2024
Roba El Husseini
Iraq's Deputy Bureau Chief
Agence France Presse
Roba El Husseini is an investigative journalist who has published in-depth reports from the Middle East – Syria, Lebanon, Iraq – and Afghanistan. She is currently serving as Bureau Chief in Iraq for the French news agency AFP. Roba has spent more than a decade covering war-torn Syria and crisis-hit Lebanon, relaying breaking news and resulting human tragedies. She has reported on numerous military operations launched by various actors in Syria. As a war correspondent, she has also deployed multiple times to cover key battles against the Islamic State group in Mosul, Raqqa, and the jihadists' last stronghold of Baghouz.
She has published investigations into the extortion of property from those displaced by the Syrian war; the primitive mortuaries known as "salt rooms" in a notorious Syrian former regime-run prison; and how the Assad regime turned Syria into a narco-state. Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Roba returned to Syria to lead an investigation into how Bashar’s brother, Maher, and his cronies wallowed in immense wealth while many Syrians struggled to feed their families. In Lebanon, she covered the unprecedented 2019 protests against a corrupt ruling elite, the deadly Beirut port blast, years of economic fallout, and military escalation. As bureau chief in Baghdad, she covers a broad spectrum of news, reporting on a volatile country overshadowed by a tumultuous Middle East, Kurdish affairs, and environmental issues in one of the world’s most climate-change-affected countries. She recently investigated how young Iraqis are being recruited into the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.The 2024 World Fellows
We are delighted to announce the 2024 Yale World Fellows. These 16 extraordinary individuals consist of global leaders working in environment, technology, politics, social cohesion, media, human rights, international development, and public health sectors, around the world. They include an Indian human rights lawyer, a Ghanaian entrepreneur working towards financial inclusion, and a Chinese AI expert. “In an era of disruption and disorder, we are committed to bringing to Yale inspiring and accomplished professionals from around the world who are dedicated to seeking common ground, finding creative pathways to peace, and building a better world,” said Emma Sky, director of the International Leadership Center at Yale. “The 2024 World Fellows have...Read More
