Big Man Walking
“Not many people change the world. Fewer still are thanked for it.” – Neal Ascherson reviews a biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who joined that small group when he helped to bring about its end.
Lunch with the FT: Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage manages to consume over 17 units of alcohol in a single lunch over the course of this interview. The encounter takes on an increasingly surreal character, punctuated as it is with outlandish pronouncements – “This is what they tell me – these people who come in and want jobs. I should feminise.”
Kidnapped Royalty Become Pawns in Iran’s Deadly Plot
This piece kicks off with an evocative depiction of the scene typically found at the V.I.P. terminal of Baghdad International Airport. It was there where in April 2017 a group of Qataris were held on arrival when their luggage was found to contain $360 million in cash. Their presence was linked to a royal hunting trip turned kidnapping that would significantly affect the Middle East’s geopolitics.
Camp Code
A guide to the geography, politics and daily life of Bourj Al Shamali, a refugee camp in Lebanon that has been in existence since 1948.
Aleppo After the Fall
A powerful piece looking at the complex new reality emerging in a city and country so horribly affected by civil war, where the regime is now feeling a new confidence.
The Doctor
Tom Catena is the only doctor for thousands of miles in South Sudan, living and working in the midst of a brutal civil war. This article examines life for ‘Doctor Tom’ and his team.
The Religious Cult Secretly Running Japan
An article asserting that a religious organisation counting Japanese premier Shinzo Abe amongst its members is asserting its influence and may be looking to take Japan in a radically different direction.
Arron Banks: ‘Brexit was a war. We won. There’s no turning back now’
An eye-opening interview with the man who bankrolled the Leave.EU campaign – confident and ambitious as ever with plans to run for Parliament, a new politics website, and a transatlantic alliance with President Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Conversation turns most interestingly to his views on Russia.
Present at the Creation
A source present at the creation of ISIS provides insight into how it came into being and its ongoing operations.
Lunch With The FT: Edward Snowden
An interview with him in a hotel room in Moscow three years after he evaded capture in Hong Kong.