Barcelona residents protesting against high rents clashed with police outside a real estate fair and government office. (September 25 2024) Catalan regional police charged at housing rights protesters attempting to enter an international real estate fair in Barcelona on Wednesday. The protesters threw coloured powder at the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police before folding back into a nearby subway station. The demonstration to place outside “The District” real estate fair, an international event for investors. Barcelona, like other major touristic destinations in Spain, is facing a housing crisis that has triggered anti-tourism protests as locals blame the rise in housing costs on the proliferation of tourist apartments available on platforms such as AirBnb and Booking.com.
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BARCELONA, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Boasting names like “Femina Morte” and “Mad, Mad Chica,” the skaters of Barcelona’s Steel Groin (Ingles de Acero) roller derby team are as tough as their names sound. The fast-paced, full-contact sport played on quad skates and divided into two 30-minutes halves of “jams”, each lasting up to two minutes, is growing in popularity around the world and drawing players with its LGBT+ friendly and inclusive ethos.
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TARRAGONA, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Spain’s biggest human towers competition took place on Sunday, with some 11,000 spectators packing the bullring in the northeastern city of Tarragona to watch the daring Catalan tradition. Human towers, or ‘castells’, were added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 as an “integral part of (Catalan) cultural identity”. The tradition dates back to the 18th century, when people first started building human towers in the Catalan town of Valls. (…) Complete story for Reuters https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/catalans-compete-build-biggest-human-towers-spain-2022-10-02/
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A second edit from a story I produced for Reuters in Kyiv, June 2022. Changing perceptions, Ukraine’s ‘unicorn’ LGBTQ soldiers head for war By Horaci Garcia KYIV (Reuters) – As volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova pack for a return to active duty, they contemplate the unicorn insignia that gives their uniform a rare distinction – a symbol of their status as an LGBTQ couple who are Ukrainian soldiers. Members of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community who sign up for the war have taken to sewing the image of the mythical beast into their standard-issue epaulettes just below the national flag. The practice harks back to the 2014 conflict when Russia invaded then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, “when lots of people said there are no gay people in the army,” actor, director and drama teacher Zhuhan told Reuters as he and Romanova dressed in their apartment for their second three-month combat rotation. “So they (the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community) chose the unicorn because it is like a fantastic ‘non-existent’ creature.” Zhuhan and Romanova, who identifies as a non-binary person with she/her pronouns and moved to the capital from Crimea after being displaced in 2014, met through their […]
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On guard: the Senegal jail teaching teenagers to use swords September 20, 2019 THIES, Senegal (Reuters) – Teaching inmates how to handle swords may seem an unlikely approach to prison rehabilitation, but advocates believe the discipline it brings can help improve Senegal’s overloaded youth penal system. At Thies prison, the country’s second-largest, Adama and a handful of other young people move to the rhythm of their fencing coaches’ instructions, the clicking of foils against one another the only sounds piercing the silence. Armed prison guards watch the training hall from a safe distance as the teenagers learn to position their wrists for an attack, sweat dripping down their masks. In a couple of hours, the sportsmates will be inmates again. The weekly fencing school is part of an experiment to help young offenders learn discipline and respect for rules, aiming to smooth their reintegration into society. So far 300 girls and boys have undergone the training. “Before doing fencing, I used to get angry really quickly.” said 17-year-old Adama, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. “In fencing, if you get angry easily, you won’t get to stay.” Adama says he’s angry about the fact he’s spent two […]
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Youssou N’Dour records song for peace in Central Africa. Senegalese music icon Youssou N’Dour recorded a song dedicated to peace in the Central African Republic with one of its rising stars. CAR has been torn apart by inter-religious violence. Footage and soundbites from N’dour at the studio were filmed and delivered to Agence France Press in January 2014.
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Police and rioters clashed in the streets of Dakar after the Constitutional Court ruled that then-President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, could seek a third term in office. Rushes from 23 June 2012 sold to Agence France Press.
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After enduring months of intimidation from rebel fighters, radio presenters are back on air in Gao, spreading a message of reconciliation following the ousting of Islamist militants. A short reportage for Agence France-Presse just a few days after Gao was freed from Islamist insurgents.
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You may have seen the Statue of Liberty in New York, you can now visit the “Monument à la Renaissance Africaine” in Dakar. Finished in April 2010 as dreamt by Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, it is the world’s biggest bronze statue. But most people in Dakar were not happy about it as it cost a fortune. In this reportage, I’ve been working as a cameraman with the France2 crew.
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In Senegal, Malian children undergo open-heart surgery. The operations were made possible through a humanitarian programme put in place to train local doctors whilst treating patients from West Africa instead of sending the to Europe. A short reportage for Agence France Presse.
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Created in 2006, SenCirk, one of the rarest circus companies in Africa has changed the lives of dozens of youngsters. Modou, originally from Gambia, was living on the streets before the circus sunk its teeth into him. Today he is a troupe leader and helps to train the next generation of circus acts. A 2’30-minute reportage for Agence France-Presse. Shot, edited and scripted by me.
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Guinean paramilitary police officer has been slapped with the first rape charges in the 2009 Conakry Stadium massacre during which at least 157 protesters were killed. The suspect was detained and charged on April 2013 and appeared before the judges in the West African country’s capital. Short reportage shot, edited and scripted by me for Agence France-Presse.
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