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AFP / Delil Souleiman

Absurd and meaningless

Delil Souleiman Saturday 19 October 2019

"When my son was born, we named him Avan. It means prosperous and thriving and I hoped the name would reflect the path his life would take," writes Delil Souleiman, a photographer in northern Syria.

"Now it’s a year later and I think -- how could you have given him a name like that? How can anyone have any hope amid all the devastation and destruction in my sad country?"

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AFP / Yamil Lage

Lines and resignation in latest Cuba shortage

Katell Abiven Wednesday 16 October 2019

"By 11 am on a recent Saturday morning , I’ve already driven to three gas stations in Havana, without being able to find diesel," writes Cuba bureau chief Katell Abiven. 

"The fuel gauge of my Kia Sportage is getting lower and lower. I only have a quarter of a tank. Despite the heat, I turn off the air conditioning to save the little gas that’s left, for I don’t know when I’ll be able to fill up...another day in the latest shortage on the island."

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  • AFP / Saul Loeb
  • AFP / Brendan Smialowski
  • AFP / Brendan Smialowski
  • AFP / Brendan Smialowski

Mad days in the court of King Donald

Sebastian Smith Wednesday 16 October 2019

"Standing a sofa's length from President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, I realized I was listening to the leader of the free world rage on the subject of jockstraps," writes Sebastian Smith.

"As so often before in this job of White House correspondent, I felt my eyes bulge in amazement. Then I took a deep breath, refocused, and tried to speed up my note taking. After all, it was just another day in the Trump White House."

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AFP / Alexander Joe

Zimbabwe's 'end of an error'

Susan Njanji Friday 11 October 2019

"I had just stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a bath towel and my hair dripping, when the sound on my cell phone filled me with dread," writes Johannesburg-based journalist Susan Njanji. 

"The ringtone signalled that messages were pouring into a WhatsApp group that was usually very quiet. One glance at the screen confirmed it -- 'this death is going to happen exactly the way I had been hoping to avoid,' I thought before frantically starting a long flurry of calls."

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Who Killed Paul Guihard ? Part 2 (podcast)

Laurent Kalfala, David Lory, Frederic Bourgeais Tuesday 8 October 2019

Beneath the Mississippi moon, somebody better investigate soon — When President Kennedy delivered the first sentence of his address to the nation in the early evening of September 30, 1962, “James Meredith is now in residence on the campus of the University of Mississippi,” he didn't know that US marshals who had come under attack from protesters all afternoon on campus had started to fire teargas.

Soon a riot exploded on the scene, fueled by hundreds of segregationists who had come to Ole Miss from other states to “defend” it against the enrollment of its first African-American student. AFP reporter Paul Guihard and photographer Sammy Schulman split up to cover the unrest. They had no idea that Guihard would never return alive.

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