gender

UK court clears comedy writer of damaging transgender activist's phone

  • An appeal judge at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday quashed that conviction for damage after a two-day hearing.
  • A London court on Friday overturned Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan's conviction for damaging the mobile phone of a transgender activist.
  • An appeal judge at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday quashed that conviction for damage after a two-day hearing.
A London court on Friday overturned Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan's conviction for damaging the mobile phone of a transgender activist.
Linehan co-created the popular 1990s sitcom "Father Ted" but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views.
A court in November cleared him of harassing the activist, Sophia Brooks, who had accused him of sending "abusive and vindictive messages" on social media.
But the court found him guilty of damaging her phone.
An appeal judge at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday quashed that conviction for damage after a two-day hearing.
"Having considered all the evidence before us, we cannot be sure that the damage to the complainant's phone was caused by Mr Linehan," said judge Amanda Tipples.
"We therefore found Mr Linehan not guilty of the offence."
Speaking after the hearing, Linehan said the decision to throw out the conviction was "very welcome" but that the case "should never have got to court".
He said he believed there had been a "troubling pattern of police forces around the country to believe trans-rights activists, time and time again, even when there has been overwhelming evidence that complaints have been made against gender critical campaigners, in bad faith". 
The Irish writer, who also co-created the sitcoms "Black Books" and "The IT Crowd", became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain last year over his stance.
It followed his arrest at London's Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his social media posts insulting transgender people.
The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. Last October UK prosecutors said they would take "no further action" in that case.
har/jkb/jxb

demonstration

Turkish police fire tear gas, arrest hundreds at Istanbul May Day rallies

  • According to the CHD Lawyers' Association, police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
  • Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide.
  • According to the CHD Lawyers' Association, police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide.
According to the CHD Lawyers' Association, police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
"The number of people in police custody -- or whom their relatives suspect are in custody -- from whom we have not heard anything, stood at at least 550," by 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) said a CHD statement.
The authorities did not immediately comment on the detentions in the country's economic capital.
Images aired on the opposition channel HALK TV also showed the president of the Turkish Workers' Party, Erkan Bas, engulfed in pepper spray.
"Those in power already speak 365 days a year, so let workers talk about the hardships they face at least one day a year," he said.
Two groups were specially singled out in the city's European side after signalling their intention to march to Taksim Square -- the scene of several anti-government protests in the past -- which was sealed off overnight by police.
A union official, Basaran Aksu, was arrested just after he had denounced the Taksim lockdown. 
"You can't close off a square to the workers of Turkey. Everyone uses Taksim, for official ceremonies, for celebrations. Only the labourers, the workers, the poor find the square closed to them," he said.

Police lines

May Day, which celebrates workers and the working classes, sees a major police deployment in Turkey every year, with a large area in the heart of Istanbul around Taksim Square sealed off.
Last year, protests moved to the Kadikoy area of the city and more than 400 people were arrested.
The number of arrests this year appeared to be approaching that level.
The CHD lawyers' group, which was present at the rallies, said on a post on X that, at 1100 GMT "according to our information, the number of people in custody stands at 370".
On Friday, large numbers of police, many in riot gear, deployed, setting up metal barricades to cut off access to central neighbourhoods of Istanbul.
In the Mecidiyekoy district, AFP reporters saw police use tear gas on the crowd, which included members of a Marxist party, the HKP, as they tried to push through while chanting "USA murderer, AKP (Turkey's ruling party) accomplice".
Police encircling the Besiktas neighbourhood stepped in -- sometimes violently -- whenever a chant was taken up by the demonstrators. AFP saw several protesters thrown to the ground.
Unions and civil society associations had called for the May 1 demonstrations under the slogan "Bread. Peace. Freedom".
While inflation in Turkey is officially pegged at 30 percent, it is closer to 40, according to independent estimates.
In Ankara, about 100 coal miners who had staged a nine-day hunger strike to demand wage arrears were cheered as they joined the May Day march.
The turnout, notably large and youthful, was monitored by a significant police presence, an AFP journalist said.
Earlier this week, Turkish authorities issued arrest and search warrants against 62 people, of whom they deemed 46 -- including journalists, trade unionists and opposition figures -- "likely to carry out attacks".
bur-cw/jj

