Washington, DC

By Imran Garda in Americas on January 30th, 2012
Phillip 'The Cat In The Hat' Black sells newspapers in Washington

"I know them all. This one on the wheelchair, with everybody around her. She sells heroin. That guy who’s looking at you like that - he’s high on crack. Don't take a picture of him or you might not get home to your daughters alive."

I first met Phillip Black on a corner of cosmopolitan F Street in Washington, a few stops away from Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was shot, and almost within earshot of the White House.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on February 17th, 2011
Saif Gaddafi, the son of Libya's leader, warned of 'civil war' in a speech on Sunday night.

As protests in Libya enter their eighth day, following a "day of rage" on Thursday, we keep you updated on the developing situation from our headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

Blog: Feb17 - Feb18 - Feb19 - Feb20

By Hashem Ahelbarra in Middle East on October 7th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis have once again shipwrecked on an ocean of semantic squabbling.

Relaunched in September, the talks have tested a core premise of the American diplomatic effort in the Middle East: bringing the two sides to sit down and hammer out a comprehensive peace deal that would pave the way to the creation of a Palestinian state.

After three rounds of direct talks in Washington, DC, the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh and Jerusalem, negotiations collapsed when Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, refused to extend a moratorium on illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.

The Palestinians and the Israelis haven't had a chance to tackle core issues: the borders of the future state, security, the refugees, Jerusalem and the settlements.

By John Terrett in Americas on September 8th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Religious leaders - Muslim, Jewish, and Christian - met in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to denounce anti-Muslim bigotry. I took the Al Jazeera cameras to the National Press Club here in Washington to see more than 30 religious leaders in one room - with one aim: how to stop a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment that has already had violent consequences.

There was the attack on a Muslim taxi driver in New York city; an arson attack on a mosque under construction in Tennessee; Florida Pastor Terry Jones' plans to burn copies of the Quran this weekend, which prompted a wave of angry protests in Afghanistan and Indonesia and, of course, protests against the building of an Islamic cultural centre - including a mosque - near Ground Zero in New York.

The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said on Tuesday that the hate is connected to upcoming national congressional elections.

"A lot of people are using this as a political gambit.

By Clayton Swisher in Middle East on June 4th, 2010
Photo by AFP

So much for helping our coverage of the Netanyahu visit.  I arrived in Washington, DC, last week thinking that would be my mission.  Instead I found myself - like the rest of Washington - reacting to the Flotilla crisis.
 
As I reported, the vast majority of Americans would have seen a highly skewed presentation of those events as reported by the dominant cable news channels.   TV is the preferred way most Americans get their news each day.  And the effects that has on US foreign policy is telling.  MJ Rosenberg at Media Matters Action Network summed it up best.

By Omar Chatriwala in Americas on January 13th, 2010
Photo by Carel Pedre via Twitter

At 21:53GMT on Tuesday, the Caribbean nation of Haiti was hit by its strongest earthquake in more than 200 years, causing what is being described as "a catastrophe of major proportions".

Heavy casualties are feared after numerous buildings were levelled by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

This blog post, previously named "Haiti Earthquake: Latest updates", followed events in the immediate aftermath of quake.

Update | Latest blog posts:

By Josh Rushing in Asia on November 30th, 2009
Photos by Josh Rushing

Barack Obama, the US president, will this week announce a new strategy for Afghanistan that is expected to involve more troops and a greater effort to turn responsibility over to Afghans. This, of course, should sound familiar to anyone who has followed the war in Afghanistan. Just last summer, Obama sent thousands of US Marines into Helmand province to provide security for the impending national elections. I embedded with those Marines. 

Embedding clearly has its challenges. I have done it a number of times, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. You only see what the military allows you to see and if things get difficult - and they usually do - you depend on those you are covering to provide for your safety and well-being. That dynamic creates something similar to the Stockholm syndrome. In other words, it may be hard to report critically on the guys that may have to save your life and who are providing you food and water.

By John Terrett in Americas on November 11th, 2009
Photo by Reuters

Barack Obama did on Tuesday what all Presidents have to do at some point during their time in office - he became U.S. mourner-in-chief.

Mr Obama and his wife Michelle attended a memorial service at Fort Hood in Texas for the 13 victims who were shot dead last Thursday.

Speaking on a platform before 13 pairs of boots, rifles and helmets that represented the 13 victims, President Obama didn't refer to the alleged killer or his religion (he's a Muslim) by name, but he did use powerful words to help console the bereaved.

By John Terrett in Americas on November 10th, 2009
Photo by AFP

Binyamin Netanyahu addressed a major American Jewish conference at a big hotel in Washington, DC on Monday and argued there's still life in the moribund peace process.

"My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians and soon ... it's high time that we stopped negotiating about the negotiations - lets get on with it. Lets move."

At one point, his speech was interrupted by a lone protester. "I have to say I got a better reception at the United Nations," he joked.

Among the rest of his audience, however, there was a far warmer welcome for the Israeli leader.

"I can't say whether they've done enough - enough is a hard word to say - but the attitudes - and I've been there many times - is that peace is what they want," one audience member said.

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