Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
peter beaumontlatest news & developments
Palestinian and Israeli violence is seeing civilians stabbing one another in Jerusalem’s Old City

This unrest evokes a third intifada

Violence is escalating in Israel and Palestine but no one is sure whether this is another uprising.

Hopeless: An aerial view of the Zaatari refugee camp

War zone is better than Jordan camps

As aid dwindles, more refugees are risking the trip to Europe – or taking their chances back in Syria.

The BDS committee was formed in 2005 and has the support of more than 170 organisations in Palestine. (AFP)

Israel turns up heat on activist group

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is ‘anti-Semitic’ and a ‘first-rate strategic threat’.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins the Israeli elections.

Netanyahu’s fate hangs in balance

Polls suggest that the embattled Israeli leader could lose power in next week’s election.

If one accepts Israel’s right to statehood

Bomb ends innocent game

Journalists in Gaza City watched in horror as the Israelis killed what were clearly young boys.

Thousands of people are fleeing two areas of northern Gaza after Israel warned of large-scale bombing campaign.

Thousands evacuate Gaza after Israel’s threats

Hordes of Gazans have fled their homes following Israel warning that it would "strike with might" against what it says are rocket-launching sites.

Israel said it had hit about 200 Hamas targets in Gaza and civilian casualties in the territory are mounting.

Gaza bleeds and counts the dead

Brutalised civilians recall the horrific toll of the last Israeli invasion and fear it will happen again.

The lessons of our past cast a long shadow over Syria (Photo Archive)

The lessons of our past cast a long shadow over Syria

Public opinion, like old generals, is always preparing to fight the last war.

Despite Iran’s claims

Are drones any more immoral than other weapons of war?

The central issue with drone strikes comes down to how combatants are identified and what efforts are made to protect civilians.

UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

Death knell for Syria regime as China, Russia turn on Assad

There is no place for President Bashar al-Assad in any future Syrian government, diplomats say, as Russia and China agree to transition plan.

Atrocities such as the killing of children become an ordinary act of violence with a sectarian component.

Dehumanisation of victims is a useful trait

Atrocities such as the killing of children become an ordinary act of violence with a sectarian component.

Serbia captures Ratko Mladic

Serbia captures Ratko Mladic

Serbian police have arrested Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military leader wanted by the UN for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war.

America’s very expensive war on terror

Osama bin Laden’s ‘home videos’

Myths make large, but reality diminishes. On Saturday night, the Pentagon showed Osama bin Laden alive in four video clips.

Syria shockwaves sweep across Middle East

Now that Bashar al-Assad is crushing opposition with terrible brutality, no one in the West knows how to deal with him.

Smart phone

Smart phone, efficient revolution

The immediacy and democracy of social media have been crucial to the success of uprisings.

Afghanistan: Which way now?

Afghanistan: Which way now?

As the British and US governments ponder their next move, the <i>Observer</i>’s <b>Peter Beaumont</b> examines the four most likely scenarios.

Rwanda’s laptop revolution

Rwanda has a plan to prevent any return to the genocide of 1994: connect 100&nbsp;000 children to the outside world with their own laptops.

Years of conflict etched on a Congo village chief’s face

He has lost his family and only the UN guards at his camp now keep him safe. But when they go, what will happen?

The rise of ‘the African Taliban’

Somalis say that, beyond the facade of harsh and rigid piety, the group robs and kills and sexually assaults with impunity.

Why is China so terrified of dissent?

There is an expression in China: "Kill the chicken before the monkey." Target the weak and vulnerable, it means, to frighten the strong and many.