […]
Insight with James Brabazon: My Friend the Mercenary
View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Sarah Gibbons Few people can say that they were involved in one of the most infamous coup attempts in recent history, the foiled attempt to overthrow the government of Equitorial Guinea of 2004, let alone experienced civil war in Libera, marched for miles alongside its rebel […]
On The Media – Mort Rosenblum: Little Bunch of Madmen
Watch the full event here. “Today, guidance is more vital than ever. At the extreme, it saves lives. It can mean the difference between insipid insight and getting things dead wrong,” said Mort Rosenblum, reading aloud from his new book Little Bunch of Madmen on international reporting last night. “Trial and error is no way […]
Report don’t dispatch
Rule number one for journalists starting a blog in a foreign land, pick the blog’s name carefully. Meskel Square = clever, good, local. South by South West = geographic, but not specific, nice. Noodlepie = genius. I’ve just picked a new name for a new website I’m planning. The name’s bloody brilliant. How did I […]
Book Review: Little Bunch of Madmen – Elements of Global Reporting
I got a copy of Little Bunch of Madmen to review for the Frontline Club amongst others on the 1st of October but have since found myself reading, and unable to put it down. It is quite compelling and ever so useful. It has since accompanied me everywhere and has become an indispensable part of […]
Twitter reaction to the Korean border clash
Earlier today North and South Korea engaged in a cross-border clash. The North fired on the island of Yeonpyeong, shelling the area for about an hour. According to the South Koreans two Marines were killed and four civilians were injured in the attack. The South returned fire while around 1,600 residents on the island fled […]
Hardly an auspicious start – fired upon on the first day . . . . surely not!
Before I get onto the matter of the title, I should just explain a little about why I’m in Afghanistan and what brought me here. Over the next month(s) I’ll be writing stories and shooting pictures on a freelance basis, starting with commentary and articles for Executive Magazine, based in Beirut. If all goes well […]
Leah Chishugi – Everything is a Benefit
Watch the full event here. By Oliver Franklin “I thought it was a nightmare… a dream,” Leah Chishugi, survivor of the Rwandan genocide and author of A Long Way From Paradise, told a particularly sober crowd at yesterday’s Frontline event. Stifling back emotion, Chishugi was describing the 6th April, 1994, a day she happened to […]
The week ahead: From Rwanda and Afghanistan to a bunch of madmen and frontline tales
The coming week at the Frontline Club starts with Leah Chishugi who is joining us tonight to tell her chilling and inspiring story about surviving the Rwandan genocide and her work since then with women caught up in the conflict in the Congo. Read more about Leah Chishugi’s book A Long Way from Paradise on […]
Medal of Honor awarded to Korengal valley soldier
The video below describes the story of America’s first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam war. Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta was awarded the United States highest military honour for rescuing a captured colleague in the Korengal valley, Afghanistan. The Sal Giunta Story from Sebastian Junger on Vimeo. Meanwhile according to Militaryblogging.com, […]
