Free James Foley

When you hear that a colleague has problems in a conflict zone a strange sensation invades you. It is that “It could have been me”. In my case, being in the process of withdrawing from journalism, it is a relief to think I won’t be in that place again. Neither me nor my loving ones, who in the end, are the ones that suffer most. That however doesn’t save you from getting goose bumps. The last colleague in the list is James Foley, kidnapped in Syria almost three months ago. It isn’t the first time he faces this problem. Back in Libya, Gaddafi troops captured him and two other journalists and retained them for six weeks. Photo: Nicole...

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Dissecting Mali

The year started strong with a French air and ground offensive in Mali. Although many cannot help but see parallelisms between what is happening in Africa and what happened in Iraq, the fact is that they are two different realities. For starters, France had been called in by the Malian government itself and has the support of the UN and regional countries. However, it is not like they have a lack of reasons to be interested in rescuing them. From the rich uranium mines that feed the French "nuclear deterrence" to the fact that if al-Qaeda succeeds in the Sahara they would have a base of operations in Europe's backyard, just three hours away...

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