John Simpson: My 50 years with the BBC
- 19 December 2016
- From the section World
The world has changed hugely since the day in 1966 when I first started work at the BBC.
In those days, America seemed infinitely far ahead of the rest of the world. Russia was entering its long, sclerotic phase when no change, political or economic, was allowed. Mao Zedong was just about to impose the horrors of the Cultural Revolution on China. Europe was still getting over the ravages of World War Two.
As for Britain, it was a stodgy place, stuck in its old class system. It scarcely had a tourism industry: the idea that anyone might want to visit Britain for a holiday made people smile.
Within a couple of years or so, much of this had changed.
The United States was convulsed by the Vietnam War protests, and never quite got its old dominance back, the Soviet grip on Eastern Europe was challenged, Europe began its long rise to wealth and influence... and Swinging London became the capital of the world.
Critics fear Beijing's sharp turn to authoritarianism
- 3 March 2016
- From the section China
The atmosphere in Beijing has changed noticeably in recent months; and many liberal-minded people here now fear that the government of Xi Jinping has made a sharp turn towards authoritarianism.
As nearly three thousand Communist Party delegates gather in the capital for the National People's Congress, this is clearly a critical time for China's economy.
Read full article Critics fear Beijing's sharp turn to authoritarianism
2015: Tumultuous year of migrants, IS and Putin
- 28 December 2015
- From the section World
This has been, above all, the year of the migrant. But it has also been the year of so-called Islamic State (IS). And it has marked a major turnaround in President Putin's international position.
I have spent a lot of 2015 watching all these developments, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Russia.
Read full article 2015: Tumultuous year of migrants, IS and Putin
This migrant crisis is different from all others
- 24 December 2015
- From the section World
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Getty Images
As winter has approached, the apparently ceaseless flow of migrants heading for Western Europe has eased off.
But 2015 has unquestionably been the year of the migrant.
Read full article This migrant crisis is different from all others
Lockerbie truth buried in Libyan chaos
- 22 October 2015
- From the section Africa
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Getty Images
Today, Libya is a deeply divided, war-torn country which is apparently in a state of near-collapse.
It has two rival governments, based in different cities 1,000 miles apart, each insisting it deserves international recognition.
Peace remains a distant dream in Afghanistan
- 4 September 2015
- From the section World
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Reuters
This country has been at war for 40 years. As a result, Afghans form what's widely reported to be the second largest group of people trying to make their way to a new and more peaceful life in Europe. Only Syrians outnumber them.
In Kabul, a man of 75 stands looking at the heap of rubble where his house stood until it was destroyed by a Taliban bomb last month. Now he has nowhere to live, and exists on the charity of friends.
Read full article Peace remains a distant dream in Afghanistan
In court as Gaddafi's son sentenced to death
- 28 July 2015
- From the section World
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Reuters
The accused men sat behind the bars of their cage in blue prison-issue pyjamas, their heads close-cropped.
Once they had been some of the most powerful men in Libya, with the power of life and death over their fellow citizens.
Read full article In court as Gaddafi's son sentenced to death
Uneasy calm hides turbulence in Tripoli
- 27 July 2015
- From the section World
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Getty Images
The main airport has been destroyed, all the main embassies have been closed down, the big international hotels all stand empty. There are long and frequent power cuts.
And yet Tripoli appears entirely calm.
Gaddafi's legacy continues to haunt Libya
- 20 January 2015
- From the section World
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Getty Images
The partial ceasefire announced by the Libyan army on Sunday, following peace talks with various factions in Geneva, is the first good news to come out of Libya for months.
But even if the ceasefire holds and the peace talks bear fruit, there is a long, long way to go before the chaos there can be sorted out.
Predicting the future? Remember the Berlin Wall
- 9 January 2015
- From the section World
For many years at around this time, when I was a columnist on a leading British newspaper, my editor would ask me to write an article predicting what was going to happen in the coming year.
I would do my best, trying to work out from the few certainties - election dates, anniversaries and so on - to give an idea what the year might look like.
Read full article Predicting the future? Remember the Berlin Wall
