High Caucasus by Tom Parfitt review – beauty and trauma in the Russian south An epic trek through the mountains brings healing and understanding to a veteran journalist Tom Parfitt does not consider himself brave. At one point in his book about a four-month journey on foot through the hills, valleys and tortured history of… Aug 02 23August 02, 2023Article at The Guardian
The secret life of Afghans under the TalibanBy Ruhullah Khapalwak and Andrew North Since the Taliban seized back control of Afghanistan over a year ago, even those Afghans who tried in vain to flee on the last American flights out of Kabul have settled, somehow, into a new kind of life. In… Dec 05 22December 05, 2022Article at The Economist
In Georgia, a Longing and Loathing for the Soviet PastOn the left bank of the river that runs through Tbilisi is one of the less obvious legacies of Georgia’s many decades as an outpost of the Soviet Union. Sprawling along a busy road that runs beside the river Kura (also called the Mtkvari) is a vast… Jul 21 22July 21, 2022Article at Foreign Affairs
West must learn to live with Erdogan the unpredictableAndrew North is a journalist who covers Afghanistan and the Caucasus. He is based in Tbilisi. Holding contradictory policy positions and being reliably unpredictable have become a core part of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan brand in the nearly two decades… May 26 22May 26, 2022Article at Nikkei Asia
Taliban triumph: anatomy of a disaster in AfghanistanInstead of a ladder to the last helicopter out of Saigon, a new image of desperation and collapse seared itself into the world's mind this week. A crowd of Afghans swarming a whale-like U.S. Air Force transport, grasping at its oblivious sides as it… Aug 18 21August 18, 2021Article at Nikkei Asia
No exit: A generation of young Afghans faces the end of the US eraTBILISI/KABUL -- "I can't get off social media these days," says 29-year-old Sharifi. The signal may be in and out. Keeping digital devices charged is a challenge amid constant power outages. But millions of Afghans, especially the urban young, are… Jul 14 21July 14, 2021Article at Nikkei Asia
Mafia boss bites Erdogan, but will Turkey's president bite back?A tablet shows the video of Sedat Peker on June 6: his scandal-ridden monologues have a viral effect. © AP Andrew North is a journalist based in Tbilisi and a regular commentator on Asian affairs. He has reported widely from South Asia, Central Asia… Jun 24 21June 24, 2021Article at Nikkei Asia
Georgia's eternal quest to find a place in the WestRecent unrest in the country reflects the competing forces which have been exerted on it for centuries. Should it look to Moscow or to Europe? Andrew North reports from Tbilisi A narrow street in the centre of Tbilisi lined by distinguishedlooking… Mar 13 21March 13, 2021Article at The New European
Georgia crisis tests Western push to check Russian influenceTBILISI — Only six days ago, Georgia was drawing praise for pressing pause on a controversial police raid to capture the country’s top opposition leader. That ended Tuesday. During an early morning raid, Georgia police broke into the party… Feb 24 21February 24, 2021Article at POLITICO
Donald Trump's reckless Afghanistan retreatU.S. Army soldiers arrive home from Afghanistan on Dec.8 in Fort Drum, New York: all U.S.-led coalition forces are due to leave Afghanistan by next May. © Getty Images Andrew North is a freelance journalist based in Tbilisi. He has reported widely… Dec 23 20December 23, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
Rushed US exit from Afghanistan will reward Taliban drug baronsBlack smoke billows after an explosion outside the provincial police headquarters in Kandahar in July 2019: Taliban fighters are advancing ever closer to Kabul. © AP Andrew North has reported widely from across the Middle East, South Asia, and… Sep 04 20September 04, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
Beirut explosion casts harsh light on international shipping rulesBoris Prokoshev, right, captain of the cargo vessel Rhosus, and boatswain Boris Musinchak, pose next to a freight hold loaded with ammonium nitrate in the port of Beirut, in a summer 2014 photograph. © Reuters Andrew North has reported widely from… Aug 10 20August 10, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
Postcard from AuschwitzIn a world where phrases like “post-truth” are used so freely, the site of the Nazis’ largest death camp has more meaning than ever. At the end of the rail track that delivered more than a million Jews and other people to their deaths in the gas… Jan 27 19January 27, 2019Article at Coda Story
A backpacker’s guide to Georgia: one-month itineraryWhy go? Mountains higher than the Alps, sub-tropical forests along its Black Sea coast and even a patch of semi-desert on the south-east border … for a country a little smaller than Ireland, Georgia packs in a serious amount of geography. Add… Sep 08 18September 08, 2018Article at The Guardian
In Georgia, a Longing and Loathing for the Soviet PastOn the left bank of the river that runs through Tbilisi is one of the less obvious legacies of Georgia’s many decades as an outpost of the Soviet Union. Sprawling along a busy road that runs beside the river Kura (also called the Mtkvari) is a vast… Apr 06 17April 06, 2017Article at Foreign Affairs
A surprisingly good place to die: How Mongolia excels at palliative careWhat comes to mind when you think of Mongolia? My answer, probably like many people’s, was vast empty space, those signature round white tents (which Mongolians call gers, not “yurts” (a word brought in during the country’s period under Russian and… Apr 04 17April 04, 2017Article at The Independent
Georgia’s Long Road to Europe In 1713, King Vakhtang VI of Georgia sent his former teacher, the famed polymath and writer Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, to France and Italy on an urgent diplomatic mission. Squeezed on all sides—by the Persian Empire to the southeast, the Ottoman Empire… Aug 11 16August 11, 2016Article at Foreign Affairs
Georgia's Long Road to EuropeCheck out this great listen on Audible.com. In 1713, King Vakhtang VI of Georgia sent his former teacher, the famed polymath and writer Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, to France and Italy on an urgent diplomatic mission. Squeezed on all sides - by the Persian Empire to the southeast, the Ottoman Empire to... Aug 11 16August 11, 2016Article at Audible
Zika Patients Are Coming Down With a Rare and Paralyzing Disorder. I Had it 13 Years Ago.Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is a rare autoimmune disorder that causes temporary paralysis. It’s now in the news because of Zika, but I experienced it myself back in 2003, after reporting from Iraq on the U.S. invasion. When it started, I was not… May 30 16May 30, 2016Article at Narratively
NSA leaks helping India become 'Big Brother' state?AFP While the US and Britain fend off accusations of Big Brother-style spying, other countries are learning lessons from fugitive ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden's leaks and, critics say, developing the same kind of… Oct 31 13October 31, 2013Article at BBC
