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‘Behind closed doors’: the new normal in sport

Fanny Carrier Tuesday 12 January 2021

As the players emerge from the tunnel for their final warmup before kickoff, the absence of young mascots strikes you - and there no handshakes with the opposition. The referee blows his whistle... and a deathly silence envelops the stadium. That is the reality of covering live sport in the age of coronavirus, as AFP's sports correspondent in western France, Fanny Carrier, explains.

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  • AFP / Olivier Douliery
  • AFP / Roberto Schmidt
  • AFP / Alex Edelman
  • AFP / Roberto Schmidt
  • GETTY IMAGES / AFP / Drew Angerer
  • GETTY IMAGES / AFP Drew Angerer
  • AFP / Olivier Douliery
  • AFP / Saul Loeb
  • AFP / Saul Loeb
  • AFP / Saul Loeb
  • AFP / Olivier Douliery

When democracy stumbles

Saul Loeb, Agnès Bun, Roberto Schmidt, Olivier Douliery Saturday 9 January 2021

Washington - It was always going to be a big day in Washington. Both houses of Congress were to meet to certify President-elect Joe Biden's November victory - a normally ceremonial event which had taken on outsized significance in light of Donald Trump's unprecedented refusal to concede defeat. Ultimately, the day would go down in history for the storming of the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, its jaw-dropping scenes captured at close quarters by AFP's 17-strong team of reporters, photographers and videojournalists on the ground.

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  • AFP / Aris Messinis
  • AFP/ Aris Messinis
  • AFP / Aris Messinis
  • AFP / Aris Messinis

‘Our’ Iraqi refugee family’s odyssey to freedom

Serene Assir Thursday 17 December 2020

"It’s not every day that I get to write a story with a happy ending worthy of a 21st century fairytale", writes Serene Assir.  Having survived a bomb attack in their native Baghdad, Ahmad and Alia, decided five years ago to risk it all to give their son a life in peace and security. After a long, excruciating wait, they have been granted asylum.

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AFP / Fethi Belaid

The Tunisia uprising's 'man with a cage'

Caroline-Nelly Perrot Thursday 10 December 2020

Ten years ago the photo of young demonstrator Wadii Jelassi holding up a bird cage and a Tunisian flag as he was carried along by the crowd became one of the symbols of the north African country’s revolution, the first of a series of uprisings which were to sweep across the Middle East. Tunis bureau chief Caroline-Nelly Perrot looks back on those days through the testimonies of Jelassi and AFP photographer Fethi Belaid who captured that moment with his iconic image.

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  • AFP / Hector Retamal
  • AFP / Hector Retamal
  • AFP / Hector Retamal
  • AFP / Hector Retamal
  • AFP / Hector Retamal

Four seasons in Wuhan

Hector Retamal Friday 4 December 2020

"​I headed to the train station to go to Wuhan. My bosses phoned to discuss their concerns about the mission. I insisted on going. I reminded them that I had already covered a cholera epidemic in Haiti", writes Hector Retamal, AFP's eastern China photographer. "I truly grasped the seriousness of the situation when the high-speed train arrived after four hours in Wuhan. Hardly anyone got off the train". 

After the lockdown Hector Retamal went back several times to Wuhan and could watch the city's slow return to normal.  The prestigious picture desk of The Guardian has chosen Hector as its agency photographer of the year . 

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