Syria
Assad: Western idealism and Eastern autocracy
“I would be more pessimistic if I had to rewrite the last sentences,” said Christophe Ayad, co-director of Syria: Assad’s Twilight.
UK Premiere Screening: Syria, Assads’ Twilight
When he came to power in June 2000 few perhaps expected the UK graduate of Medicine Bashar al-Assad would prove to be a ruthless dictator. Syria, Assads’ Twilight looks at the history of the Assad regime and its chances of survival.
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 2 – 8 April
Following the Friends of Syria (or Friends of the Syrian people, depending on who you ask) meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, UN-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan is set to address the UN Security Council in New York on Monday to update them on the progress of his recent discussions with the Syrian government and the implementation of his six-point plan.
POLIS 2012: Reporting Revolution
I’m at the POLIS Journalism Conference where we have been talking about Reporting Revolution with the BBC’s Lyse Doucet, Lindsey Hilsum from Channel 4 and Tom Coghlan at The Times. "An extraordinary time to be a journalist" All the panellists expressed their excitement at covering the Arab Spring. Tom Coghlan began by comparing the limitations […]
FULLY BOOKED In conversation with Marwan Bishara: The promise and peril of the Arab revolution
Marwan Bishara Al Jazeera English’s senior political analyst and editor will be joining senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet to discuss the roots of the uprisings across the Arab world, how they have evolved from country to country, the shifts they have created in the region and asking what lies ahead as people continue to battle for freedom and justice?
#FCBBCA: Crisis in Syria – what can be done?
Almost a year since the uprising began in Syria, 7000 people are estimated to have died at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The death this week of the revered journalist Marie Colvin – a founding member of the Frontline Club – has intensified the media spotlight on what has become a humanitarian crisis.
A panel of experts on the situation came to the Frontline Club on Friday for a #FCBBCA event exploring possible solutions to the situation.
FULLY BOOKED #FCBBCA: Crisis in Syria – what can be done?
What are the options for the Syrian people and for President Bashar al-Assad and his regime now that China and Russia have vetoed the U.N. Security Council’s resolution calling for foreign intervention? We will be discussing the deadly crackdown and asking what can be done – and by whom?
Tributes to Marie Colvin, Sunday Times correspondent killed in Syria
The Sunday Times correspondent, Marie Colvin, was killed in Syria on Wednesday morning. She died after a makeshift media centre in Homs came under attack from Syrian forces. French photographer Rémi Ochlik was also killed. Colvin and Ochlik died the day after Syrian activist, Rami al-Sayed. His video footage, uploaded to YouTube and Bambuser, was […]
Journalists killed as CPJ’s ‘Attacks on the Press’ is released
By Helena Williams No one who attended last night’s discussion at the Frontline Club on the safety of journalists was under any illusion that the issue was not an important one, but few there could have anticipated that it would be so topical. News of the death of Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin, a regular at the […]
Marie Colvin: “I should stay and write what I can to expose what is happening here”
UPDATE: Friends and colleagues are invited to the Frontline Club tonight from 7pm to remember Marie Colvin. Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin remained in Syria because she was determined the terrible story of events there had to be told. Marie had hoped to moderate a discussion that is taking place on the growing crisis in […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 13- 19 February
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 13 February to Sunday, 19 February from Foresight News By Nicole Hunt Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court again on Monday, this time to be indicted on charges of contempt of court over what prosecutors say is […]
“Welcome to Syria”: Embedding with ‘citizen journalists’
This Al Jazeera English report on Syria’s citizen journalists is interesting. When people in the media industry talk about "embedded journalists" they usually mean journalists embedding with military units. It is, of course, possible to ’embed’ with other people or organisations and it is perhaps a sign of the times that ‘journalists’ like Jane Ferguson are […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 23 – 29 January
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 23 January to Sunday, 29 January from Foresight News By Nicole Hunt New week, New Year – the Chinese Year of the Dragon, that is. But while weeks of celebrations are kicking off in China, the mood will be considerably less celebratory in Brussels, where the […]
Wadah Khanfar: ‘No one will be spared by the Arab Spring’
The Arab Spring “is not going to spare anyone” not even Saudi Arabia, warned the former head of the Al Jazeera, Wadah Khanfar, last night. “We are going to see people resisting change but it will be a major mistake that will cause a lot of problems if countries see the Arab Spring as a conspiracy,” […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 16 – 22 January
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 16 to Sunday, 22 January from Foresight News By Nicole Hunt IMF, European Central Bank and EU officials are scheduled to arrive in Athens on Monday to conduct a week-long assessment mission of Greece’s debt-reduction measures. Everyone will be hoping the troika visit goes better this […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 9 – 15 January