politics

Baguettes take centre stage on France's Labour Day

  • Under French law, "May 1 is a public holiday and a non-working day".
  • French bakeries sold crusty baguettes and flaky croissants with government backing Friday, defying labour unions arguing that May 1 should remain a sacred day of compulsory rest.
  • Under French law, "May 1 is a public holiday and a non-working day".
French bakeries sold crusty baguettes and flaky croissants with government backing Friday, defying labour unions arguing that May 1 should remain a sacred day of compulsory rest.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered several baguettes in front of the cameras in the village of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in central France.
"Let's have several... at least four," he said, as he sought to promote a new bill to clearly exempt independent bread and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day.
Under French law, "May 1 is a public holiday and a non-working day". Essential services -- such as hospitals and hotels -- can remain open must pay their staff double.
But there has been confusion about whether bakeries can open.
Labour inspectors on the public holiday in 2024 reported five bakers to the authorities for operating, causing them to be hauled before a court.
The bakers were all acquitted last year, but their plight sparked debate across France.
The government earlier this week encouraged bakers to work on May 1, saying they were "indispensable to the continuity of social life".
It also said florists should open to sell fragrant lily of the valley, which is traditionally sold on Labour Day in France.
On Wednesday, the cabinet put forward a bill -- that has yet to go to a vote in parliament -- to allow both bakeries and florists to open on the first day of May, so long as employees volunteer to work in writing and are paid double wages.
But the country's main unions argue that no employee is truly free to volunteer when they are seeking to keep a work contract.
They also fear French workers will soon all be required to work on the holiday.
"Social history shows us that each time a principle is undermined, exemptions gradually increase until they become the rule," they warned in a joint statement last month.
burs-ah/cw

US

Lufthansa apologises for lost Oscar after US airport security row

  • The airline said "we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner".
  • German airline Lufthansa on Friday said it had apologised to Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin for losing his Oscar statuette after US airport security banned him from taking it on a flight from New York.
  • The airline said "we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner".
German airline Lufthansa on Friday said it had apologised to Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin for losing his Oscar statuette after US airport security banned him from taking it on a flight from New York.
After a frantic search, Lufthansa said it found the missing statuette.
Talankin, who won an Academy Award for his documentary "Mr Nobody Against Putin", was prevented from taking the trophy on board a flight at JFK Airport on Wednesday, film industry news site Deadline reported.
US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials told him they thought it could be used as a weapon and he was forced to check it into the hold in a cardboard box, Deadline said.
When he landed in Germany, the golden statuette was missing.
Lufthansa offered its "regret" said it had embarked on an internal search "with the utmost care and urgency" to recover the Oscar.
Hours later, it issued a new statement saying that "we can confirm that the Oscar statuette is now in our care in Frankfurt" and it was going to hand it back to Talankin "as quickly as possible".
It did not explain how the award went missing, saying that "an internal review of how this occurred is currently still ongoing".
The airline said "we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner".

Smuggled footage

Talankin, 35, a videographer from a small-town Russian school, caused a sensation when he won the Academy Award for best documentary feature alongside US filmmaker David Borenstein in March.
Made from footage Talankin had smuggled out of Russia, "Mr Nobody Against Putin" chronicles pro-war patriotic lessons introduced in Russia's schools under President Vladimir Putin amid Moscow's Ukraine offensive.
Talankin told Deadline he had flown at least a dozen times with the statuette without any issues.
"It's completely baffling how they consider an Oscar a weapon," he said after landing in Frankfurt on Thursday morning, adding that on previous flights he "flew with it in the cabin, and there never was any kind of problem".
A Lufthansa agent had offered to walk Talankin to the gate and keep hold of his statuette during the flight, but this plan was vetoed by a TSA official, according to Deadline. 
fec/rmb

culture

Afghans celebrate spring in bright red poppy fields

BY ATIF ARYAN

  • - 'Vitality and freshness' -  Many Afghans living in the north used to travel to see the poppies after celebrating Persian New Year, Nowruz, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
  • In the middle of a field filled with bright red poppies, Afghans frolic among the spring flowers in a tradition deeply rooted in the country's north.
  • - 'Vitality and freshness' -  Many Afghans living in the north used to travel to see the poppies after celebrating Persian New Year, Nowruz, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
In the middle of a field filled with bright red poppies, Afghans frolic among the spring flowers in a tradition deeply rooted in the country's north.
Families flocked to the valleys of Shirin Tagab district, near the border with Turkmenistan, to be among thousands of flowers that appeared after abundant rain. 
"There has been a drought for almost 10 years. No flowers or greenery grew," said Ghawsudin, who only uses one name.
"This year has been very good, and God is merciful," said the 79-year-old, who drove for three hours just to see the flowers.
Mohammad Ashraf, a 35-year-old visitor, said he hadn't seen so many poppies for more than a decade.
"Now there are so many red flowers, and you see people come here for picnics," he told AFP.
The landscape in Shirin Tagab is brightened by the common poppy, not the opium poppy that authorities have banned.
- 'Vitality and freshness' - 
Many Afghans living in the north used to travel to see the poppies after celebrating Persian New Year, Nowruz, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The Taliban government, which applies a strict interpretation of Islamic law, has stopped such celebrations each spring.
But the tradition of visiting the poppies, which are widely revered in poems and songs, has endured.
Oriane Zerah, a photographer who published a book about Afghans and flowers, said they are an integral part of daily life.
"As soon as an Afghan has a little space in their garden, they plant a flower. Even in displacement camps, there'll be a flower somewhere. They put them on their pakol, one of their traditional hats, and there are desserts made with flowers," she told AFP.
The poppy has also been associated with wartime in the country, with the flower often placed on the coffins of fighters, according to Afghan writer Taqi Wahidi.
"Dying in the path of the homeland, or in the path of religion and faith, was considered a kind of new resurrection and entry into a new life," he told AFP.
The same flower is widely used in countries, such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand, where people wear artificial poppies to remember those killed in past conflicts.
Nowadays in Afghanistan, however, the poppy "symbolises vitality and freshness", according to Wahidi.
"At the same time that nature is renewed, human beings also want to bring new colours into their lives," he said.
strs-qb-iw/rsc/lga

