I’m an independent journalist, published by the The Irish Times, Al Jazeera, the Guardian, RTÉ, Radio Canada, Le Point, La Presse and many others.
I mainly cover international stories - most recently, Iran's protests, Iraqi militia groups, narco-trafficking in Guinea Bissau, Hungary’s far-right, war in Cameroon and modern slavery in Pakistan. Closer to home, I've reported on all sorts, including the UK's recent wave of industrial action and Brexit. I also write a monthly column and culture features for Die Zeit's English-language magazine, Spotlight.
Currently based in London, I do both print and broadcast – in English and French. Contact me here.
Recent work - World
'Muqtada' - The cleric who has Iraq in his grip
Irish Times (01/23)
Ask any Iraqi about politics and talk will soon turn to Muqtada al-Sadr. Widely known by the mononym “Muqtada”, he wields unparalleled clout as Shia cleric, militia boss and political leader. Often described as mercurial, his sudden shifts of mood and changes of mind have the country mesmerised.
Undaunted young Iraqis yearn for change
Irish Times (01/23)
The revolution is not over. Three years on from Iraq’s Tishreen – or October – uprising, which saw more than 600 protesters assassinated by security forces and Iran-backed militias, many of the movement’s young protesters are broken but far from unbowed.
'Iraq is now a teenage country'
Irish Times (01/23)
Twenty years on from the US-led invasion, three Iraqi artists explain how, after decades of being held back, they are taking back control of their country's narrative. Much of Iraq's story has been told in the West, deploying a visual shorthand of guns, bombs and oil derived from TV news, a dominant narrative that is hard to shift ...
Iraqis tire of Iranian influence
Irish Times (01/23)
Walking through Baghdad, you could easily be forgiven for thinking Iraqis are hell-bent on wreaking vengeance on the United States. At least, that was the message conveyed by the hanging of a cardboard cut-out of former president Donald Trump on Tahrir Square. But, taking to people on the street, a parallel, more convincing reality emerges ...
French teen seeks justice after policeman beats, urinates on him
Al Jazeera (11/22)
The latest in a long line of police abuses which have come to light in France in recent times, often targeting Black and Arab men, demonstrating what rights groups term systemic brutality and racism in its security forces.
Escape from Iran: 'My dream was to be a primary teacher. Now I'm holding a gun'
Irish Times (10/22)
Iran protests: 'We need the people to move and take down this government'
Irish Times (11/22)
On the Iran-Iraq border, Iranians speak out against Tehran's bloody crackdown on protesters, which has left hundreds dead.
'Prophet of God': Kurdish opposition groups feel wrath of under-pressure Iran
Irish Times (11/22)
Facing the gravest threat to its survival since 1979, the Islamic Republic is pointing the finger of blame for abroad, bombing Kurdish opposition bases in Iraq.
Recent work - UK
From pandemic heroes to underpaid workers, UK bus drivers revolt
Al Jazeera (08/22)
In Southport, an old seaside town in the northwest of England, bus drivers congregated under a bus stop. They stood and chatted, one fiddled with a Rubik’s cube, and a couple held red flags, now three weeks into an acrimonious standoff with bus operator Arriva North West …
Britain's "summer of discontent"
RTÉ (08/22) @17.55mins
Radio report on the Britain’s “summer of discontent”. For the past month or so, as temperatures – and inflation - have risen to new highs, Britain has been rife with talk of paltry pay rises, lousy working conditions, fat cat salaries, colossal corporate profits and strikes. An almighty clash with the incoming government looms.
Selected from archives
Yazidi women and girls still enslaved
The Irish Times (08/21)
Around 2,800 women and girls enslaved by Islamic State are still missing.
It is thought that many of those who survived may be trapped in the increasingly dangerous Al-Hawl detention camp in northeast Syria.
(Photograph: Lolav Media/Ginestra Film)
Mosul’s new masters
After Isis, came the mafia. In Mosul, a jumbled assortment of Iran-backed militias, known collectively as the Hashd al-Shaabi, compete for their share of the spoils of war.
The vapers of Mosul
BBC Radio 4 (03/20) @11.14mins
Out on the hustle with three buccaneering entrepreneurs, selling vapes in war-torn Mosul. Moslawis are born entrepreneurs. Given half the chance, they can make their city great again.
The best weapon against war in Iraq is a waistcoat
For the dapper young men at Mr Erbil, style is survival. In their emporium of hip, espressos are sipped and style flaunted as chaos and menace swirl outside. No talk of religion or politics permitted.
‘You live with these men as a slave. It’s free for them to do anything’
Naveen Rasho endured five years of hell at the hands of Islamic State. She survived the fall of the caliphate in Baghuz, only to face the fresh horror of detention at Al Hawl camp in Syria with her captor’s three brides.
‘We are only 1,000, but we fight like 10,000.’
In the hills of northern Iraq, I meet showman general Hussein Yazdanpanah, whose Iranian Kurdish fighters are fighting against a resurgent Islamic State and the Tehran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias.
Global Ear: Dé:Nash
Hungarian rapper Dé:Nash mines his country’s collective consciousness, satirising the Fidesz regime’s use of ancient legend and historical grievances to craft a new national narrative.
’Licence to kill’
Cameroon’s bloody conflict between the regime and separatist rebels has been raging nearly three years. Government forces wield their ‘licence to kill’ liberally, with utter impunity.
Interview: Guinea-Bissau’s president
José Mário Vaz, president of Guinea-Bissau, appeals to world for help in fighting the cocaine cartels that he says are still using the fragile state as a trafficking hub.
