Sri Lankan journalist Raisa Wickrematunge believes religious intolerance is under covered in the media. Through an ICFJ program, she helped build a course to train South Asian journalists how to cover religious freedom. Her mentorship has facilitated high-quality reporting in the region.
For the past six weeks, I have worked as the bureau photographer for The New York Times in Baghdad. This was my first visit to Iraq, and although I have worked in Afghanistan, Gaza and Yemen, I have found Iraq to be among the most difficult places to do my job. The fear is what makes working here difficult.
During Frederik Pleitgen's business visit to Iraq, he was faced with daily unpredictable obstacles that hampered the effectiveness of his reporting. The country's economic development is moving, but there are many still many social and political issues surrounding the Iraqi populace. The next weeks will be telling as the political powers attempt to form a government. And we must remember that more than 90,000 U.S. troops are still on the ground here, seemingly on their way out, but not home yet.
More than 150 Burns alumni, board members and guests gathered in Berlin on an unseasonably chilly June evening to hear from two Central European foreign ministers on topics as varied as transatlantic relations and the future of foreign correspondents.