The Armenian village of Kassab, amid the apple orchards of northern Syria, boasts three churches. Each serves a branch of…
Continue reading →Hitch never pulled his punches
One night in pre-gentrified Notting Hill, circa 1979 or 1980, Christopher Hitchens was walking home from dinner at our house…
Continue reading →History has not been kind to Syria’s desire for change
A dog in Lebanon, an old joke goes, was so hungry, mangy and tired of civil war that he escaped…
Continue reading →US interference in Syria could bring about another Iraq
The withdrawal of most United States forces from Iraq this week is anything but the end of American military involvement…
Continue reading →They eat pizza now in Kabul but the war is far from over
During Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, unreconstructed optimists believed that life was always returning to normal. Their proof was that restaurants…
Continue reading →The original special relationship
Review of The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris David McCullogh Simon & Schuster, 560pp, £25 Of all the cities in…
Continue reading →Winds of change blow, and the Arab League flaps about
The Arab League’s latest sessions on Syria bring to mind the first Arab League summit I witnessed, in November 1973.…
Continue reading →Hizbullah’s part in Gaddafi’s downfall
Libyans celebrated their liberation with mass demonstrations in Benghazi yesterday, the 28th anniversary of another landmark event in Middle East…
Continue reading →We older fathers make a better go of parenting
We have just christened my new son, Lucien, at Saint Etheldreda’s in the City. It’s the same church where Fr…
Continue reading →Russia retires the Kalashnikov, but the killing won’t stop
The Russian army’s decision to replace the famed Kalashnikov as its standard infantry assault weapon is so shocking that its…
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