Richard Hall

Correspondent, Lebanon

Richard Hall has reported from across the Middle East since 2009, covering Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Richard Hall is a correspondent for Public Radio International's The World and PRI.org, covering the Middle East from his home base in Lebanon. He has reported across the region since 2009, covering Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Richard began his career at Lebanon’s Daily Star, an English-language daily newspaper in Beirut.

Since then he has contributed to numerous publications in the US and UK, including the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Esquire Magazine and USA Today, and has worked on staff for The Independent and Agence France-Presse. He began at GlobalPost in 2014 as a Middle East editor and correspondent in Beirut, before becoming a PRI correspondent in 2015.

Richard has written extensively on the Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State. His reporting on the Kurdish issue has taken him across Turkey and up the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq.

Migrants are brought aboard a Save the Children rescue boat

Inside Italy’s plot to infiltrate migrant rescue boats in the Mediterranean

Our reporter was invited on a migrant rescue trip organized by Save the Children. Unbeknownst to everyone on the boat, including us, he wasn’t the only person aboard working for someone else.

Inside Italy’s plot to infiltrate migrant rescue boats in the Mediterranean
Residents and members of the Syrian Civil Defense, or "White Helmets," look for survivors at a damaged site after what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, Sy

Trump freezes funding for 'White Helmet' volunteers as part of larger cut to Syrian aid

Trump freezes funding for 'White Helmet' volunteers as part of larger cut to Syrian aid
Hands hold a hose over a child's head and water streams down his hair and face.

Chemical attack in Syria grabs Trump's attention, but he has few options available

Chemical attack in Syria grabs Trump's attention, but he has few options available
A man holds a child after an airstrike in eastern Ghouta, Syria, Feb. 7, 2018. In the Damascus suburb, besieged by government forces since 2013, about 78 civilians were killed by airstrikes and artillery fire on Tuesday, according to monitors. A further 2

Syria's war enters a dangerous new phase

Syria's war enters a dangerous new phase
A migrant carrying a child waits to cross the border with Croatia near the village of Berkasovo, Serbia, Oct. 19, 2015. Women face assault, harassment and sexual violence at every step of the way along the European migrant trail, including on European soi

As the European migrant trail has gone underground, the threat of sexual violence has increased

As the European migrant trail has gone underground, the threat of sexual violence has increased
A man leads a caravan of camels at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Saudi Arabia, a monthlong extravaganza honoring the “ships of the desert” and their place in the country’s history.

What a camel beauty contest can tell us about the future of Saudi Arabia

The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is a monthlong extravaganza honoring the “ships of the desert” and their place in Saudi Arabia’s history. But this year, it's about more than just camels — it's about a closed-off kingdom showing signs it wants to open up.

What a camel beauty contest can tell us about the future of Saudi Arabia
Smoke rises as people inspect damage at the site of airstrikes in the city of Saada, Yemen, Jan. 6, 2018.

Saudi Arabia promises $1.5 billion in aid to Yemen — but it's still bombing the country

Saudi Arabia announced $1.5 billion in new aid for Yemen this week, a move it says is aimed at alleviating the country’s humanitarian crisis nearly three years into a Saudi-led military campaign there. But critics, among them a number of Yemenis, have questioned the motives behind the donation, given the Saudis’ own role in prolonging the crisis.

Saudi Arabia promises $1.5 billion in aid to Yemen — but it's still bombing the country
St. Shmuni Church in Bartella, Iraq, shows damage sustained while the town was under ISIS control for two years.

ISIS turned this young Iraqi Christian into an atheist

Ibrahim, 17, and his mother spent two years as ISIS prisoners when the group controlled the area around Mosul. He says his Christian faith helped him survive. But after his release, the ordeal made him question religion altogether.

ISIS turned this young Iraqi Christian into an atheist
Migrants wait for food distribution inside an abandoned factory close to the Croatian border near the town of Sid, Serbia, Dec. 19, 2017. There are about 8,000 refugees and migrants stranded in Serbia, a result of a tougher European border policies that f

Migrants stuck in Serbia play a desperate 'game' to reach the EU

Nearly 8,000 refugees and migrants are currently stranded in Serbia. Iraqis and Syrians have the best chances of being granted asylum. People with money can pay a smuggler to take them across the border. It's only the most desperate that try to cross the border into Croatia — and the European Union — illegally.

Migrants stuck in Serbia play a desperate 'game' to reach the EU
Two migrants play checkers with bottle caps in an abandoned warehouse where they live on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Trapped by border closings, these young migrants are hiding out in an abandoned warehouse

In an abandoned warehouse on the Greek island of Lesbos, a group of young migrants are eking out an existence on their own, set apart from the overcrowded refugee camps on the island. Their claims for asylum have either been rejected or placed at the bottom of the pile and they live in fear of deportation. They are stuck.

Trapped by border closings, these young migrants are hiding out in an abandoned warehouse
A Syrian refugee boy stands in front of his family tent at a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants next to the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nov. 30, 2017.

An overcrowded refugee camp on Lesbos is making children sick

Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos was designed to hold 2,000, but it is currently home to more than 6,000 refugees and migrants. Doctors working at the camp have seen a growing number of children suffer upper respiratory tract infections, colds, coughs, diarrhea and other illnesses associated with cramped and unsanitary conditions.

An overcrowded refugee camp on Lesbos is making children sick
A Lebanese army soldier and two UNIFIL peacekeepers discuss the route of their joint patrol near the Lebanon-Israel border, Nov. 29, 2017.

Keeping the peace on the Israel-Lebanon border

It has been 11 years since the last, devastating war between the Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel, but talk of another round of fighting has grown louder in recent months. Near the border, however, UN peacekeepers say "it's pretty calm" and residents don't seem overly concerned.

Keeping the peace on the Israel-Lebanon border
Cars pass next to a poster depicting Saad Hariri, who has resigned as Lebanon's prime minister, in Beirut

Lebanon wants to know: Is our prime minister a prisoner?

Saad Hariri, who became Lebanon's prime minister less than a year ago, sparked a national crisis when he resigned on Nov. 4 in a televised address from Saudi Arabia. Then he was not heard from for days.

Lebanon wants to know: Is our prime minister a prisoner?
People walk next to a poster depicting Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri

Talk of war and instability are all too familiar in Lebanon

Saad Hariri, who became prime minister for the second time less than a year ago in a government of national unity, cited the dominance of Lebanon by Iran and its ally Hezbollah and threats to his life as being behind his decision to resign.

Talk of war and instability are all too familiar in Lebanon
Taxi driver Gabriel Saad searches for passengers in Beirut.

Uber has met its match with Lebanon’s old-school carpool taxis

Uber who? Taxi drivers in Beirut offer an authentic ride-share service and some have still never heard of the popular ride-hailing app.

Uber has met its match with Lebanon’s old-school carpool taxis