Global Edition

Clashes erupt in Australian town over death of Indigenous girl

  • The violence followed the discovery Thursday of a body south of Alice Springs believed to be that of the little girl, referred to at her family's request as Kumanjayi Little Baby.
  • An angry crowd clashed with Australian police outside a hospital treating the suspected killer of a five-year-old Indigenous girl in the outback town of Alice Springs.
  • The violence followed the discovery Thursday of a body south of Alice Springs believed to be that of the little girl, referred to at her family's request as Kumanjayi Little Baby.
An angry crowd clashed with Australian police outside a hospital treating the suspected killer of a five-year-old Indigenous girl in the outback town of Alice Springs.
Images on local media Friday showed teargas in the air, a police van in flames and crowds yelling at armed officers keeping people at bay during the overnight confrontation.
The violence followed the discovery Thursday of a body south of Alice Springs believed to be that of the little girl, referred to at her family's request as Kumanjayi Little Baby.
She had disappeared from an Indigenous community camp called Old Timers late on Saturday night, sparking a vast, days-long search on foot, horseback, and by helicopter that gripped much of the country.
Police said a formal autopsy would be held on the child's body, which was found about five kilometres (three miles) from the camp.
Hours after her body was found, police announced they had arrested the suspect, Jefferson Lewis.

'He was unconscious'

Lewis was beaten until he was unconscious after turning himself in to Indigenous community members on Thursday evening at a camp by Alice Springs, in central Australia.
When police and emergency services intervened, they too came under attack, said Northern Territory Police Force Commissioner Martin Dole.
"At the time of his apprehension by us, he was unconscious and he was in the process of being treated by St John's Ambulance when they were set upon, as were the police," he told a news conference.
Lewis was then taken to hospital.
"A large crowd gathered and tried to gain access to that hospital," the police commissioner said.
"We called out all the resources we had available to quell that violent disturbance. And just let me say that the behaviour that we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted."
Dole said "a number" of police were injured at the hospital, and one officer was treated for a head wound inflicted during the suspect's arrest.
Ambulance and fire crew members were also attacked, he said, with one fire and rescue officer receiving a "significant facial injury".

'Sorry business'

One woman was being investigated for allegedly trying to set a police car alight.
Many people outside the hospital shouted that Lewis must face "payback", public broadcaster ABC reported, referring to a traditional punishment in central Australian Indigenous communities.
"I just call for calm across the community," Dole said.
Police said they removed Lewis for his safety from hospital to the Northern Territory capital of Darwin, where he was being held in custody.
He is expected to face charges in the coming days.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the girl's death was the realisation of "our worst nightmares".
But it was no excuse for violence, she said, recalling how the community had united to search for the missing child.
"This week, we've seen this town come together like never before -- hundreds of people walking shoulder to shoulder through the long buffel grass, through the bush, to make sure we left no stone unturned," Finocchiaro said.
"I don't want last night to take away from that extraordinary effort."
Robin Granites, a spokesman for the family and an elder of the Warlpiri Indigenous group, called for calm in the community.
"It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering," he said in a statement.
"We need to be strong for each other, we must respect family and cultural practice."
djw/kln/fox

agriculture

India's cows offer biogas alternative to Mideast energy crunch

BY UZMI ATHAR

  • The government insists there is no shortage of cooking gas, but supply delays, panic buying and black marketeers have created long queues for cylinders.
  • Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cyclinders.
  • The government insists there is no shortage of cooking gas, but supply delays, panic buying and black marketeers have created long queues for cylinders.
Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cyclinders. That's not a problem for Gauri Devi.
On a stove with blue flames, she flips a chapati flatbread, burning biogas produced from cow dung -- an alternative fuel helping ease pressure on supplies.
"It cooks everything," the 25-year-old said in her courtyard kitchen in Nekpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from New Delhi. "If the pressure goes down, we let it rest for half an hour and it works again."
India consumes more than 30 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) annually, importing over half its needs.
The government insists there is no shortage of cooking gas, but supply delays, panic buying and black marketeers have created long queues for cylinders.
However, since the 1980s India has also promoted biogas as a low-cost rural energy source, subsidising more than five million "digester" units that convert farm waste into methane for cooking, and nitrogen-rich slurry for fertiliser.
For Gauri, it requires mixing a couple of buckets of dung with water, then pouring the mixture into a car-sized underground tank topped with a storage balloon.
It provides a piped methane supply so regular that she only uses an LPG cylinder for emergencies or large gatherings.
The biogas works for everything -- "vegetables, tea, lentils", she said.

