Rachel Hagan
@rachelhagan.bsky.social
Award-winning freelance foreign news reporter, broadcaster and producer with a focus on foreign news for BBC World, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times and others.
Lost for words to be shortlisted for "young journalist of the year" for this year’s Society of Editors Media Freedom Awards, for my work in Syria. Just one of two (@parrytom.bsky.social 👋) freelancers out of 76! What an honour to be alongside these incredible reporters - especially Malak in Gaza.
September 27, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Lost for words to be shortlisted for "young journalist of the year" for this year’s Society of Editors Media Freedom Awards, for my work in Syria. Just one of two (@parrytom.bsky.social 👋) freelancers out of 76! What an honour to be alongside these incredible reporters - especially Malak in Gaza.
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Brutal clarity in this FT mapping of Israel’s Gaza relocation plan: crushing two million civilians into a tiny strip of land and drip-feeding them aid, producing conditions that will be unbearable at best and deadly at worst.
Aditi Bhandari & Mehul Srivastava, @financialtimes.com
on.ft.com/4mHB7rm
Aditi Bhandari & Mehul Srivastava, @financialtimes.com
on.ft.com/4mHB7rm
June 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Brutal clarity in this FT mapping of Israel’s Gaza relocation plan: crushing two million civilians into a tiny strip of land and drip-feeding them aid, producing conditions that will be unbearable at best and deadly at worst.
Aditi Bhandari & Mehul Srivastava, @financialtimes.com
on.ft.com/4mHB7rm
Aditi Bhandari & Mehul Srivastava, @financialtimes.com
on.ft.com/4mHB7rm
My latest from Syria in today’s Sunday Times: Abdul Hamid survived a sarin attack – only to find his wife and baby twins gassed to death in their bomb shelter. Please read his story as the long hunt for Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons begins.
www.thetimes.com/article/01f5...
www.thetimes.com/article/01f5...
Clock is ticking in the hunt for Assad’s stash of chemical weapons
The Syrian dictator’s deadly arsenal killed whole families, now the race is on to locate the stockpile before anyone comes to harm
www.thetimes.com
May 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
My latest from Syria in today’s Sunday Times: Abdul Hamid survived a sarin attack – only to find his wife and baby twins gassed to death in their bomb shelter. Please read his story as the long hunt for Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons begins.
www.thetimes.com/article/01f5...
www.thetimes.com/article/01f5...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Really important piece published by @rachelhagan.bsky.social on the state of Syria's healthcare.
www.thetimes.com/article/073e...
www.thetimes.com/article/073e...
Syrian doctors can finally speak, but freedom doesn’t buy medicine
Four months after Assad fell, sanctions still cripple hospitals where mothers have caesareans without anaesthesia and infection is rife
www.thetimes.com
April 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Really important piece published by @rachelhagan.bsky.social on the state of Syria's healthcare.
www.thetimes.com/article/073e...
www.thetimes.com/article/073e...
Once a thriving Palestinian neighbourhood, Yarmouk, in southern Damascus, obliterated by Assad and his forces. After reporting on Syria remotely for years, nothing could have prepared me for the extent of the devastation in person - it goes on for miles.
April 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Once a thriving Palestinian neighbourhood, Yarmouk, in southern Damascus, obliterated by Assad and his forces. After reporting on Syria remotely for years, nothing could have prepared me for the extent of the devastation in person - it goes on for miles.
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Freelancer @rachelhagan.bsky.social recently undertook a HEFAT course with atr-ltd.co.uk. Rachel had this to say about the experience,
"The course made me realise how unprepared I had been for high-risk travel, how blindly I went into Iraq despite considering the risks."
"The course made me realise how unprepared I had been for high-risk travel, how blindly I went into Iraq despite considering the risks."
April 4, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Freelancer @rachelhagan.bsky.social recently undertook a HEFAT course with atr-ltd.co.uk. Rachel had this to say about the experience,
"The course made me realise how unprepared I had been for high-risk travel, how blindly I went into Iraq despite considering the risks."
