Robust health systems are society’s first line of defence against pandemics
Belgium has long been written off as a dysfunctional and failing state, yet its response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been surprisingly functional
Read moredeath
The unlikely demonisation of Salman Rushdie
By Khaled Diab Salman Rushdie made a very unlikely target for the fury of conservative Muslims, which is why the
Read morePrisoners of our guilty consciences
The intensifying crackdown on the media and civil society in Egypt leaves Egyptians who are out of the country feeling powerless to help and guilty about the freedoms they enjoy.
Read moreAlt-jihad – Part I: Dying to kill
In the first of a series of articles exploring the disturbing parallels between radical Islamic and White/Christian extremism, Khaled Diab examines whether far-right suicide attackers could become a phenomenon.
Read morePost-ISIS Mosul, pt 1: The final death of a city?
Its building turned to dust, its citizens traumatised and impoverished, Mosul may have been ‘liberated’ from ISIS but it has become a graveyard. Can this razed and devastated city ever be free again?
Read moreFICTION: Escaping terror firma, Part 1: Hell from the heavens
Poetry and song talk of soaring free as a bird, but the heavens are where hell resides. People talk of taking wing, but, me, I’d rather take fin, be free as a fish.
Read moreGiulio Regeni is the tip of Egypt’s police brutality iceberg
Many Egyptians find the allegation that the Italian student was killed by Egypt’s notorious security apparatus chillingly plausible. Italy must shed its former enthusiasm for the Sisi regime.
Read moreMake diplomacy, not war
The world is paying the price for Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s foiled attempts to reform the United Nations into an effective force to resolve conflicts.
Read moreLesbos: “No matter how hard you swim, you can never save all of them”
Despite the massive efforts of volunteer lifeguards, refugees are losing their lives in the Mediterranean. Europe must act… and out of compassion.
Read moreOne year on: Gaza, life with hard labour
With rubble Gaza’s only growth industry, people are unable to pick up the pieces of their broken lives, face psychological ruin and dream of escape.
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