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
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
Putin's claim that NATO threatens Russia is a self-fulfilling prophecyMoscow's actions have only solidified Ukraine's desire to join Western alliance Jan 06 22January 06, 2022Article at Nikkei Asia
Putin's claim that NATO threatens Russia is a self-fulfilling prophecyAndrew North is a journalist who covers Afghanistan and the Caucasus. He is based in Tbilisi. The NATO flag, with its muscular-looking four-pointed star, is an unlikely protest symbol. So, too, the logo of that other cornerstone of the Western… Jan 06 22January 06, 2022Article at Nikkei Asia
Eyewitness: Afghanistan How to get 120 Afghans out of KabulAs the Taliban took over, we used WhatsApp and hand-drawn flags to help people escape The question flashed up on my screen early on the morning of August 26th: “Do we have to get into the water?” The message was from an Afghan television host – I’ll… Oct 21 21October 21, 2021Article at The Economist
Two decades after 9/11, how delusion led to defeat in AfghanistanLate on Sept. 11, 2001, Najib was at home with his family in Kabul listening to a radio bulletin on the Pashto language service of the BBC. There was no such thing as the internet in Afghanistan then, and with almost no other information sources… Sep 08 21September 08, 2021Article 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
We would all be better off if politicians left history aloneIndian and Pakistani flags are lowered during a daily retreat ceremony at the India-Pakistan joint border check post of Attari-Wagah in July 2015: if this colorful spectacle does not come back to life, that may be no bad thing. © AP Andrew North is a… Jun 05 21June 05, 2021Article at Nikkei Asia
Erdogan and Putin battle it out for control of the Black SeaAndrew North is a journalist based in Tbilisi and a regular commentator on Asian affairs. He has reported widely from South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin's military buildup on Ukraine's border has incited a… Apr 26 21April 26, 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
What you need to know about Georgia’s political crisisAndrew North is a journalist based in Tbilisi and a former BBC correspondent in Asia and the Middle East. TBILISI, Georgia — It’s not a political endgame story you usually hear: A prime minister resigning to stop his own officials from executing a… Feb 19 21February 19, 2021Article at POLITICO
Georgia parliamentary elections a case study in influenceActivists hold the Georgian and the U.S. flags during a rally in Tbilisi on June 20: the results could decide whether the country's westward journey continues or falters. © AP Andrew North is a freelance journalist based in Tbilisi. He has reported… Oct 28 20October 28, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
Turkey's disruptive Caucasus power play risks regional warThe blast site hit by a rocket in Ganja, Nagorno-Karabakh region, pictured on Oct. 11: in a hyper-nationalistic world the danger of smaller conflicts fueling regional wars is much greater. © Reuters Andrew North has reported widely from across the… Oct 15 20October 15, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
Is the United Nations fading into irrelevance?Andrew North has reported widely from across the Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia. He is a regular commentator on Asian affairs. As the closest thing we have to a world government, the United Nations should have been tailor-made to handle a… Sep 20 20September 20, 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
India and Elon Musk show Asia the way in discount race to MarsJapan's H2A rocket carrying the UAE's Hope probe takes off on July 20: the Emiratis are basking in their status as the Arab world's space leader. Andrew North has reported widely from across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and central Asia, and is a… Jul 31 20July 31, 2020Article at Nikkei Asia
The Silent WaveAfghanistan It is an unspoken crisis: thousands of Afghans leaving their conflict-ridden country in search of work and peace in Iran Even inside Afghanistan, this is a crisis that is hard to spot. The numbers involved are massive, but there are no… Nov 29 19November 29, 2019Article at Tortoise
