David Blair's Blog, page 103

Mitt Romney questions whether Britain is ready for Olympic Games

Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has questioned Britain's preparedness to host the London 2012 Olympics and asked whether the country is genuinely willing to "celebrate" the Games.

Kim Jong-un is married, North Korea announces

North Korea lifted the veil on the hitherto mysterious personal life of its new leader on Wednesday, announcing that Kim Jong-un is married.

Kim Jong-un's mystery woman 'is his wife'

North Korea lifted the veil on the hitherto mysterious personal life of its new leader on Wednesday, announcing that Kim Jong-un is married.

Syria and chemical weapons: the really frightening possibility is that al-Qaeda will get its hands on them

Until this week, few would have conceived of the possibility of any country using chemical weapons. But the crisis in Syria has reached a point where some appear to believe that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime might resort to deploying poison gas against his enemies. The US administration takes this seriously...

Britain and EU to lift sanctions against Robert Mugabe's allies

Britain announced a "step change" in its policy towards Zimbabwe, promising to exempt a raft of President Robert Mugabe's allies from personal sanctions.

Last week's bomb attack was the rebels' own (successful) Stauffenberg plot. Could Assad still cling on?

The fog of war has swirled around Syria since the onset of the uprising, but no-one would seriously doubt that last Wednesday’s bomb attack on key members of President Bashar al-Assad’s entourage was a crucial moment. By managing to smuggle explosives into a meeting of the men at the apex...

Britain pours aid into autocratic Uganda despite pleas of democratic opposition

Britain is pouring aid money into Uganda despite the pleas of the opposition - and even the autocratic leader says he doesn't want it.

Northern Mali risks starvation thanks to al-Qaeda, drought and no aid

Almost the entire population of northern Mali risks starvation because al-Qaeda's capture of the area coincided with drought and hindered the delivery of aid.

Mali: how the West cleared the way for al-Qaeda’s African march

With the world’s attention elsewhere, Islamists and al-Qaeda have seized a vast area of northern Mali. David Blair reports.

Mali appeals for help as Islamists attack ancient Timbuktu

MALI'S government will today appeal for the world's help to save the monuments of the ancient city of Timbuktu from destruction at the hands of Islamist radicals.