Damascus

July 22, 2013

Syria Conflict: Developments on the ground and on the international stage

By Dan Tookey The month of Ramadan is usually a time for festivities and celebration but in Syria there is little to rejoice about.  The United Nations has estimated around 93,000 Syrians have died since the civil war began in 2011 and the number of refugees fleeing the country recently exceeded 1.5 million. On Wednesday […]


May 12, 2009

Battle of the Queens

The YouTube Queen of Jordan has taken another step towards becoming the world’s most technologically connected Royal. She’s now posting minute-by-minute updates on Twitter. In a couple of days she’s rocketed up from a handful of followers to around four thousand. So far, we’ve heard of her ariel acrobatics, as her husband pilots the royal […]


May 5, 2009

Winning a battle, losing the war: an odd tribute

Despite having only been in Beirut for a few days, I decided to jump ship on Friday and head for Damascus for the weekend. I won’t bore you with a tourist’s guide but it was three days of great food, magic carpets and mint lemonade. On Sunday morning, though, I ditched the white-socks-and-sandals combo, left […]


May 1, 2009

Welcome to the axis of evil

It’s a devastating critique. Syria is being kept in the dark ages because of a lack of American culture, and poor access to the internet argues a Gulf-based journalist. "Less fortunate young Syrians who [didn’t go to the American school] used to look forward to movie night at the [American] Cultural Centre every Wednesday. … […]


April 29, 2009

Frontline bloggers – from Syria to Swine Flu

Our ever growing band of Frontline bloggers were busy this past week. Mexico City based Deborah Bonello reports from the unusually empty streets of the Mexican capital, the hospital wards and the restaurants as she follows the swine flu story. Nairobi based Rob Crilly continues to wrestle with mortality statistics as he battles his way towards a November deadline for his first book on Darfur. Meanwhile, we welcomed the latest addition to the Frontline blogging stable, the London and Damascus based Sasa, who will be reporting on and from the Syrian capital. Read more on the blogs…


April 24, 2009

Welcome to the axis of evil

It’s a devastating critique. Syria is being kept in the dark ages because of a lack of American culture, and poor access to the internet argues a Gulf-based journalist. "Less fortunate young Syrians who [didn’t go to the American school] used to look forward to movie night at the [American] Cultural Centre every Wednesday. … […]