David Blair's Blog, page 111

Syria: Assad family emails throw light on regime's inner circle

At the height of the Syrian army's assault on Homs, President Bashar al-Assad appears to have sent his wife the lyrics from a country and western song, while the British-born Asma spent thousands of pounds on jewellery and furniture.

Syrian forces capture Idlib

Syria's regime achieved a significant military victory on Wednesday, capturing the city of Idlib after a four-day assault and depriving President Bashar al-Assad's opponents of one of their strongholds.

Jeremy Paxman on Gordon of Khartoum: so laughably inaccurate that I thought I must be hearing things

A little learning can be a stressful thing if you have to watch Jeremy Paxman expounding on a subject you know a bit about. Last night, his new BBC One programme covered the British Empire and Sudan.

Syrian forces accused of killing 45 women and children

Syrian forces were on Monday accused of one of the worst atrocities since the onset of the uprising after at least 45 women and children were hacked or burned to death.

Afghanistan shooting: Barack Obama must let Afghans see that justice is done

How can America begin to make amends for the murder of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier ? It does not matter that the man concerned was acting entirely on his own and appears to have been deranged or drunk or both. The fact that the Taliban are responsible...

Nigeria hostage murder: there's a reason the Italians were kept in the dark

Why did Britain fail to tell Italy about the rescue mission in Nigeria until the operation had actually started? Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, has called London's behaviour "inexplicable" and urged a full explanation.

British hostage murder: hunting ground of a lethal terrorist alliance

Al-Qaeda has always aimed to strike beyond the Sahara and radicalise the Muslim inhabitants of Africa's most populous country. The abduction of Westerners in northern Nigeria shows how far the tentacles of this terrorist network have spread.

Syria: first high level defection from Bashar al-Assad regime

Syria's regime suffered its first high-level defection when the deputy oil minister joined the opposition and urged his former colleagues to "abandon this doomed boat".

Iran 'trying to remove evidence that it tested detonators for nuclear weapons'

Iran is trying to remove evidence that its scientists tested detonators for nuclear weapons by clearing a military site ahead of a visit by inspectors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Libyan NTC head vows to hold country together

Libya's transitional leader rejected a call for federalism by the eastern half of the country on Wednesday, warning that he was prepared to use "force" to abort this plan.