"The course made me realise how unprepared I had been for high-risk travel, how blindly I went into Iraq despite considering the risks."
Since the tax year ends in two days (and I spent the day crunching numbers), I thought I’d reflect on my first full year as a freelance journalist. I left The Mirror almost exactly when the last tax year ended, so this marks a complete year both financially and professionally.
April 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Since the tax year ends in two days (and I spent the day crunching numbers), I thought I’d reflect on my first full year as a freelance journalist. I left The Mirror almost exactly when the last tax year ended, so this marks a complete year both financially and professionally.
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Starting next month, the WFP will slash its food rations for #Rohingya in Cox's Bazar, #Bangladesh from $12 to just $6 per person.
"We are solely dependent on food rations – it is like losing our right hand." Read more from @rachelhagan.bsky.social
service95.com/rohingya-cri...
"We are solely dependent on food rations – it is like losing our right hand." Read more from @rachelhagan.bsky.social
service95.com/rohingya-cri...
Starved Of Support: The Rising Crisis Of Rohingya Refugees In Ramadan’s Shadow | Service95
Mohammed still remembers the night in <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/09/myanmar-un-fact-finding-mission-releases-its-full-account-massive-violations" target="_blank" rel="no
service95.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Starting next month, the WFP will slash its food rations for #Rohingya in Cox's Bazar, #Bangladesh from $12 to just $6 per person.
"We are solely dependent on food rations – it is like losing our right hand." Read more from @rachelhagan.bsky.social
service95.com/rohingya-cri...
"We are solely dependent on food rations – it is like losing our right hand." Read more from @rachelhagan.bsky.social
service95.com/rohingya-cri...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Journalist İsmail Saymaz also detained in Turkey today, two days after his passport was confiscated. He is accused of, among other things, "shar[ing] numerous posts" about the Gezi Park protests of 2013 "on his personal social media accounts".
Gazeteci İsmail Saymaz gözaltına alındı
Savcılık, Saymaz hakkında 'açık kaynak çalışmaları' yapıldığını da belirtti.
Savcılık, Saymaz hakkında 'açık kaynak çalışmaları' yapıldığını da belirtti.
Gazeteci İsmail Saymaz gözaltına alındı
Savcılık, Saymaz hakkında 'açık kaynak çalışmaları' yapıldığını da belirtti.
bianet.org
March 19, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Journalist İsmail Saymaz also detained in Turkey today, two days after his passport was confiscated. He is accused of, among other things, "shar[ing] numerous posts" about the Gezi Park protests of 2013 "on his personal social media accounts".
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
“Dilek İmamoğlu, the mayor’s wife, told a television station that police had arrived at their home as they finished the pre-dawn meal of sahur during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan and that he was taken away at about 7:30am.” on.ft.com/4iAUT5j
Turkish police detain Erdoğan’s main political rival
[FREE TO READ] Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was expected to be confirmed as main opposition challenger to president
on.ft.com
March 19, 2025 at 8:05 AM
“Dilek İmamoğlu, the mayor’s wife, told a television station that police had arrived at their home as they finished the pre-dawn meal of sahur during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan and that he was taken away at about 7:30am.” on.ft.com/4iAUT5j
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
how did ICE know where to find Mahmoud Khalil, and who will they go after next? I wrote about the vast surveillance network that powers ICE arrests, and the Zionist groups making deportation wishlists for the agency:
www.theverge.com/policy/62718...
www.theverge.com/policy/62718...
The disappeared Columbia student is the start of a surveillance nightmare
Mahmoud Khalil is a legal permanent resident. That didn’t stop ICE.
www.theverge.com
March 10, 2025 at 10:34 PM
how did ICE know where to find Mahmoud Khalil, and who will they go after next? I wrote about the vast surveillance network that powers ICE arrests, and the Zionist groups making deportation wishlists for the agency:
www.theverge.com/policy/62718...
