Tom Westcott

4 weeks ago | hcef.org | Tom Westcott |Fadi Hanna

In a Baghdad neighbourhood famous for a Shia Muslim pilgrimage, there stands a tiny whitewashed Catholic church, lovingly brought back to life from dereliction by a lone Iraqi Christian committed to preserving faith and history. Illuminated by fairy lights along its walls, visitors often come in the evenings. One night, a knock on the outer gate reveals two young Sunni Muslim women. “I love Mother Mary, and I love this place,” one of them says.

May 12, 2024 | middleeasteye.net | Tom Westcott

Behind the broad metal doors of an innocuous-looking building in a residential neighbourhood of central Baghdad, thousands of crates of alcohol are stacked up to the high rafters. Towers of famous international brands rise alongside locally-made beverages, meticulously arranged according to alcohol types. Corridors run between walls of crates and boxes, leading from room to room, revealing a highly organised and extremely well-stocked warehouse.

Feb 12, 2024 | theloadstar.com | Tom Westcott |Gavin van Marle

From Durban’s shoreline, the immediate horizon of the Indian Ocean is still decorated with freight vessels on anchorage, waiting for berthing slots in South Africa’s largest port, a legacy of several months’ of port congestion. Although it was hoped the backlog could be cleared by late January, industry experts now say the whole of February is needed to clear the congestion at the country’s eight main ports that has seen shipping rates soar and some major lines pare down port calls.

Feb 12, 2024 | 1africafocus.com | Tom Westcott

From Durban’s shoreline, the immediate horizon of the Indian Ocean is still decorated with freight vessels on anchorage, waiting for berthing slots in South Africa’s largest port, a legacy of several months’ of port congestion. Although it was hoped the backlog could be cleared by late January, industry experts now say the whole of February is needed to clear the congestion at the country’s eight main ports that has seen shipping rates soar and some major lines pare down port calls.

May 28, 2023 | themuslimtimes.info | Tom Westcott