Author Archives: globalwindow

One of the highlights of any holiday or festival is looking forward to and eating a special meal. And few countries do special cuisine better than France. This is certainly the experience of an English couple I know who live on the Mediterranean coast not far from the French city of Montpellier. A couple ofContinue reading “Rescued by French cuisine”

By most accounts the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is handling the pandemic crisis with aplomb. She has put in place a strong and ambitious strategy aimed at eliminating the virus completely. And she has backed this up by displaying humanity and empathy. First, let’s look at a couple of examples of her humaneContinue reading “NZ’s wall of defence”

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, has been taking a series of dramatic actions in response to the pandemic. One of the most striking initiatives has been the release of a song by Zinash Tayachew. She is the wife of the country’s prime minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner.Continue reading “Mercy in Ethiopia”

In the last few weeks I have come to regard Dr Bharat Pankhania, an expert in communicable diseases, as a kind of trusted friend. Recently he has been appearing regularly on the regional programme I watch, BBC Points West, which is produced in the city of Bristol not far from my home. The doctor hasContinue reading “Close to home”

This was the startling and alarming image I received from my friend Stephen as he and his wife Vera were checking in at London’s Heathrow airport on 17 March. They were at the start of a long journey to Australia. At the time international flights were vastly reducing because of the growing spread of theContinue reading “Brisbane diary”

California calling. This was my friend Yemane’s safety routine yesterday before setting off on a shopping trip in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles. The city has been in lockdown since last month and Yemane has been taking precautions for some time when he goes out for essential supplies. However, last week the LA cityContinue reading “Mask, mask, mask”

Around the world we are seeing television presenters being forced to broadcast their programmes from their homes because of the lockdowns imposed during this pandemic. Ewa Ewart who lives in the Polish capital, Warsaw, is one of those presenters. She works for TVN24, the news channel of the country’s largest commercial television station, TVN, whichContinue reading “The view from Warsaw”

One of the international public figures thrust into the limelight during this crisis has been Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation. We’ve got used to him appearing on our screens telling the world to test, test, test. Many have praised his interventions. However, Dr Tedros has faced criticism for beingContinue reading “Test, test, test”

This is a passionate young Indian cricket fan in November 2016. I took his photo while watching a match between India and England in the city of Rajkot in the state of Gujarat. On the first day of the game the crowd’s attention was distracted by two seismic simultaneous political events happening outside the stadium.Continue reading “Heart to heart”

Just in case you don’t know – this is Dr Anthony Fauci. He’s the director of NIAID, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in America. He is right at the centre of the pandemic hurricane sweeping across the United States, which now has by far the largest number of covid-19 cases in the world. TheContinue reading “In the eye of the storm”