www.theverge.com/policy/62718...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Monumental development: agreement signed by Sharaa and 'Abdi incl. recognition of Kurdish (and all Syrians) citizenship rights in Syria, complete ceasefire, integration of civil/mil institutions, return of IDPs, SDF support vs regime remnants. Implementation committees to follow
t.me/G_CSyriaa/593
t.me/G_CSyriaa/593
March 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Monumental development: agreement signed by Sharaa and 'Abdi incl. recognition of Kurdish (and all Syrians) citizenship rights in Syria, complete ceasefire, integration of civil/mil institutions, return of IDPs, SDF support vs regime remnants. Implementation committees to follow
t.me/G_CSyriaa/593
t.me/G_CSyriaa/593
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
If you don’t know Arabic, the main terms of the deal are that Abdi will grow a beard, Sharaa will look into Murray Bookchin and see if he likes it, and Syrians of all religions and ethnicities will be chased around by an all-female religious police.
March 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
If you don’t know Arabic, the main terms of the deal are that Abdi will grow a beard, Sharaa will look into Murray Bookchin and see if he likes it, and Syrians of all religions and ethnicities will be chased around by an all-female religious police.
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
This #InternationalWomensDay, MAG #Ukraine team leader, Marharyta, shares her story with @rachelhagan.bsky.social for Service95.
Read here ➡️
Read here ➡️
March 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
This #InternationalWomensDay, MAG #Ukraine team leader, Marharyta, shares her story with @rachelhagan.bsky.social for Service95.
Read here ➡️
Read here ➡️
An Alawite in Latakia tells me: "They entered our home. We were scared because they were masked. They were using sectarian language and insulting Alawites even though most of the people of this sect support deescalation and don't accept the actions of the remnants of the regime."
March 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
An Alawite in Latakia tells me: "They entered our home. We were scared because they were masked. They were using sectarian language and insulting Alawites even though most of the people of this sect support deescalation and don't accept the actions of the remnants of the regime."
On IWD, there will be speeches and hashtags. But for the millions of women trapped in war zones, what they need is not words; it is action. Aid that reaches them. Accountability for their abusers. A seat at the table where their futures are decided. My latest:
www.service95.com/impact-of-wa...
www.service95.com/impact-of-wa...
The Unspoken Truth of War: How Women Are Bearing the Brunt Of Global Conflict | Service95
Right now, the world is facing more conflicts than it has since World War II – and women continue to bear the heaviest burden. From <a href="https://www.service95.com/tag/ukraine" target="_blank"
www.service95.com
March 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
On IWD, there will be speeches and hashtags. But for the millions of women trapped in war zones, what they need is not words; it is action. Aid that reaches them. Accountability for their abusers. A seat at the table where their futures are decided. My latest:
www.service95.com/impact-of-wa...
www.service95.com/impact-of-wa...
Just spent the week in a field (under glorious blue skies) learning how not to die (among many other valuable skills!) in hostile environments. The courses are prohibitively expensive for freelancers, so I was V thrilled to be awarded a grant from @rorypecktrust.bsky.social , huge thank you🙏
March 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Just spent the week in a field (under glorious blue skies) learning how not to die (among many other valuable skills!) in hostile environments. The courses are prohibitively expensive for freelancers, so I was V thrilled to be awarded a grant from @rorypecktrust.bsky.social , huge thank you🙏
This is the year the world was meant to be mine-free. Instead, these lethal weapons are still being made and used. In soil stained by the legacy of genocide, they continue to claim lives and limbs. My long read for @telglobalhealth.bsky.social from Cambodia. www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/cambodia-landmine-clearing-demining-donald-trump-usaid/
t.co
March 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
This is the year the world was meant to be mine-free. Instead, these lethal weapons are still being made and used. In soil stained by the legacy of genocide, they continue to claim lives and limbs. My long read for @telglobalhealth.bsky.social from Cambodia. www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
‘A first mistake is a last mistake’: The delicate art of clearing landmines.
Cambodia’s deminers are among the world’s most experienced. But America’s decision to freeze foreign aid has paralysed clearance operations.
@rachelhagan.bsky.social reports.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Cambodia’s deminers are among the world’s most experienced. But America’s decision to freeze foreign aid has paralysed clearance operations.