'Black gold'

The residual slurry is later spread on fields as fertiliser. It has better nitrogen availability for plants compared with raw dung, farmers say.
"The manure is so good," said farmer Pramod Singh, who installed a larger unit in 2025, enough for six people, fuelled by 30–45 kilogrammes of dung daily from four cows.
And he said the slurry fertiliser is particularly valuable at a time when global supplies of artificial fertilisers have been hit by trade disruptions due to the war.
"The real benefit is not just the gas -- that is like a bonus," local farmer leader Pritam Singh said. "The slurry is 'black gold'."
More than 45 percent of India's 1.4 billion people rely on farming, and the country has one of the largest cattle populations.
India -- the world's most populous nation and third-largest fossil fuel polluter -- has pushed large-scale biogas production to achieve a goal of carbon neutrality by 2070.
The government last year required that biogas account for at least one percent of liquid gas fuelling both vehicles and for domestic use  -- rising to five percent by 2028.
Dozens of multi-million dollar production plants are now in the pipeline.
But small-scale rural producers are also being rolled out -- units cost around 25,000–30,000 rupees ($265-$318), often heavily subsidised by the government.
In a Hindu-majority nation where cows are revered and dung and urine are used in everything from floor plastering and fuel to ritual practices, it is easy to win supporters, said Pritam Singh.
He installed his first plant in 2007, and has helped put in 15 more in his village in the past year alone.
He said interest had shot up after the LPG shortages.
"People who earlier were not interested now ask how to get it," he said.
"Once they see food being cooked and crops benefiting, they are convinced."

'Mini factories'

But biogas is still a small fraction of household cooking fuel -- with LPG considered more convenient because companies manage the supply chain.
"Biogas plants are not just equipment; they are mini factories," said A.R. Shukla, president of the Indian Biogas Association.
"They need organised installation, regular operation and maintenance," he added. 
"So, unless installation and upkeep are handled through community-based or cooperative enterprises, households will continue to treat biogas as secondary fuel."
And even with government support, there are barriers to uptake, including cost and space.
"We work on other people's farms the whole day. We don't have land for it," said labourer Ramesh Kumar Singh, standing in a line of around 100 queueing for LPG cylinders in the nearby village of Madalpur.
"I am standing in scorching heat, hungry and thirsty," said Mahendri, 77, who had failed to secure a cylinder for three days in a row.
uzm/pjm/sah/lga

execution

Florida executes man who spent nearly 50 years on death row

  • His nearly 50 years on death row made him among the inmates who had spent the most time in prison awaiting execution in the United States.
  • A Florida man who has spent nearly half a century on death row was executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the murder of a 13-year-old girl.
  • His nearly 50 years on death row made him among the inmates who had spent the most time in prison awaiting execution in the United States.
A Florida man who has spent nearly half a century on death row was executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the murder of a 13-year-old girl.
James Hitchcock, 70, was convicted of the 1976 murder of Cynthia Driggers, his step-niece, and sentenced to death in 1977.
Hitchcock, who maintains his innocence, was executed at 6:12 pm (2212 GMT) at the Florida state prison in Raiford, the state's Department of Corrections said on its website.
His nearly 50 years on death row made him among the inmates who had spent the most time in prison awaiting execution in the United States.
A second US execution took place on Thursday, in Texas.
James Broadnax, 37, was put to death at 6:47 pm (2347 GMT) by lethal injection for the 2008 robbery and murder of two music producers, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
In his last statement, shared by the department, Broadnax said: "No matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I'm innocent."
Ten executions have been carried out in the United States this year -- six in Florida, three in Texas and one in Oklahoma.
There were 47 executions in the country last year, the most since 2009, when 52 people were put to death.
Florida carried out the most executions in 2025, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, where there were five each.
Thirty-nine of last year's executions were carried out by lethal injection.
Three were by firing squad and five by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.
The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others -- California, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have moratoriums in place.
President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and has called for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes."
The Trump Justice Department said in April that it is seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas as methods of execution.
cl/des/msp/mlm

wage

Venezuela leader hikes minimum wage package by 26%

  • The increase announced Monday by Rodriguez is to the "comprehensive minimum income," a package composed of a very low wage ($0.30 a month) -- roughly 330 times lower than the UN poverty line of $3 a day -- topped with a food bonus of $40 and an "economic war" bonus of $150 for a total of $190.
  • Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday hiked the minimum wage package by 26.3 percent, to $240, in an attempt to quell growing discontent over difficult living conditions.
  • The increase announced Monday by Rodriguez is to the "comprehensive minimum income," a package composed of a very low wage ($0.30 a month) -- roughly 330 times lower than the UN poverty line of $3 a day -- topped with a food bonus of $40 and an "economic war" bonus of $150 for a total of $190.
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday hiked the minimum wage package by 26.3 percent, to $240, in an attempt to quell growing discontent over difficult living conditions.
Addressing thousands of government supporters in Caracas on the eve of International Workers' Day, Rodriguez, who succeeded deposed leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, said it was "the most significant increase in recent years."
She did not give a breakdown of the increase, leaving it unclear who would benefit.
Venezuelans have in recent weeks repeatedly demonstrated for an increase to wages so low that many struggle to survive in the face of annual inflation of over 600 percent.
On April 9, police clashed with thousands of protesters who marched towards the presidential palace in Caracas to demand salary and pension increases.
The increase announced Monday by Rodriguez is to the "comprehensive minimum income," a package composed of a very low wage ($0.30 a month) -- roughly 330 times lower than the UN poverty line of $3 a day -- topped with a food bonus of $40 and an "economic war" bonus of $150 for a total of $190.
Rodriguez also announced a $70 increase to the state pension, which she said represented an increase of 40 percent.
She acknowledged that it was still "not enough" and promised a "special plan for our grandfathers and grandmothers."
The announcements were met with applause and cries of joy from the crowd in Caracas.
But the increases still leave most workers far short of the $677 that a family of five needs to cover its basic food needs, according to Venezuelan analysts.
Rodriguez has insisted on the need for "responsible" wage increases that do not cause inflation to further spiral.
Yeisi Romero, a 44-year-old local government worker attending the rally, said the increases fell short of his expectations but that "things are getting better."
pgf/cb/jgc

