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AFP / Ozan Köse

Saving the world in 48 hours

Stuart Williams Monday 30 May 2016

"For connoisseurs of international summitry, it’s been high season recently in Turkey," writes AFP's Istanbul deputy bureau chief Stuart Williams. "We enjoyed a G20 summit featuring Barack Obama, a Islamic summit starring the Saudi monarch and last week in Istanbul the first ever World Humanitarian Summit."

"My scepticism ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul was perhaps even greater than usual. The sheer ambition of the event -- to transform the world’s humanitarian system and get more aid more efficiently to the worst off -- seemed at odds with what could be achieved in any two day meeting."

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'People love to dislike the Austrians'

Sophie Makris Monday 30 May 2016

"The eyes of Europe, if not the world are turned to Austria, as this election could see the birthplace of Adolf Hitler become the first European nation to elect a far-right head of state since World War II," writes Sophie Makris, AFP's bureau chief in Vienna. "Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the extreme right Freedom Party of Austria, is running neck in neck with Alexander Van der Bellen, the former head of the Greens party."

"And all the ORF public television can show is a tacky slapstick television series."

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A chance encounter on the Syrian front

Delil Souleiman Friday 27 May 2016

"We were resting, hiding in the shade from the searing heat, when we saw the strangers arrive," writes Delil Souleiman, a photographer in Syria.

"Armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the strangers pulled up in pick-up trucks. They stood out right away. Most didn’t look like they came from the region and they spoke English between them, with that distinctive Yankee drawl. A dead giveaway."

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AFP / Francois Lo Presti

The words the pictures didn’t tell

François Lo Presti Thursday 26 May 2016

"Sometimes a picture doesn’t tell the whole story," writes Francois Lo Presti, a photographer based in northern France. "Take my photos of when police broke up a blockade at the Douchy-Haulchin oil refinery in northern France. The pictures could suggest a violent clash between the demonstrators and police. The reality was a bit different."

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AFP / Yasuyoshi Chiba

The slippery slope to a banana republic

Sebastian Smith Monday 23 May 2016

"There was a moment at the height of Brazil’s titanic impeachment crisis when the whole thing boiled down to one tiny detail -- what to do with those portraits?" writes AFP's Rio de Janeiro-based correspondent Sebastian Smith.

"The controversy summed up nicely the surreal nature of Brazil's slide from global economic and political star just a few years ago toward a banana republic-style slapstick comedy."

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