The anatomy slab: an ignominious final destination for India’s Jyoti Basu
Since his death last Sunday, the Indian papers have been full of analysis about the life and times of Jyoti Basu, the grandfather of Indian Communism who served a record-breaking 23 years at the helm of West Bengal, one of the country's Leftist strongholds. Many have praised the efforts of Basu to bring about land [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Tuesday, 19 January 2010 at 8:29 am
Alive! Some wonderful news from Haiti
Bit by bit, some good news has been getting through from Haiti. I wrote recently how I was waiting and worrying to hear from a number of friends and acquaintances who live or are based in Haiti in the aftermath of the quake. Slowly but surely, I've been receiving updates. Raymond Prospery, the country officer for [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Monday, 18 January 2010 at 7:57 am
Waiting to hear from friends in Haiti
In truth it would be wrong to call Frantzceau Germain a friend in the real sense of the word. I met the young man in February 2006 as Haitians were readying for an election to finally select a leader. After two years of interim rule by a government effectively imposed by the US, France and Canada [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 6:32 am
India’s ale pales by comparison
During the long hot months of India's summer, respite is often found at the end of the day in a nice cold bottle of the local brew, the condensation wiped with eager anticipation from the bottle as you grab for a glass as the sun goes down. Quite a lot of the Indian beer these [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Tuesday, 12 January 2010 at 7:39 am
India – a right pain in the butt. Yes, but…..
There's a strangely fascinating article in the current edition of Foreign Policy magazine that claims that India is currently one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to international diplomacy. From arms control to trade agreements and deals on global warming, the article claims that while it is Iran, Pakistan and North Korea (and lately [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Wednesday, 6 January 2010 at 10:18 am
Irish peace forum to investigate the conduct of Sri Lanka’s war
I was in Sri Lanka last week working on a couple of stories and was amazed how both the mood and the landscape had changed. Since I was last there in May in the immediate aftermath of the war, the number of road-blocks and check-points has dramatically reduced and there's a brighter mood about many [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Thursday, 17 December 2009 at 5:09 am
Sri Lanka – war heroes and war crimes
Earlier this year, I wrote a story from Sri Lanka about the efforts of several senior LTTE members to surrender in the very final stages of the war and how they were shot dead – apparently while walking towards government troops and carrying a white flag. My sources were pretty good – I had spoken [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Monday, 14 December 2009 at 9:27 am
A flight of fancy and a huge leap of faith
I've long argued that every time you take a flight, or get on a bus or make an overnight coach journey, you should be sure to talk to the person next to you. As I discovered earlier this year in Thailand, no matter how tired or grumpy and not in the mood to chat you [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Tuesday, 8 December 2009 at 5:09 am
Beaten and tortured in Delhi – one journalist’s shocking story
It was at a July 4 party at the US Embassy in Delhi this summer when I met Joel Elliott, a young award-winning American journalist who had just arrived in the city. He was young and friendly and was doing his best to manage with the power-cuts and the stinking heat of the Indian summer. [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Monday, 9 November 2009 at 10:40 am
Large lattes in Islamabad
Just back from ten days in Pakistan and clearing out the accumulated detritus in my wallet, I came across two "loyalty cards" from a coffee shop in the capital Islamabad. One was completed, the other was half way to redeeming a free cup of coffee – a reflection of the fact that I spent a [...]
By Andrew Buncombe | The Foreign Desk - International dispatches from Independent correspondents - | Tuesday, 3 November 2009 at 5:06 am
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