Ian Birrell

Ian Birrell is a former Deputy Editor of The Independent and co-founder of Africa Express

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Votes counted in Harare last week appear to show a Mugabe victory

Morgan Tsvangirai is left without a hope

04 August 2013 12:00 AM

Robert Mugabe has blatantly cheated his electorate, and once again there is little anyone can do to prevent his seventh term in office

Britain's Queen Elizabeth sits with Prince Philip as she delivers her speech in the House of Lords, during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London

Think how good the House of Lords could be

02 August 2013 06:42 PM

What we need is more mavericks, individuals and expertise rather than more tribalism

Fear and optimism mix as people face into another Mugabe-rigged election

29 July 2013 07:45 PM

There are 109,000 centenarians registered despite a life expectancy of 51

Politics and religion do mix well after all

28 July 2013 12:00 AM

Ian Birrell is surprised by the Archbishop Welby's diplomatic handling of payday loans

Some protests suit Blair more than others

09 July 2013 06:58 PM

Now the coup threatens to boost extremists, and sends a terrible message worldwide

Patients expect to be in safe hands when they go to hospital

Worshipping the NHS costs lives

23 June 2013 12:00 AM

This toxic institution, believed to be the envy of the world, has been poisoned by individuals' self-promotion at the expense of the sick

This isn’t ending world hunger. It’s just a sham

18 June 2013 07:31 PM

Ministers and their mates in the swollen aid industry came up with something cynical

When democracy has blood on its hands

13 May 2013 10:19 AM

The International Criminal Court was designed for those monsters accused of the world's worst crimes, but democracy has some unexpected consequences

Corrupt, ineffective and hypocritical: Britain should give less aid, not more

01 May 2013 06:15 PM

It is hard to take seriously South Africa's outrage over Britain's withdrawal of aid

We subsidise firms that keep workers in poverty

15 April 2013 06:07 PM

The Conservatives should back a Living Wage for workers. It would show they cared about ordinary people, while cutting some of the ground beneath Labour

More by Ian Birrell
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Day In a Page

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end