(Please note that
most of these interviews and relevant materials (including
photographs) are reproduced for academic and research purposes as
useful background for current conflicts).
I
watched Margaret Thatcher at the upper window of 10 Downing Street
as she looked from behind a partly drawn small curtain to see her
successor John Major getting into the prime ministerial car. She
appeared satisfied at her party's choice for the next prime minister
but she never believed Major will be another male Margaret Thatcher.
That role can be claimed, astonishingly enough, by Labour's Tony
Blair. Thatcher was always blunt and determined but not an iron
lady. The true iron lady of the time was Indira Gandhi - a small
woman with a larger shadow than most contemporary politicians until
the very end of her tragic life. A shattering loss for everybody.
More...
I
was arrested in down town Kabul by nervous soldiers for violating a
night curfew I was not told about by the receptionist of my hotel
who did not speak English. But instead of being driven the next
morning to be shot or spend Christmas in prison I found myself in
the presence of the one time coup plotter and school teacher
President Hafizulla Amin. It soon transpired he was more keen to
interview me than being interviewed but little we knew at the time
the seismic changes awaiting not just Afghanistan but the whole
world until this very day. More...
I
met Mahatir Mohammad, the Prime Minister Of Malaysia, at the top
floor of the Abu Dhabi Hilton during a state visit to the UAE in
March 1984 and I have followed his fortunes since. If he is really
interested in leading the Islamic World then he will have no
contenders. If he can achieve a fraction of the success he achieved
in his country then the Islamic World and the whole World with it
will be a safer and better place for all. Isn't that what everybody
wants, including the Jews? More...
"You
seem to have a bigger name internationally than small Austria", I
asked Bruno Kreisky, the Chancellor Of Austria in December 1981, "
does that worry you?".
The 70 plus Kreisky looked suddenly very uncomfortable but I never
knew for certain whether it was because of the stupid question or
the stupid questioner his propaganda assistants cajoled him to meet.
One of the greatest black and white politicians of his era.
More...
I
was warned so I did my homework thoroughly and prepared all the
right questions and additional ones to answers I predicted the Mrs..
Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady, for some) will give to me or to
one of my other six colleagues. I looked young and confident and the
pool meeting (April 1981 in 10 Downing St. ) was relaxed but when I
played the brand new tape recorder in the taxi taking me to my hotel
I was shocked. I had inserted the batteries the wrong way and the
machine was extremely hot but the tape dead cold.
More...
One
of the mysteries of history is how a certain great era produces
certain great politicians. The reverse is true but also ironic.
Those who succeed great politicians inherit only the shadow and it
shows in most things they do. Fred Sinowatz, the successor to Bruno
Kreisky, was aware of the predicament but he fended off the
impression with a gentle nature. More...
A
devout Muslim espousing devout Muslim ideas in Pakistan and beyond,
Mohammad Zial-ul-Haq, the strong military man of Pakistan whom I met
in Islamabad in December 1987 looked and sounded confident in his
destiny, that of his country and Muslim countries all over the
world. One wonders whether South East Asia with him in power would
have been a more stable area two decades later or worse. That
remains an intriguing question not very dissimilar from the one
concerning the true circumstances of his death. Was it an accident,
a USA or a USSR plot? More...
I
came out from a TV interview with Mohammad Khan Junejo, the Prime
Minister Of Pakistan in Karachi in December 1987 with the impression
of meeting an honest, no-nonsense politician- a rare commodity
anywhere, anytime. His greatest worries were the spreading terrorism
and the instability in war-ravaged neighbouring Afghanistan. Sounds
oddly
current doesn't it? More...
I
was told by my first editor that a good journalist is judged by the
copy he throws away not the one he puts in the newspaper. How true,
so here are some of the photos that did not find their way to the
pages of the newspaper and news agencies I have worked for
throughout the years hoping they will be useful to some. Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud, actress Vanessa Redgrave, Mrs.. Margaret
Thatcher (at her
and mine) constituency) and others. Have a look.
I
watched Margaret Thatcher at the upper window of 10 Downing Street
as she looked from behind a partly drawn small curtain to see her
successor John Major getting into the prime ministerial car. She
appeared satisfied at her party's choice for the next prime minister
but she never believed Major will be another male Margaret Thatcher.
That role can be claimed, astonishingly enough, by Labour's Tony
Blair. Thatcher was always blunt and determined but not an iron
lady. The true iron lady of the time was Indira Gandhi - a small
woman with a larger shadow than most contemporary politicians until
the very end of her tragic life. A shattering loss for everybody.
I
was arrested in down town Kabul by nervous soldiers for violating a
night curfew I was not told about by the receptionist of my hotel
who did not speak English. But instead of being driven the next
morning to be shot or spend Christmas in prison I found myself in
the presence of the one time coup plotter and school teacher
President Hafizulla Amin. It soon transpired he was more keen to
interview me than being interviewed but little we knew at the time
the seismic changes awaiting not just Afghanistan but the whole
world until this very day. 
I
met Mahatir Mohammad, the Prime Minister Of Malaysia, at the top
floor of the Abu Dhabi Hilton during a state visit to the UAE in
March 1984 and I have followed his fortunes since. If he is really
interested in leading the Islamic World then he will have no
contenders. If he can achieve a fraction of the success he achieved
in his country then the Islamic World and the whole World with it
will be a safer and better place for all. Isn't that what everybody
wants, including the Jews? 
"You
seem to have a bigger name internationally than small Austria", I
asked Bruno Kreisky, the Chancellor Of Austria in December 1981, "
does that worry you?".
I
was warned so I did my homework thoroughly and prepared all the
right questions and additional ones to answers I predicted the Mrs..
Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady, for some) will give to me or to
one of my other six colleagues. I looked young and confident and the
pool meeting (April 1981 in 10 Downing St. ) was relaxed but when I
played the brand new tape recorder in the taxi taking me to my hotel
I was shocked. I had inserted the batteries the wrong way and the
machine was extremely hot but the tape dead cold.
One
of the mysteries of history is how a certain great era produces
certain great politicians. The reverse is true but also ironic.
Those who succeed great politicians inherit only the shadow and it
shows in most things they do. Fred Sinowatz, the successor to Bruno
Kreisky, was aware of the predicament but he fended off the
impression with a gentle nature. 
A
devout Muslim espousing devout Muslim ideas in Pakistan and beyond,
Mohammad Zial-ul-Haq, the strong military man of Pakistan whom I met
in Islamabad in December 1987 looked and sounded confident in his
destiny, that of his country and Muslim countries all over the
world. One wonders whether South East Asia with him in power would
have been a more stable area two decades later or worse. That
remains an intriguing question not very dissimilar from the one
concerning the true circumstances of his death. Was it an accident,
a USA or a USSR plot? 
I
came out from a TV interview with Mohammad Khan Junejo, the Prime
Minister Of Pakistan in Karachi in December 1987 with the impression
of meeting an honest, no-nonsense politician- a rare commodity
anywhere, anytime. His greatest worries were the spreading terrorism
and the instability in war-ravaged neighbouring Afghanistan. Sounds
oddly
I
was told by my first editor that a good journalist is judged by the
copy he throws away not the one he puts in the newspaper. How true,
so here are some of the photos that did not find their way to the
pages of the newspaper and news agencies I have worked for
throughout the years hoping they will be useful to some. Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud, actress Vanessa Redgrave, Mrs.. Margaret
Thatcher (at her 