@rachelhagan.bsky.social reports.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
‘A first mistake is a last mistake’: The delicate art of clearing landmines
Cambodia’s deminers are among the world’s most experienced. But America’s decision to freeze foreign aid has paralysed clearance operations
www.telegraph.co.uk
March 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM
‘A first mistake is a last mistake’: The delicate art of clearing landmines.
Cambodia’s deminers are among the world’s most experienced. But America’s decision to freeze foreign aid has paralysed clearance operations.
@rachelhagan.bsky.social reports.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Cambodia’s deminers are among the world’s most experienced. But America’s decision to freeze foreign aid has paralysed clearance operations.
@rachelhagan.bsky.social reports.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Total betrayal of Ukraine, time for Europe to step up - US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, White House official says, in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, White House official says, in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row
Decision affects ammunition, vehicles and other equipment including weapons in transit
www.theguardian.com
March 4, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Total betrayal of Ukraine, time for Europe to step up - US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine, White House official says, in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
Amid the destruction of Syria’s war, one place prospered. Here’s my story from Idlib about how a former forgotten backwater under Islamist rebel rule became a buzzing commercial hub:
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
The City Syria's Rebels-Turned-Rulers See as a Model for the Country's Future
Idlib offers a glimpse of what Syria’s new leaders can create—though it came at a price.
www.wsj.com
February 27, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Amid the destruction of Syria’s war, one place prospered. Here’s my story from Idlib about how a former forgotten backwater under Islamist rebel rule became a buzzing commercial hub:
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Big news, which as @ruthmichaelson.com says, is "set to ripple across factions of Kurdish armed groups spread across NE Syria and northern Iraq with links to the PKK, particularly the US-backed SDF who battled IS and remain in control of a swath of territory." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Jailed Kurdish leader calls for group to disarm, in major shift that could shake up Turkey and Middle East
Abdullah Öcalan’s message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implications
www.theguardian.com
February 27, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Big news, which as @ruthmichaelson.com says, is "set to ripple across factions of Kurdish armed groups spread across NE Syria and northern Iraq with links to the PKK, particularly the US-backed SDF who battled IS and remain in control of a swath of territory." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
The majestic Lamassu in the British Museum who once guarded Ashurnasirpal II’s throne room in Nimrud, Iraq. Looked on awe and also served as a great reminder to keep questioning how and why such artefacts are here.
February 23, 2025 at 6:35 PM
The majestic Lamassu in the British Museum who once guarded Ashurnasirpal II’s throne room in Nimrud, Iraq. Looked on awe and also served as a great reminder to keep questioning how and why such artefacts are here.
Reposted by Rachel Hagan
An apt moment for a remarkable piece of journalism, documenting Russia’s seemingly systematic murder of Ukrainian PoWs. (By @christopherjm.ft.com @joesinft.ft.com & the visual investigations team) on.ft.com/4gLNn61
Russia’s executions of Ukrainian prisoners point to systematic policy
FT documentary investigates rise in cases of Russian soldiers executing Ukrainian POWs
on.ft.com
February 20, 2025 at 7:47 AM
An apt moment for a remarkable piece of journalism, documenting Russia’s seemingly systematic murder of Ukrainian PoWs. (By @christopherjm.ft.com @joesinft.ft.com & the visual investigations team) on.ft.com/4gLNn61
Exclusive: 23 health centres in Idlib & Aleppo, including 2 maternity hospitals & 3 refugee camp clinics, have shuttered since Trump’s aid freeze. For all the critiques of USAID, claiming that turning off incubators in Syria is for good is cruel at best. More here: www.service95.com/usaid-freeze...
Why The USAID Freeze Is A Catastrophic Blow to Global Sexual Health | Service95
None of them saw it coming. One day, they were running clinics, sending mobile health teams to
www.service95.com
February 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Exclusive: 23 health centres in Idlib & Aleppo, including 2 maternity hospitals & 3 refugee camp clinics, have shuttered since Trump’s aid freeze. For all the critiques of USAID, claiming that turning off incubators in Syria is for good is cruel at best. More here: www.service95.com/usaid-freeze...