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 9 to Sunday, 15 January from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt Monday looks to be the biggest day of what should be an interesting week internationally. Kicking off with the ongoing EU debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin to […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 12- 18 December
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 12 December to Sunday, 18 December from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt US President Barack Obama hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki for talks in Washington on Monday, with discussions focusing on strengthening the ‘strategic partnership’ between the two countries. The summit comes ahead of a […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 31 October – 6 November
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 31 October to Sunday, 6 November from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt The week starts off with a bang as humankind hits a big milestone on Monday – the UN is marking the day as the moment the world’s population surpasses seven billion people. A deadline set by […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 10 – 16 October
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 10 to Sunday, 16 October from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt The two men charged with the April 2010 murder of South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terre’Blanche go on trial in Ventersdorp on Monday. Chris Mahlangu and an unnamed teenager are accused of killing the leader […]
Reporting the Arab Spring: the mirage of the ‘authentic voice’
I’m breaking the radio silence on the blog to post the introduction to my latest book chapter for Mirage in the Desert: Reporting the Arab Spring. (Not to be confused with Mirage in the Dessert…that is something entirely different.) My chapter uses the case of the Gay Girl in Damascus blog, (a hoax which purported […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 12-18 September
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 12 September to Sunday, 18 September from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meets in Vienna on Monday, with Iran likely to be high on the agenda following last week’s report expressing increased concerns over ‘undisclosed nuclear related activities’ […]
First Wednesday: No going back for protesters in Syria
The month of Ramadan will be crucial for the Syrian uprising and the position of Bashar al-Assad and his regime on 29 August could determine the country’s future. The critical nature of coming weeks was acknowledged by the panelists who took part in the Frontline Club’s First Wednesday discussion on Syria on the night that […]
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: Where now for the people of Syria?
Since mid – March when the Arab Spring reached Syria there have been continuous crack downs on protestors by Syrian forces. There are claims more than 1,700 civilians have been killed. The authorities in Syria claim 500 soldiers and police have been killed by armed gangs, which they also blame for most of the civilian deaths.
Join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House to discuss the situation in Syria and what the future holds for the Syrian people.
The week ahead at the Frontline Club: From Syria to China’s energy pioneers
Tickets for tonight’s First Wednesday have sold out but you can watch the discussion live here. Chaired by the broadcaster Paddy O’Connell, the debate will focus on Syria as the crackdown continues, the death toll rises and the UN Security Council comes under increasing pressure to reach a resolution condemning the violence. Monday’s screening Children of the Revolution tells the […]
The week ahead at the Frontline Club: Paul Mason, Syria and the New York Times
This evening we will be joined by BBC Newsnight’s economics editor Paul Mason, who won acclaim for his coverage of the financial crisis from the collapse in 2008 of Lehman Brothers and all that followed. He will be joining us to discuss a careet that ranges from covering gang violence on Merseyside to the rise of China […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 25-31 July
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 25 July to Sunday, 31 July from ForesightNews The week starts off with two high-profile court hearings on Monday. Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al Adly is scheduled to go on trial in Cairo on charges of ordering the deaths of protesters, but the hearing has been […]
Fictional ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ blog disappears
The ‘Gay Girl in Damascus’ blog, which was believed to have provided an authentic voice documenting the Syrian chapter of the Arab Spring, has "vanished". The author of the blog, Tom MacMaster, apparently decided to delete the contents of the blog after it reached more than a million "separate views". The blog had claimed to […]
Realignment in the Arab world – What does it mean for Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel?
Download this episode View in iTunes With a panel of experts and journalists we will be examining the political realignment taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. We will be asking what the shifts in Arab world mean for Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia: What is Israel’s likely response to the emerging democracies […]
Can the West be trusted to support democracy in the Middle East and North Africa?
What can Western powers do to aid genuine democracy in the Middle East and North Africa and can they be trusted, given the way that authoritarian regimes have been propped up in pursuit of ‘stability’ in the past? These were two themes that emerged from April’s First Wednesday discussion last night, which focused on the way […]
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 […]
