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My name is Stuart Graham 

I am a journalist for the news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP)

I film videos, write articles and cover international breaking news and any other weird and wonderful story that comes my way.

In the past I have worked for The Times, The Telegraph, Associated Press (AP) and DPA.

I started my career at South Africa's national news agency, Sapa, in Johannesburg in February 2000.

I have worked extensively across Africa, South America, Israel, Armenia and Southeast Asia.

Below are some of the articles and videos I have produced.


France 24 •

Researchers analyse DNA from dung to save Laos elephants

Once abundant in the forests of Laos, Asian elephants like her have been decimated by habitat destruction, gruelling labour in the logging industry, poaching and scarce breeding opportunities.But conservationists are hoping DNA analysis of elephants' dung will help them track both captive and wild tuskers, so they can secure a healthy genetic pool and craft an effective breeding plan to protect the species.Laos -- once proudly known as "Lane Xang" or "Land of a Million Elephants" -- has between...
The Japan Times •

As Myanmar conflict rages on, drug escape leads thousands to addiction

In a drug treatment center in a wooden stilt house deep in the Thai jungle, young refugees from Myanmar wait patiently for the prick of an acupuncture needle.They are among the thousands who have become addicted to methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs that have flooded camps housing those forced to flee their homes by Myanmar's civil war.Myanmar's military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in a February 2021 coup, igniting a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced nearly 3 million...
Photo by Laura Meinhardt on Pexels
Barrons •

Boats Carry Terrified Children To Safety In Thai Floods

Rescuers in boats carried 60 schoolchildren to safety in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai on Thursday after they were stranded by what residents said was the worst flood in decades.The children, students at Samakkhi Witthayakhom School, spent a terrifying night trapped in a dormitory as the floodwaters, swollen by torrential rains from Typhoon Yagi, surged on Wednesday afternoon.Millions of people across Southeast Asia are grappling with floods and landslides after Yagi barrelled through the...
RFI •

Snakes on a plate: pythons touted as protein alternative

Uttaradit (Thailand) (AFP) – In a warehouse in the lush humid farmlands of central Thailand, thousands of pythons lie coiled in containers, rearing and striking at the glass as people pass by. They are being raised for their robust, diamond-patterned skins, which are sold to high-end European fashion houses for belts, bags and handbags, but some scientists and industry insiders believe the snakes' true value could lie in their meat.Demand for meat is growing globally, despite...
International Business Times •

Feeling Stressed? Cuddle A Cow, Says UK Dairy Farm

Morag, an imposing Highland cow with a caramel coat, ambles out of the main shed at Dumble Farm in northern England and stands ready to meet her guests.Visitors have travelled from far and wide to the farm near Beverley in east Yorkshire, not to buy milk, yoghurt or cheese, but to enjoy a cuddle with Morag and her companions.Fiona Wilson and her co-farmers at Dumble Farm started offering the cuddling sessions in February when it became obvious that economic difficulties of modern dairy farming h...
Times of Malta •

Art for bark’s sake: stray dogs take up painting for UK charity

In their studio in Bristol, western England, rescue dogs Rosie and Alba are hard at work on their canvases, redefining the essence of abstract art – one tail swish at a time. 
To the untrained eye, their work at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre (ARC) could be seen as boisterous, childish at times and even just plain old messy.
But the two canines have a far more important job than pleasing critics.
Inflation and high interest rates across the UK plus people abandoning pets they bought during the COV...
Photo by Валерия Дроздова on Pexels
Barrons •

Caves Offer Refuge For Armenian Border Villagers Living In Fear Of Azerbaijani Attack

Residents in the village of Khnatsakh, on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, live in fear of an invasion by Azerbaijani troops.

An error has occurred, please try again later.

Residents in the village of Khnatsakh, on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, live in fear of an invasion by Azerbaijani troops.

An error has occurred, please try again later.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels
Barrons •

From Trash To Tuned: Finding New Homes For Unloved Pianos

In a deserted former department store near the port of Leith in Edinburgh, Tim Vincent-Smith reaches inside a grand piano's open top, his fingertips lightly plucking at the taut strings.

An error has occurred, please try again later.

In a deserted former department store near the port of Leith in Edinburgh, Tim Vincent-Smith reaches inside a grand piano's open top, his fingertips lightly plucking at the taut strings.

An error has occurred, please try again later.

Trees that grow six times faster: Scottish indoor farm helps climate

Tree seedlings planted at an indoor vertical farm have grown six times faster than they would if they had been planted outside. These astonishing results follow a trial at a crop research center near the city of Dundee in Scotland and could be a great weapon in fighting climate change. Each tree species, which includes Scots pine, oak, alder, hazel and birch, was grown under its own "recipe" of temperature, light, soil and water. What is the European Political Community? The seedlings grown at t
RFI •

UK householders face squeeze as budget looms

Blackpool, famous for its annual Illuminations light show, is the most deprived local authority area in England

Blackpool (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Thursday's government budget is unlikely to be uppermost in the minds of people enjoying the annual light show on the seafront promenade of Blackpool.

