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A week in the life of Shanghai

Fred Dufour Friday 16 September 2016

"When Shanghai city authorities invited a dozen foreign photojournalists to spend a week shooting life in the busy port and financial hub, I jumped at the chance," writes Beijing-based photographer Fred Dufour.

"Although it’s the world’s most populous city, with 24 million souls, Shanghai has retained the winding streets and trees that give it a more 'human' feeling than the capital Beijing where I’m based, and it’s been a long time that I’ve wanted to take a closer look."

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Opening a bureau in Pyongyang

Michèle Léridon Tuesday 13 September 2016

"What will a global news agency do in one of the world’s most closed countries?" writes AFP's Global News Director, Michèle Léridon.

"The answer lies in the question itself. The fact that images from North Korea are so rare, and information coming out of the country is so meticulously and scrupulously controlled by the regime, is what makes both so precious. We have to be present here."

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The morning "a fire broke out"

Michel Moutot Friday 9 September 2016

"September 11, 2001, 20 to nine on a beautiful sunny morning in New York. The view from the windows of the AFP bureau, on the 34th floor of a Manhattan tower block, is glorious", remembers AFP reporter Michel Moutot. "And suddenly, the NY1 anchor says they're getting reports of a fire high up in one of the World Trade Center towers..."

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  • AFP / Bulent Kilic
  • AFP / Bulent Kilic
  • AFP / Bulent Kilic

Something is changing

Bülent Kiliç Thursday 8 September 2016

"In the five years that I’ve spent covering the Syrian war, this was the first time that I have seen substantial crowds of refugees returning to Syria," writes Istanbul-based photographer Bulent Kilic.

"I’ve shot thousands of people escaping into Turkey from war-torn Syria, be it through holes cut in barbed wire or by waiting patiently for the border gates to open.  And over the past five years you’ve had trickles returning here and there. But never in such numbers."

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There are many who die in the jungle

Alina Dieste Thursday 8 September 2016

"Part of Evelio Cortez’s job is to lay broken dreams to rest," writes Alina Dieste, AFP news editor in Bogota.

He’s the gravedigger at the cemetery here, so it falls to him to find the final resting places for the bodies of migrants who wash up on the local shores, their dream of reaching the United States from places like Cuba, Haiti, Africa and Asia cut short by the Caribbean waters.

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