The Alawite women taken as sex slaves in Syria
Syria’s Alawite communities are in the grip of a fear that their women and girls could be kidnapped and held…
The Kurds have finally given in to Erdogan
All wars end, one way or another. One of the longest wars in the Middle East, between Turkey and Kurdish…
Ludere in Leone: who made money from the new pontiff?
Was the first American Pope ushered in on a wave of suspect, last-minute betting? Something odd seems to have been…
The secrets of ‘God’s influencer’
Assisi In a medieval church built of white stone, pilgrims and tourists shuffle past the body of a 15-year-old boy…
Would Trump really bomb Iran?
A satellite picture shows six American B-2 Stealth bombers parked on the runway at Diego Garcia. The planes – each…
Saviour complex: Jonathan Powell is still trying to change the world
In 2011, the Hampstead theatre put on an autobiographical play about a marriage strained by lies, betrayal and, as the…
Will Trump join the strongman club?
The world’s most exclusive club, of presidents-for-life, is growing. It already includes Putin of Russia, Xi of China, Lukashenko of…
Massacre of the innocents: the return of sectarian persecution in Syria
No one covers up their war crimes any more. They film them, celebrate them, post them on X. So we…
The strange beauty of the vigil for the Pope
Steady rain during the day stopped just before Monday’s evening prayers for Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square. A line…
I was convinced by the cholesterol sceptics
It’s never a good thing when your cardiologist sounds alarmed on the phone. Come in tomorrow, he said: we’ll get…
What Trump’s Gaza plan means for the Middle East
Donald Trump told reporters this week that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to free some of the…
The Donald’s plans for the Middle East
The former US president Jimmy Carterdied, at the age of 100, just before news of an imminent deal to free…
America’s new ally in the battle against Isis: the Taliban
Isis are back. In fact, to borrow Gerry Adams’s remark about the IRA, they never went away. Now, they are…
