Lowly Charlton Athletic have raised the hackles of officials in Tehran. How so? Through military brinkmanship and the threat of sanctions if the country doesn't start toeing the official nuclear line? Nope. They've cancelled a football match against the Iranian national team. The friendly was scheduled to be played this Saturday in Spain, but Charlton pulled out at the last minute. We can't help think their decision may have been influenced by Iran's spectacular......

Khat, the enervating plant masticated across much of the Middle East and Africa, is contributing to serious mental health issues among London's east African communities, according to a report. The somnolent stare of the regular khat-chewer is a familiar sight for anybody who has travelled to the likes of Nairobi or Addis Ababa, and is increasingly seen on the streets of London. A mild sedative that gives off a reasonably powerful high, the plant's......

Honestly, what kind of topsy-turvy world is it where a man can't keep for himself the spoils of war he half-inched on a foreign lark? That's just what Boris Johnson is wondering. The mayor has been forced to hand over a cigar box that he pilfered from the charred remains of Baghdad to Scotland Yard. Boris was in Iraq in 2003, shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, when he visited the home......

A basket full of groceries tempts the book-loving Londoner this week, so let's cut to the chase: Monday: Lots going on this evening. Tickets are still available for a heavyweight foreign affairs chinwag at the Southbank Centre. Longtime Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk, award-winning reporter Christina Lamb and novelist (and occasional Martin Amis basher) Ronan Bennett discuss contemporary reportage and non-fiction at the opening event of the Centre's Writing From The Frontline series. Tickets......

Fancy a trip to Israel? But don't fancy lining up at LHR to pile onto a tedious flight? This might be what you're looking for: a car rally from London to Jerusalem - in vintage vehicles, no less! As part of the State of Israel's 60th Independence Day, the Jewish National Fund is aiming to raise some £250,000 for residents of the Negev desert. Hence this 18 day rally, during which drivers will meander......

Hang on to your TLSs. Literary London is a lioness roaring in a few weeks ahead of her regularly scheduled appearance in March. With both the London Word Festival and Jewish Book Week launching this week, we’ve got enough events in our diary to keep us busy until spring. Keep an eye on this space as we highlight our favourites from these festivals over the next couple of weeks. Monday: You want poetry? RADA’s......

The London International Comics Festival is halfway over, so if you haven’t seen any of it yet you owe it to yourself to investigate some sweet action with paper, ink and speech bubbles. The festival continues to tackle a nicely wide range of topics, so this week the highlights we’ve chosen offer Halloween horror, an indie invasion and germane geopolitics. If the festival were a comic book itself, it would be coming to the......

When our exclusive email interview with Middlesex and Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan arrived in our inbox late on Friday we were sorely tempted to post it there and then given Ireland's spectacular tie with Zimbabwe the previous day, but we reluctantly decided to hang on to it until regular posting resumed on Monday morning. In the wake of Ireland's frankly earth shattering demolition of former world champions Pakistan on Saturday night, possibly the biggest......

Londonist loves a good protest; they're excellent for the constitution. Nothing like a nice amble all the way from Speaker's Corner to Trafalgar Square with 60,000 (or 2,000, or 100,000, depending on who you listen to) of your fellow Londoners, while carrying an "amusingly" modified placard expressing your outrage about something or other. Yes, Saturday was Stop Trident/Troops Out Of Iraq/Don't Attack Iran marching day, and so march we did, from that symbolic home......

In the trial of six men accused of plotting mass murder aboard London transport in July 2005, the prosecution showed photos of interesting objects in the flat of Yassin Omar, 26. These objects include a printout of Osama Bin Laden's October 2004 address to the American people. In the speech, Bin Laden related what he believed were the root causes of ongoing U.S.-Middle East conflicts. Also found in the apartment were: - a rucksack......

This story from Middle East Online is worth a post simply to show the photograph of our PM scurrying back onto BlairForceOne like he suddenly remembered he left the gas on. Not only do observers believe the prime minister's stock is damaged at home due to the war in Iraq, they find the conflict and his close alignment with the United States have harmed his reputation in the Middle East. Add to that the......