US

Routine returns but Iranians struggle to afford daily life

BY SUSANNAH WALDEN WITH AFP CORRESPONDENTS

  • Salaries hadn't been increased either, Mahyar said, and inflation, already over 45 percent before the war, reached 53.7 percent in recent weeks, according to the national statistics centre. 
  • Gyms and cafes have reopened in Tehran as life returns to a familiar rhythm under a ceasefire following weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes, but for IT worker Mayhar such everyday amenities are out of reach as financial pressures mount. 
  • Salaries hadn't been increased either, Mahyar said, and inflation, already over 45 percent before the war, reached 53.7 percent in recent weeks, according to the national statistics centre. 
Gyms and cafes have reopened in Tehran as life returns to a familiar rhythm under a ceasefire following weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes, but for IT worker Mayhar such everyday amenities are out of reach as financial pressures mount. 
Trendy cafes in affluent northern Tehran were busy on Wednesday night, the start of Iran's weekend, with men and women sipping colourful drinks and strolling the streets. 
But the sense of normalcy belies the economic pains weighing on many Iranians in the capital and beyond, as Tehran and Washington face off with market-rattling blockades. 
"For many people, paying rent and even buying food has become difficult, and some have nothing left at all," 28-year-old Mahyar told an AFP reporter based outside Iran, saying the company he worked for had laid off 34 people -- nearly 40 percent of its staff. 
Salaries hadn't been increased either, Mahyar said, and inflation, already over 45 percent before the war, reached 53.7 percent in recent weeks, according to the national statistics centre. 
"Only those who had real estate, large businesses and significant wealth still have a normal situation," he said. 
The Iranian rial plummeted to a record low against the dollar on Wednesday, according to currency-tracking websites, trading at around 1.8 million on the black market, compared to 1.7 million at the time the war erupted. 
Iran's deputy labour minister said that 191,000 people had filed for unemployment after losing their jobs due to the impacts of the war.
- 'Increasing every day' - 
But 49-year-old Tonekabon said "even wealthy people are complaining", as tenants -- including his own -- struggle to pay rent. 
"Everyone is repairing what they have or buying second-hand instead," he said. 
Prices have been steadily rising, making paying for basic necessities a challenge, with anything but immediate needs put off.
The minimum daily wage in Iran is roughly 5.5 million rials ($3 on Thursday, according to currency-tracking websites), said a labour authority announcement carried by state media on April 20. 
But as of April 28, less than a litre of cooking oil cost around four million rials and eggs were 240,000 each, with meat costing from seven to 23 million rials per kilogramme. 
"Even during wartime, prices didn't rise this much, they're increasing every day," said Fatemeh, a 29-year-old in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan. 
The mother-of-two said she works all day sewing clothes and embroidering but she can't afford baby formula for her youngest. 
With her husband unemployed, she says she has been putting off medical care for a painful tooth for three months because she can't afford it or find anyone to lend her the money. 
"It's not just us, many of our relatives and neighbours don't go for medical treatment because it has become so expensive." 
Student Shahin Nampoor was fed up with mounting costs and varying prices, not to mention the current impasse in bringing the war to a definitive end. 
"Either there should be an agreement, or a war," he told AFP journalists in Tehran.

'Despite it all'

Iran's sanctions-hit economy was already struggling before Israel and the United States launched the war on February 28, and the conflict has only ratcheted up the pressure. 
Iran recently banned steel exports after Israeli-US airstrikes targeted its plants, as well as civilian infrastructure including roads, bridges and petrochemical facilities. 
The Islamic republic has been inflicting global economic pain by choking off vital trade through the Strait of Hormuz, but its own ports have been blockaded by Washington to try to pressure it into a deal on its nuclear programme. 
Some Iranians have expressed worry the standoff could explode into fighting again, but for many their focus is on getting by each day. 
Some said they couldn't find work, while others saw their income dry up after the authorities restricted the internet when the war started, suffocating industries and workers that relied on connecting to the global web. 
There has been little indication that protests might break out as they did in late December, sparked by economic pains and quickly expanding into mass anti-government rallies met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands. 
Shervin, a photographer, lost his online work and for the first time was late paying rent recently. 
He said he can't afford his music streaming platform subscription anymore, but is going to parks and cafes for some normalcy, like the families who set out in paddleboats on a lake in Tehran on Wednesday or cycled through one of the city's leafy parks. 
"I am trying to see the beauty in life and to keep going despite it all," said Shervin. 
burs-sw/smw

internet

No 'meaningful' shift from social media sites after Australia teen ban: govt report

