A junior scandal
On the main allegations of collusion with Russia, there’s still no smoking gun
The truth about Islamic State: it's in crisis
The latest video from Isis introduces a new British executioner, a successor to ‘Jihadi John’, and it is a classic…
How far can Bernie Sanders go?
Boston A woman’s voice carried through a lull in several conversations around the table at a smart East Coast dinner.…
Ben Carson has an amazing story. How about policies?
Washington DC Ben Carson is relaxed. ‘He’s always relaxed,’ says an aide. The next televised Republican primary debate is…
‘Keep out the Mexicans and al-Qaeda’: with Donald Trump and his fans at the Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair ‘Donnnaaallldd!!! Donnnaaaaallldd!!!’ Donald Trump was surrounded by fans. He looked happy. He took a bite out of…
Lesbos: the tourist island where half Greece's migrants land
Lesbos A young woman in a headscarf stumbled over some rocks and onto the beach. She stood there, rigid, stunned,…
Shelling, militiamen and shattered villages: welcome to eastern Ukraine’s ceasefire
Eastern Ukraine For a moment, the sound of shelling is drowned out by a thumping beat coming from a…
Black flags and Christmas lights: a letter from Beirut
Blue and white Christmas lights twinkle over the shops near my apartment in Beirut’s Christian quarter; pricy boutiques display elaborate…
How Islamic State commanders squeeze their hostages for every penny
Turkish/Syrian border It was Abouday’s heavy metal T-shirt that started the trouble. Two jihadis at a checkpoint said the fire-breathing…
Pistols, airstrikes and smuggled cows: a letter from Islamic State border country
Turkey, Syria It is the early hours of the day that Parliament votes on whether to bomb the so-called ‘Islamic…
Paul Wood's diary: From James Foley's memorial to gunfire in the streets
Lebanon The Beirut press corps gather to remember the murdered journalist Jim Foley. People stand for a minute’s silence, drink…
Travels in Isis country: priests, Peshmerga and property developers
Arriving in Erbil, you don’t feel you are in Iraq, but another country altogether, which is what the Kurds would…
‘It’s jihad, innit, bruv’: meet the British Muslims going to fight in Syria
Turkey, Syria, Iraq: ‘It’s jihad, innit, bruv.’ The young British Muslim cut an absurd figure in ski mask, dark glasses…
Baghdad notebook: "Things were better in Saddam's time"
In the passport queue at Baghdad airport, my heart sinks. This place vies with Cairo for the title of most…
A new Islamist alliance among Syria’s rebels has given Assad the enemy he wants
Amman — Beirut — Istanbul I recently bumped into a senior officer with the rebel Free Syrian Army who…
Syria’s war in miniature: meeting the Christians driven out of Qusayr
Beirut Ilyas was, he told me, the very last Christian to flee Qusayr. He had been one of just a…