Michael Sullivan
Michael Sullivan is NPR's Senior Asia Correspondent. He moved to Hanoi to open NPR's Southeast Asia Bureau in 2003. Before that, he spent six years as NPR's South Asia correspondent based in but seldom seen in New Delhi.
Michael was in Pakistan on 9-11 and spent much of the next two years there and in Afghanistan covering the run up to and the aftermath of the U.S. military campaign to oust the Taliban and al Qaeda. Michael has also reported extensively on terrorism in Southeast Asia, including both Bali bombings. He also covered the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Michael was the first NPR reporter on the ground in both Thailand and the Indonesian province of Aceh following the devastating December 2004 tsunami. He has returned to Aceh more than half a dozen times since to document the recovery and reconstruction effort. As a reporter in NPR's London bureau in the early 1990s he covered the fall of the Soviet Union, the troubles in Northern Ireland, and the aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Before moving to New Delhi, Michael was senior producer on NPR's foreign desk. He has worked in more than 60 countries on five continents, covering conflicts in Somalia, the Balkans, Haiti, Chechnya, and the Middle East. Prior to joining the foreign desk, Michael spent several years as producer and acting executive producer of NPR's All Things Considered.
As a reporter, Michael is the recipient of several Overseas Press Club Awards and Citations for Excellence for stories from Haiti, Afghanistan, and Vietnam. He was also part of the NPR team that won an Alfred I DuPont-Columbia University Award for coverage of 9-11 and the war in Afghanistan. In 2004 he was honored by the South Asia Journalists Association (SAJA) with a Special Recognition Award for his 'outstanding work' from 1998-2003 as NPR's South Asia correspondent.
As a producer and editor, Michael has been honored by the Overseas Press Club for work from Bosnia and Haiti; a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for a story about life in Sarajevo during wartime; and a World Hunger Award for stories from Eritrea.
Michael's wife, Martha Ann Overland, is Southeast Asia correspondent for The Chronicle of Higher Education and also writes commentaries on living abroad for NPR. They have two children.
Michael is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He's been at NPR since 1985.
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One of the largest earthquakes in recent memory hit Southeast Asia Sunday morning, setting off tsunamis that killed thousands. Measured at 8.9, it is the strongest earthquake since a 9.2 quake hit Alaska in 1964. Hear NPR's Sheilah Kast and NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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Fighting at Pakistan's Afghan border ceases as tribal elders in the region try to negotiate a resolution to end the holdout of al Qaeda fighters. The area has been under attack by Pakistani troops since Tuesday, when officials determined key Taliban figures -- possibly including Osama bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri -- were in the area. Hear NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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Police in Thailand arrest four suspected members of Jemmah Islamiyah, the organization accused of carrying out the October 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia, that killed more than 200 people. Thai authorities say the men are part of a terrorist cell that planned to bomb embassies and resorts in Thailand. Hear NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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A day after Baghdad collapses, leaders in Europe and the Arab world say attention must shift to the future. France and Germany issue no official statements, but say humanitarian aid is now a priority. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak calls for Iraqi self-governance as quickly as possible. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli and NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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Saddam Hussein's government has fallen, but for many Muslims the war is now about the United States vs. Islam. That's a sentiment heard in Egypt, where a Muslim cleric has given his blessing to anyone who wished to aid Iraq. The cleric said the war in Iraq really amounted to an attack against all Muslim nations. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.
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The limited U.S. strikes on Iraqi targets in and around Baghdad draw mixed reaction from many parts of the Muslim world. Iran calls the attack "unjustifiable and illegitimate," and Malaysia says the strike represents "a black mark in history." But Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak criticizes Iraq's role in the conflict. Hear NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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The U.S. government is urging its citizens in Indonesia to exercise "extreme caution" in public places over the holidays. The warning is prompted by threats from terrorists, such as those believed to have carried out the October bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed nearly 200 people. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.
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Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi heads to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with President Bush at the White House. Bush has offered U.S. help in the investigation of last week's terrorist attacks in Mombasa. U.S. officials say an al Qaeda claim of responsibility appears credible. Hear NPR's Michael Sullivan.
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A land mine explodes under a bus in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 12 people, including six Indian soldiers. Two dozen are injured, many critically, and the death toll is likely to rise. Islamic militants are suspected in the attack. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.
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Indian police say they killed two Pakistani militants during a shootout in a New Delhi shopping mall. The two were suspected of belonging to a group opposed to India's presence in the disputed Kashmir region. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.