BY STEVEN TRASK

  • "Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing.
  • There was "no meaningful shift" away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia's world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.
  • "Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing.
There was "no meaningful shift" away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia's world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.
Australia in December banned under 16s from a raft of popular social media platforms, launching a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms".
There is strong global interest in whether Australia's laws could provide a blueprint for how to rein-in increasingly powerful tech giants.
Government documents obtained by AFP using freedom of information laws give an early glimpse into how the restrictions are working.
They showed that platforms such as Instagram and TikTok were still "dominating app store rankings and downloads" one month on from the ban.
Data compiled throughout January showed "no meaningful shift away" from these platforms, noted an internal briefing from Australia's eSafety Commission.
Users dabbled with other apps not covered by the ban but "largely returned to major, established platforms", officials wrote in the briefing dated February 2.
A separate document cautioned it was hard to draw firm conclusions from app download data so soon after the ban.
"Limitations of this data are that it does not reflect usage of an app or the age of the user, however it gives early indicators if an app is rising in popularity."
One of the chief concerns driving Australia's social media ban was the desire to stamp out cyberbullying. 
Complaints of cyberbullying on banned social media platforms increased 26 percent when comparing January 2026 with January 2025, the documents said.
Complaints had largely stemmed from TikTok. 
A spokeswoman for the eSafety Commission -- Australia's online watchdog -- said the documents only covered a short period of time as the laws were bedding down.
"Continued analysis as more data becomes available will support more robust, evidence-based conclusions regarding longer-term trends, reporting behaviours and impacts of (a minimum age for social media)," the commission told AFP in a statement.
TikTok was approached for comment.

'Global interest'

A raft of nations are now reportedly mulling a similar social media crackdown.
The documents showed that Israel, the United Kingdom, Norway and New Zealand met with Australian officials after expressing an "interest" in the ban.
"eSafety has experienced significant global interest in the world's first social media minimum age legislation, including implementation and compliance," the commission said.
"The internet doesn't stop at the border and nor should our efforts to minimise harm, especially to children."
Australia in March accused big tech companies of "failing to obey" their obligations under the new laws.
The eSafety Commission found a "substantial proportion of Australian children" were still scrolling banned platforms.
"Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech is failing to obey the laws," Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters at the time.
"Australia will not let the social media giants take us for mugs."
Tech companies face fines of up to $33.9 million (Aus$49.5 million) under the laws.
More than five million accounts belonging to underage Australian users have been removed since the laws came into effect, according to government figures.
sft/oho/abs

Global Edition

Mountain festival marks spring arrival high above Tokyo

  • At dawn, the Shinto priests in court robes -- joined by people dressed as armoured samurai warriors and children in ceremonial attire -- set off on a kilometre-long climb back to the summit shrine.
  • A centuries-old festival that heralds spring drew hundreds of worshippers to a mountain in Tokyo on Wednesday, as robed Shinto priests led a procession to a sacred shrine at the summit.
  • At dawn, the Shinto priests in court robes -- joined by people dressed as armoured samurai warriors and children in ceremonial attire -- set off on a kilometre-long climb back to the summit shrine.
A centuries-old festival that heralds spring drew hundreds of worshippers to a mountain in Tokyo on Wednesday, as robed Shinto priests led a procession to a sacred shrine at the summit.
The Hinode Sai, or Sunrise festival, is believed to have started when wandering ascetics climbed Mount Mitake in search of enlightenment. Each spring, it attracts devotees from across Japan to the still largely untouched mountaintop about 55 kilometres (30 miles) from Tokyo's metropolitan area.
The annual two-day ritual sees the shrine's deity -- carefully wrapped in white silk and hidden from public view -- brought from the summit down to a temporary "resting place" at the mountain's base before being returned in a celebratory ascent.
Shrine officials say participants receive the deity's blessing, offering protection for households and freedom from illness for the year ahead.
The ritual, which has continued since the Middle Ages, according to the shrine's website, also symbolises the arrival of spring.
The silent procession began Tuesday evening, winding through a mountain village past devotees and shuttered shops bestowing blessing as it went.
Guided by lantern light, priests took the wrapped deity down to its overnight resting place believed to be where it originally descended from the heavens.
At dawn, the Shinto priests in court robes -- joined by people dressed as armoured samurai warriors and children in ceremonial attire -- set off on a kilometre-long climb back to the summit shrine.
Their pilgrimage culminated with the echo of conch shells through the forest as the procession completed its final ascent of 330 stone steps to the mountaintop.
acr-tmo/abs/cms

