Egypt – Ian Birrell

A president guided by television news and emotional whims

Published by The ipaper (10th April, 2017) Even in the whirlwind world of Donald Trump, last week’s events were mind-blowing. It began with the 45th president of the […]

Africa / Ethiopia

Diplomatic impotence – or disregard for human rights

Published by The Independent (26th October, 2015) The visit of Xi Jinping was deemed a success on both sides. Our royal family ensured China’s president was pampered with immense […]

Africa / Arts / Books / Egypt / Iran / Iraq

Dreams, despair and dictators

Published by The Observer (24th August, 2015) Shifting Sands: The Unravelling of the Old Order in the Middle East (Profile) Khaled Fahmy trudged down to Tahrir Square in […]

Iraq / Politics / Syria / World

Britain should beware sliding back into Middle Eastern war

Published by The Independent (20th July, 2015) Slowly but surely, Britain is being dragged back into wider military intervention in the Middle East. For months, the ground has been […]

Israel, West Bank & Gaza / World

Blair’s legacy in Middle East is peace poor

Published by The Sun (29th May, 2015) Once he promised to transform Britain. Instead Tony Blair became a despised figure around the world. And now what is probably the […]

Africa / Egypt

One among many, snared by a brutal regime

Published by The Independent on Sunday (29th June, 2014) Yara Sallam was one of the most inspirational activists I met amid the Arab Spring uprisings. As Tahrir Square […]

Iraq / Politics

Tony Blair has moved beyond parody

Published by The Independent (16th June, 2014) Please forgive me. I know we should ignore his latest attention-seeking outburst, like a kind parent might turn their back on […]

Africa / Egypt

Saviour of his nation or brutal opportunist?

Published by The Mail on Sunday (25th May, 2014) The frenetic streets of Cairo are once again plastered with posters for another presidential election. But this time there are […]

Immigration / Policy / Syria / World

Open our borders to Syria’s refugees

Published in The Independent (September 12th, 2013) Azad Sino fled with his wife and two children from the Syrian city of Aleppo nearly two years ago, when the […]

Politics / Syria / World

We wring our hands as poison spreads

Published in The Mail on Sunday (August 25th, 2013) More than 100,000 Syrians lie dead. One-fifth of a 22 million population has been displaced. Yet even a few months […]

Africa / Bahrain / Egypt / Libya / Politics

A coup, contortions and a confused foreign policy

Published in The Independent on Sunday (August 18th, 2013) As rivers of blood flowed in Egypt this week, the frightening crisis in a wounded nation turned even more […]

Africa / Egypt

Feeble leader who lit the fuse for massacre

Published in The Daily Mail (August 15th, 2013) What’s happened since the Arab Spring? Those heady days of early 2011 feel a long way off now. After the […]