Biography:
About:
Education: Cambridge University: MA History; London School of Economics: PhD Politics
Career: Freelance, in Jerusalem: 1978/1980; The Guardian, sub editor, 1980/1981; home news reporter, 1981/1984; Middle East correspondent, 1984/1993; Israel correspondent, 1988/1993; diplomatic editor: 1993/2000; European editor, in Brussels, 2000/2000
Current position/role: Middle East Editor
- also writes/has written for:
The Sunday Times, The Observer, New Statesman, Prospect, Irish Times, the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, Middle East International
Other roles/Main role:
Other activities:
Disclosures:
Viewpoints/Insight:
Broadcast media:
Video: Regular commentator on international and diplomatic affairs for the BBC World Service radio and television, BBC Arabic Service, BBC Radio 4, NBC, CBC, NPR, etc
Controversy/Criticism:
Awards/Honours: Guardian Middle East editor wins peace through media award, 2010 International Media Awards
- British Press Awards: International Reporter of the Year (Commended), 1988
- Laurence Stern Fellowship Award, 1983
Scoops:
Other:
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Articles:
Selected articles:
- Syria's powerful allies thwart international attempts to halt violence - Russia and China accused of siding Bashar al-Assad regime after failing to back UN measures against Damascus - 6th October 2011
- Libyans reclaim their streets - Freed from the 'old frizzyhead' dictatorship of Gaddafi, an infectious sense of goodwill is giving birth to a vibrant new civil society - 26th September 2011
- Turkey plays high-stakes game positioning itself at heart of Arab world - PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been lauded in Cairo for his bold stance against Israel – but just how far will he go? - 13th September 2011
- Gaddafi's line in the sands - The defection of Moussa Koussa is a blow, but the colonel's family ties still help ensure loyal support - 2nd April 2011
- WikiLeaks reveals degree of Durham University's involvement in Iran - The US embassy was 'impressed' by the 'political cover' Durham could generate – but the university's students are less so - 10th February 2011
- Egypt's army is the power behind the throne. And Mubarak knows it - Egyptian president need only remember 1952 to see what happens when the armed forces turn on those in power - 4th February 2011 (Egypt: summary)
- Tunisia unrest a wake-up call for the region - Bloody street clashes in Tunis trigger fears of a domino effect that could shake other authoritarian states - 15th January 2011 (Tunisia: summary)
- Syria is yet to play its cards - President Bashar al-Assad may not be the moderniser the west had hoped for, but his regime shows signs of progress - 15th July 2010
- Who are Syria's real friends? - As its relations with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran blossom, is Syria still keen for a rapprochement with the west? - 22nd October 2009
- Israel threatened with international law - Israel's commanders should be careful about booking holidays – the Goldstone report suggests they could be prosecuted abroad - 16th September 2009
- Israel's evictions upset even its friends - Broad condemnation of the eviction of Palestinians in east Jerusalem reflects growing international anger over settlements - 5th August 2009
- History floods Iran's moment - The next hours and days will determine whether Tehran rallies that followed disputed elections mark a historic turning point - 17th June 2009 (See: Iran: summary)
- Gaza has exposed the Arab leaders to fury and contempt - Internal rivalries over a deal with Israel have attracted opprobrium and put the very future of peace at risk - 20th January 2009
- Miliband's road to Damascus - Relations between Syria and Britain are getting warmer, but the foreign office is keen to point out that it's not being naive - 17th November 2008
- With 265 shops and 50 restaurants, an impossible city is reborn - The opening of a new retail empire in London is sublime timing for students of paradox - 18th October 2008
- Parting wisdom - Ehud Olmert's valedictory Jewish New Year message is a bald, if belated, re-statement of how to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict - 30th September 2008
- The MDC leader has survived jail, beatings and attempts on his life - Morgan Tsvangirai is often described as a brave and charismatic man, qualities that have stood him in good stead as he has suffered beatings and assassination attempts while battling to unseat Robert Mugabe - 23rd June 2008
- Dividends of truce - If this delicate Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds, the gains could spread far beyond Gaza - 19th June 2008
- Don't hold your breath - The Hamas ceasefire is a positive sign, but even if it sticks, there are plenty of questions still left to answer - 18 June 2008
- Gaza won't go away - On any clear-eyed, practical view the continuing blockade can only contribute to more suffering, desperation and hatred - 13th May 2008
- Disunity in Damascus - As good old Muammar Gadafy pointed out, the Arab summit in Damascus laid bare crippling divisions over Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq - 31st March 2008
- Tunisia - an uncriticised success - The press is heavily controlled and its elections are little more than a facade, but Tunisia continues to be held up by the west as a model Arab state, writes Ian Black - 8th November 2007
- Sunni side up - Bahrain's rulers fear a US attack on Iran could inflame tensions with the country's restive Shia majority - 2nd November 2007
- Israel's declaration of Gaza as an 'enemy entity' ratchets up the rhetoric, just as - by grim irony - Hamas seemed willing to call a ceasefire - 19th September 2007
- The small print of Middle East peace - Today's visit to Jerusalem by two Arab foreign ministers is a timely reminder that there is a way to move towards peace in the region - 25th July 2007
- Uncharted Territory - Neither hamas nor Fatah can see a quick or easy way out of this new impasse - 15th Junne 2007
- An obituary of hope - Alvaro de Soto's report makes a depressing read, but should be scrutinised carefully by anyone involved in the Middle East peace process - 13th June 2007
- Mission unusual - Syria and Israel should overcome their mutual suspicions and return to the negotiating table - 12th June 2007
- Gulfs of misunderstanding - The debate about Arab democracy is distorted by confusion about Islamism and anger over the war in Iraq - 27th April 2007
- An end to isolation - Javier Solana's visit to Syria - Javier Solana's visit to Syria is a welcome sign that the EU is at last willing to do business again with a key player in the Arab-Israeli conflict - 15th March 2007
- Enemies at the borders - wider instability in the Middle East - An explosion in the south-eastern Iranian city of Zahedan should give pause for thought about wider instability in the Middle East - 14th February 2007
- Keeping the peace - King Abdullah's role as mediator - Mounting crisis in the Middle East has galvanised King Abdullah into action to force talks between rival Palestinian leaders - 7th February 2007
- Distorted by the terror prism - the US attack on Somalia - The US attack on Somalia was driven by the search for al-Qaida operatives and showed no regard for for Somalia's domestic complexities - 9th January 2007
- Geoff Hoon's Ugandan affair - Margaret Beckett's control freakery conveys pettiness, not passion - 1st November 2006
- Germany is right to take on a global role - Over 60 years since the end of the Nazi dictatorship, Germany is putting the past behind it to formulate a sharper sense of its international committments - 25th October 2006
- Eden's shadow over Blair - A BBC documentary on the Suez crisis revealed a prime minister running out of control in a story not dissimilar to that of today's government - 24th October 2006
- Strength through unity? - by agreeing to share power, Hamas and the PLO have displayed a welcome pragmatism. It would be good if Israeli leaders could do the same - 11th September 2006
- For Israel, the shooting goes on but so does the weeping - The dovish minority understand that their state's survival depends on finding peace across the Middle East - 1st August 2006
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