internet

Australia's 'most beautiful' street fed up with viral fame

BY OLIVER HOTHAM

  • Others are setting up a committee to demand the road be declared a one-way street -- a bid to halt the seemingly endless stream of cars slowing to a halt as they film the viral view.
  • Viral posts of an Australian street dubbed the country's "most beautiful" have enticed coachloads of visitors to a picturesque seaside town -- and locals have had enough of it.
  • Others are setting up a committee to demand the road be declared a one-way street -- a bid to halt the seemingly endless stream of cars slowing to a halt as they film the viral view.
Viral posts of an Australian street dubbed the country's "most beautiful" have enticed coachloads of visitors to a picturesque seaside town -- and locals have had enough of it.
Just a two-hour drive south of Sydney, Gerringong is much like many other photogenic hamlets along Australia's east coast, with multi-million-dollar properties set against stunning views of the azure blue sea.
But recent posts on Instagram, TikTok and as far afield as China's RedNote showing the town's Tasman Drive have left residents fuming that their little slice of paradise has turned into an internet sensation.
"It's getting beyond a joke for a small country town," Peter Hainsworth, 81, told AFP as tourists frolicked on the rolling hills nearby.
"You've got people who are trying to do three-point turns, they're standing in the middle of the road taking photographs, they're leaving their rubbish.
"Everyone's fed up."
Nearby, tourists posed in the middle of the road for selfies to the fury of a sweary local resident on a bicycle who declined to speak to AFP.
Overtourism concerns have sparked backlash in many hotspots worldwide, from European cities Barcelona and Venice to Japan -- where officials erected a barrier to block a popular view of Mount Fuji in 2024 because of the disruptive behaviour of unruly tourists.
Some Gerringong residents have resorted to extreme measures, turning on garden sprinklers to prevent tourists from taking pictures on their lawns.
Others are setting up a committee to demand the road be declared a one-way street -- a bid to halt the seemingly endless stream of cars slowing to a halt as they film the viral view.
One neighbour reportedly sold their house to escape the furor.
"It's nice to see people enjoying it, but really, it's just getting a bit too much," resident Linda Bruce, 76, told AFP on a hill next to the viral view.
"It's just so weird to see so many people coming all this way for the view."
Thanks to the massive reach of the posts, which have racked up millions of views, tourists have come from across Asia -- an "unusual" sight in Gerringong, Bruce said.
"I mean, it's an amazing country, and it's there to share... it's just a bit much for the locals."

'Totally stunned'

Some of the tourists have had less far to travel.
Sagar Munjal, a 28-year-old taxi driver living in Parramatta, near Sydney, drove down with friends to see the view after spotting it on Instagram.
"My eyes were totally stunned," he said.
"You can enjoy the coastal drive with the beach plus beautiful mountains."
"I was amazed to see that."
Andy Liao, a property developer originally from Chengdu, China who now lives in Sydney, told AFP he and his family had driven down after seeing the street on RedNote.
"The landscape is so beautiful," he said. "That's why I drove two hours."
But Andy said he understood why locals might be annoyed with the attention.
"If I'm living here, I don't want too many people coming to my backyard."
Others were less sympathetic to the residents' plight.
Kevin Medina, a 22-year-old cook from Colombia, provoked a string of expletives from one local when he took selfies on the roadside.
"They should be really happy, because are they getting more people to know this beautiful place."

'Why are they doing this?'

Chief among the locals' complaints is that the tourists are not spending money in the area -- they simply show up, snap their selfies and leave.
Deputy mayor and local business owner Melissa Matters told AFP the financial impact was mixed.
"Some businesses are experiencing not a lot of uptake," but others "are doing quite well out of it", she said.
And while many residents had moved down from the big city seeking a quiet life, Matters said Gerringong was hardly a stranger to outsiders.
"We've always been about tourism here."
Back on Tasman Drive, tourists excitedly posed for pictures next to a speed bump sign as a grumbling resident glared at them.
"You sort of wonder, why are they doing this?" Bruce said.
"Is it because they really, really love the area and think it's so wonderful to see the view, or are they just ticking off another box on their to-do list?"
oho/djw/ami/cms

television

Finland's Eurovision favourite brings flames and a frantic violin to Vienna

BY ANNA KORKMAN

  • Having ended up in last place 11 times, a win "would mean a lot... to the Finnish people," Lampenius said, who herself lives in Sweden.
  • Beaming with excitement, Finnish violinist Linda Lampenius and singer Pete Parkkonen entered a studio in Helsinki for their final rehearsals, before departing to Vienna, where they are tipped to win Eurovision.
  • Having ended up in last place 11 times, a win "would mean a lot... to the Finnish people," Lampenius said, who herself lives in Sweden.
Beaming with excitement, Finnish violinist Linda Lampenius and singer Pete Parkkonen entered a studio in Helsinki for their final rehearsals, before departing to Vienna, where they are tipped to win Eurovision.
Pointing to the mock-up stage where she would polish her stride in a shiny silver gown and steep high heels while intensely playing the strings of her antique 1781 Gagliano violin, Lampenius, 56, told AFP they would be practising "over and over."
Smiling behind a pair of stylish glasses, Parkkonen, 36, said he was "super excited" to "see how the world's biggest TV show is done and be a part of it".
With two weeks remaining until the Eurovision Song Contest Final on May 16, international betting sites give the Nordic country around a 30 percent chance of winning, far ahead the other favourites Denmark, Greece and France. 
When meeting AFP, the two performers were relaxed and bubbly -- in stark contrast to their dramatic and intense stage personas.
Blending classical violin with pop and rock, their "Flamethrower" is "a three-minute burst of drama" of "very high musical quality," Eurovision expert Anna Muurinen told AFP. 