But for residents and businesses of the town, which is ranked as England's most deprived, the expected spending cuts and tax increases could have wide-ranging consequences.

"My basic supply of eggs,
The Vibes •

Despite crisis, UK's Blackpool keeps the lights on

AT this time of year, the British coastal resort of Blackpool shows its best face by night, when one million LED lamps light up the seafront for more than six miles (10 kilometres).

After the Covid pandemic, the tourism-reliant town in northwest England was aiming for brighter times. Then the war in Ukraine and an energy-fuelled inflation crisis hit.

Even though organisations across Britain face soaring electricity bills, the Blackpool Illuminations will stay on this autumn, from early Septemb
News24 •

Scottish farmer says competition from SA makes harvest 'unviable', donates entire blueberry crop


• For more stories, go to the News24 Business front page.

A Scottish farmer is giving away his entire crop of blueberries, worth £2 million (R42 million), to charity, saying cheap imports and high labour costs have made harvesting the fruit economically unviable.

Peter Thomson has been growing blueberries at his farm in Blairgowrie, northeast Scotland, for more than four decades, producing 300 tonnes of fruit per year.

But now, he said, growers in Peru and South Africa can sell their berries
Photo by Tom Swinnen on Pexels
AP NEWS •

South Africa: Miners with lung disease prepare lawsuit

WELKOM, South Africa (AP) — Thabang Moorosi, a former driller in South Africa’s gold mines, takes a minute to catch his breath after struggling onto a hospital bed for his monthly lung check.

The 60-year-old, a long-distance runner in his youth, was diagnosed in 2005 with a lung disease, silicosis, after years of inhaling silica dust at rock faces far below ground.

He is one of tens of thousands of miners preparing to sue some of South Africa’s largest gold mining companies, including Anglo Am
France 24 •

Fishermen lament plunge in Scottish wild salmon catch

Anglers on the River Spey in the Scottish Highlands say salmon numbers are down compared to 50 years ago

Charlestown of Aberlour (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In the shimmering rapids of the River Spey that cuts through the Scottish Highlands, Ian Gordon casts his line with a languid swish and waits for a salmon to take the fly.

In the early 1970s, when Gordon first fished the Spey as a "wee nipper", it never took long to catch a bite. But things have changed.

"I would say there are now 20 percent
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels

Ukrainian Hairdresser Makes Waves In Scotland After Fleeing War

A hairdresser who fled the war in Ukraine has been shortlisted for one of the United Kingdom's top hairdressing awards. Viktoriia Vradii, 37, arrived in Edinburgh in May after leaving behind her salon business in the Black Sea port of Odessa, which has been under attack from Russian forces since the beginning of the war. She was named as a finalist in the international stylist category of British Hairdressing Awards. Stylist Simon Hill, who gave her employment at his salon in the Edinburgh subur

Earning its stripes: tech bid to crack tiger trade

In a town in northeastern Scotland, Debbie Banks looks for clues to track down criminals as she clicks through a database of tiger skins.

There are thousands of photographs, including of rugs, carcasses and taxidermy specimens.

Banks, the crime campaign leader for the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London-based charity, tries to identify individual big cats from their stripes.

Once a tiger is identified, an investigator can pinpoint where it comes from.

"A tiger's stripes are as
The Star •

Wind and water: undersea drone readies to aid offshore boom

EDINBURGH: In a wave tank at a robot laboratory in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, engineers observe in silence as an underwater drone rises stealthily to the surface.

The team, which led the development of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Heriot-Watt university, believe the submersible machine is a game-changer for offshore wind farms, obviating the need for divers.

ALSO READ: Tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ might have drone wingman, use AI

The engineers reckon it will soon be ready to perform in
France 24 •

Wind and water: undersea drone readies to aid offshore boom

Edinburgh (AFP) – In a wave tank at a robot laboratory in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, engineers observe in silence as an underwater drone rises stealthily to the surface.

The team, which led the development of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Heriot-Watt university, believe the submersible machine is a game-changer for offshore wind farms, obviating the need for divers.

The engineers reckon it will soon be ready to perform inspections and maintenance at wind farms, transforming the n

Wind and water: undersea drone readies to aid offshore boom

In a wave tank at a robot laboratory in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, engineers observe in silence as an underwater drone rises stealthily to the surface.

The team, which led the development of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Heriot-Watt university, believe the submersible machine is a game-changer for offshore wind farms, obviating the need for divers.

The engineers reckon it will soon be ready to perform inspections and maintenance at wind farms, transforming the nature of the high-
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