FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Editor, Douglas Herbert, cut his journalistic teeth as a print reporter in Russia in the topsy-turvy early 90s, after the Communist collapse. Over a 20-year career, including a long stint at CNN in New York and London, Douglas has covered topics ranging from Arctic oil spills to Arab uprisings. This blog is about the world as seen through Douglas’s Paris prism. It’s also about the things Doug might have added after his producer said, “Wrap”. Follow Doug on Twitter @dougF24.
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 11:18

Algeria, 50 years on: No commemoration here

The Algerian War is one of those historical episodes that everyone seems to talk about in France – but only in a way that skims the surface. France and Algeria are at pains to come to grips with a painful shared history.
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Tue, 03/13/2012 - 10:41

Russia's post-vote riddle: What is to be Done?

Russia's opposition has laid down the gauntlet to Vladimir Putin, vowing not to go away anytime soon. But the Kremlin strongman, fresh from a fraud-tainted win at the polls, shows few signs of being cowed by a rising chorus of critics.
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Thu, 02/16/2012 - 11:23

"Yes We Cantal!": Cheesy French campaign slogans?

Fifty years after Charles de Gaulle noted the difficulty of governing a country with 246 types of cheese, Nicolas Sarkozy kicks off his re-election campaign at a...cheese shop. We suggest a few "cheesy" slogans.
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Thu, 12/29/2011 - 13:52

2011: How Did I Miss That Story?

From Arab Springs to Biblical floods, the past 12 months have been so relentlessly interesting that you could literally pick any one of its 365 days almost at random and never come up with a dull moment, or headline. I did just that.
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Thu, 12/29/2011 - 13:32

Vaclav Havel: Europe's Leading Light

Unlike the Crying Game that passes for bereavement in North Korea, the recent mourning for the former Czech president, Vaclav Havel, was truly heartfelt.
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Wed, 10/05/2011 - 12:26

Putin' Russia's future in checkmate

In his glory days, Garry Kasparov made short work of his pawn-pushing rivals. But in his post-retirement life as a Russian political activist, he has been checkmated by a man who doesn't play by the rules: Vladimir Putin.
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Fri, 09/23/2011 - 13:33

After Troy Davis

Another inmate has been put to death in the United States since Troy Davis's headline-grabbing execution this week. The assembly line of state-sanctioned murder is set to continue, despite a growing outcry from a vocal minority.
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Wed, 09/07/2011 - 14:04

The Worst Person in the World (well, in France)

Claims that Sarkozy's secret services spied on a Le Monde journalist to identify his sources might stir impeachment talk elsewhere. But this being France, the president and his top lieutenants are barely sweating.
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Mon, 09/05/2011 - 12:22

China: Shooting itself in the foot in Libya?

Revelations that state-owned Chinese companies offered to sell Gaddafi's government large stockpiles of weapons, even as Beijing officially supported an arms embargo, expose a foreign policy that is as cyncial as it is morally bankrupt.
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Thu, 07/14/2011 - 11:32

The shame of naming DSK's accuser

Viewers of France 24's English-language channel are privvy to many details about Dominique Strauss-Kahn's accuser. But there's one thing they won't hear on air: her name. Not so on our French channel, where the "naming" taboo doesn't exist.
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Fri, 06/10/2011 - 15:59

The joke's on Syria

When a woman purporting to be Syria's ambassador in Paris resigned during a live phone interview with France 24 this week - drawing an angry denial from the actual ambassador - the channel's first impulse was to defend its journalistic integrity.
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Fri, 05/27/2011 - 12:58

Courchevel in the North Caucasus

It sounds like something in The Onion: The French plan to spend nearly $3 billion to develop and manage ski resorts in Russia's volatile North Caucasus. The deal includes a money-back guarantee in case of terrorist acts.
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Tue, 05/24/2011 - 11:54

Tahrir Square...in Tbilisi?

Georgia's opposition is in the headlines after police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest in Tbilisi. But President Mikhail Saakashvili is unlikely to step down before 2013.
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