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My invincible Indian summer

Agnès Bun Thursday 10 January 2019

"Having been based in Hong Kong and India for Agence France-Presse for the past seven years, I have not felt cold in almost a decade (Winter Olympics’ coverage aside). But as I left India after four fantastic and intense years as South Asia video coordinator, in order to join our regional headquarters in Washington DC, it was high time to dust my mouldy pullovers and treasured memories," writes video journalist Agnes Bun.

"I have worked in various countries in Africa, Asia and Europe; but my camera has never been as spoiled as in India. This country has fifty shades of vibrant colours and I wanted to pay tribute to them in writing and in a best-of video, as a final farewell to the fascinating people and landscapes I was lucky enough to film during my time here."

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  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary
  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary
  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary
  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary
  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary
  • AFP / Timothy A. Clary

In a New York minute

Jennie Matthew Monday 7 January 2019

"The first time I grabbed lunch in New York, I was yelled at," writes Jennie Matthew, a veteran correspondent who has just finished a five-year posting to the Big Apple.

"Back then, I was embarrassed, apologetic and intimidated. By the time I left, I was yelling myself."

"New York does that to people."

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AFP / Yasin Akgul

Groping for truth of a murder in Istanbul

Stuart Williams Wednesday 2 January 2019

"When Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, I was neither watching or could have had any inkling this would turn into an event of any importance," writes Stuart Williams, who has just finished up a posting as deputy bureau chief in Turkey.

"Yet his entry through its doors set off one of the most horrific and grotesque news stories I have handled in my nearly two decades as a journalist. And also one of the most delicate to handle."

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  • AFP / Sameer Al-Doumy
  • AFP / Sameer Al-Doumy
  • Photo courtesy of Sameer Al-Doumy
  • AFP / Zakaria Abdelkafi
  • AFP / Zakaria Abdelkafi
  • AFP / Abdulmonam Eassa
  • AFP / Zakaria Abdelkafi
  • Photo courtesy of Abdulmonam Eassa

Yellow rage through Syrian eyes

Abdulmonam Eassa, Sameer Al-Doumy, Zakaria Abdelkafi Monday 10 December 2018

Of the thousands of people witnessing the “yellow vest” protests in Paris over the past few weeks, three young men have had a decidedly different perspective.

Cameras in hand, they have had great fun at the demonstrations, exchanging knowing looks, smiles and jokes whenever they crossed paths. Every once in a while, a painful memory or a philosophical reflection would pierce through the merriment. Then the good humor would return.

They are Syrians who have seen friends and loved ones die and their hometowns reduced to rubble. Having escaped war, Abdulmonam Eassa, Sameer Al-Doumy and Zakaria Abdelkafi are now covering violence in a European capital. With a smile.

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