The situation in the Middle East has settled down for a minute, terrorist attacks in Britain are 'highly likely' rather than 'imminent', the Premiership season is yet to start, and we're still in August. Must be time for more silly season filler. Today, Reuters has come up with today's 'No Shit, Sherlock' story telling us that London cabbies are better at getting around London than satellite navigation systems. We've got experience of a couple......

Forget the Middle East, the streets of London is where the real battle is. And the ammunition is newspaper ink... ...at least, that's what we'd possibly write if we were lazy, scaremongering Standard journalists who had been drafted in to write filler copy for a new free afternoon newspaper. The possibility of an Associated Newspapers afternoon freesheet has been reported today as their response to News International's September launch of thelondonpaper (also known as......

Another bumper crop of things to do and see this weekend, in particular all the Big Dance events taking place around town - more details here. But for the non-dance related things to see and do, the Culture Crawl starts here... Friday 21 July 1001 Nights Now at the British Museum. An evening of Arabian fairy tales re-told through the stories of migrant workers from the Middle East in Britain today; this is an......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. If you're about to leave this great, heaving sweaty beast of a city, you might want to cast your eyes over a few summer holiday reading lists and see what the good people at the Guardian, Amazon and Time Out (NY) recommend. Either that or you could just buy the new Jackie Collins at......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. First off, a resounding thank you to Sarah who authored this column so expertly each week and has only abdicated the role because she was forced back to the Big Apple. We’re not sure if they have “books” or “literature” over there Sarah, so this one’s for you… Events Around London: Tonight: The crime......

An article in yesterday's Observer has created quite a stir, with Cameron's mob now calling for an independent London bombings inquiry. The leaked report into July 7 seems to make clear that the bombers acted alone and had no direct connection with al-Qaeda: A Whitehall source said: 'The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.' Today's Independent underlines the fact that the report paints a picture......

Ken's suspension has been lifted pending his appeal. At a news conference today the mayor said the suspension was the work of "a few bureaucrats with a bit of power throwing their weight around." and claimed that the Board of Deputies of British Jews brough the complaint against him because of his views on the Middle East: This is about the general displeasure of the Board of Deputies about my views on the Middle......

This week: Munich, Hidden, and The New World plus film news and gossip. It seems that this week is a good week to go to the pictures, but we're going to start off with one of the least raved about films of the week, Munich, just because it's Speilberg and even though people don't seem to like it a lot they still have much to say about it. Munich gets its best review from......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. The late summer/early fall book publishing frenzy seems to be finally dying down, and the announcement of the Booker Prize winner yesterday is appearing to serve as its exclamation point. Yes, if the list of "Forthcoming Titles" on Blackwell's website is any indication, we're not going to have nearly as much new stuff to......

Everyone has fond memories of Hi De Hi. Londonist used to watch, mouth agape, dumbfounded by the idea that anyone would consider enforced jollity and strictly regimented 'fun' to be their idea of a good holiday. The best thing about Hi De Hi was how it made this Londonista's usual holiday - a week in a tent in Wales - look like the epitome of holiday freedom by comparison. Sheep trying to eat the......

Banksy's work scattered across London tends to divide people somewhat, but not as much as great big fuck off illegal wall does. Packing his stencils and spray cans, he went to the Middle East to share his vision with those living on the Palestinian side. His visit is recorded in the nine stencilled pictures, some surreal, some poignant, he left on the gigantic barrier. His latest work was on his website yesterday, labelled "holiday......

A quick rundown of all the latest news stories connected to the London bombings: As you've probably read by now Pakistan security forces have arrested a British Muslim in connection with the bombings. This was part of a sweep of arrests across the country during which at least 25 people were detained. In connection with this the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will make an address on Thursday explaining the government's "crackdown on Islamic militants".......

The idea that somehow by running away from the school bully, then the bully will not come after you is... known to be completely untrue by every kid in the playground Ahh good to see that the government is finally cracking down on bullying in schools. What's that? You say that was actually Defence Secretary John Reid? But that doesn't make sense... unless... he wouldn't be trying to compare the deaths of 51 people......