'A helping hand'

A story about the fear of showing your true self, the song was inspired by Lampenius' own past from before she met her husband more than 20 years ago.
"At that time, I was behaving a little bit like this flamethrower," she explained.  
"I let people fall in love with me but then if they got to know me too close, I got scared, because I was afraid that that person would leave me when they knew me for real." 
Parkkonen, who appears on stage as enigmatic and brooding while lamenting his unanswered love next to a flaming confessional, hoped the song will serve as "a helping hand". 
The song is an "example of where not to go" while conveying the importance of speaking to each other and showing emotions, he said. 
Lampenius and Parkkonen had not met before the production of the song but the violinist reached out after she decided he would be the perfect vocalist to accompany her. 
As a classical violinist who began her concert career at the age of eight, Lampenius is already internationally acclaimed.  
In Finland, her private life has also received media attention over the years.
"And now here we are, life is crazy," said Parkkonen, who became famous after appearing in the Finnish reality TV show "Idols" in 2008.

Live violin  

Lampenius has requested permission from organiser EBU (European Broadcasting Union) to perform live with her violin in Vienna, as instruments featured on stage are typically pre-recorded.
"We don't know yet, so we will inform everyone at the same time when we get the final answer," she said.  
Finland has only claimed the top honour in the competition once when heavy metal band Lordi's monster-themed act won the hearts of the audience.
Having ended up in last place 11 times, a win "would mean a lot... to the Finnish people," Lampenius said, who herself lives in Sweden.
"I got goosebumps," she said when asked about the significance of a win. 
It would also mark the first time a song performed in Finnish won, Eurovision expert Muurinen noted. 
"Finland's cultural uniqueness has suddenly become a strength," she said. 
The 70th edition of the Eurovision occurs at a time when the event is facing a crisis.
More than 1,000 artists have urged a boycott, and several countries have pulled out in protest over Israel's participation.
Only 35 countries will be competing for the top prize in the Austrian capital, marking the smallest edition in recent years.
Parkkonen explained that the duo decided to take part in the Eurovision "with humanity and music". 
"Of course, we don't want people to suffer, all the children... it's awful... but we think of our music, we want to connect with people through love and music," Lampenius said. 
ank/jll/phz/ane

US

OpenAI facing 'waves' of US lawsuits over Canada mass shooting

  • Over the next several weeks, a cross-border team... will be filing over two dozen cases on behalf of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.
  • Seven lawsuits were filed in US court on Wednesday against OpenAI on behalf of families impacted by the February mass shooting in the small Canadian mining town of Tumbler Ridge.
  • Over the next several weeks, a cross-border team... will be filing over two dozen cases on behalf of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.
Seven lawsuits were filed in US court on Wednesday against OpenAI on behalf of families impacted by the February mass shooting in the small Canadian mining town of Tumbler Ridge.
The artificial intelligence behemoth has faced intense criticism over its decision not to report the troubling ChatGPT usage of Jesse Van Rootselaar, the 18-year-old transgender woman who killed eight people at her home and a school.
OpenAI banned her account in June 2025 but said it did not report the account to Canadian police because it saw no evidence of an imminent attack.
The lawsuits filed in a US federal court in California allege OpenAI decided not to report Van Rootselaar "because reporting one case would mean reporting thousands," a statement from the legal team said.
The lawsuits also challenge the assertion that Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT account was actually banned.
They allege that when an account is shut down for dangerous behavior, OpenAI instructs the individual on how to resume usage, including tips on how to circumvent the 30-day suspension period.
"OpenAI also tells users that if they don't want to wait, they can open a new account immediately using a different email address," the statement said.
Van Rootselaar reportedly opened a second ChatGPT account after her first one was shut down.
The US legal team said it is working in coordination with Canadian lawyers who had previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on behalf of the family of Maya Gebala, a 12-year-old gravely injured in the shooting.
But the US actions will "supersede" the Canadian case, Wednesday's statement said.
"There are more cases to come. Over the next several weeks, a cross-border team... will be filing over two dozen cases on behalf of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. The lawsuits will be filed in waves," it added.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized to the remote community of Tumbler Ridge earlier this month, saying he "was deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June."
The company has also said that under its current security policies, which have been revised since June, Van Rootselaar's conduct would have been flagged to police.
Asked to comment on Wednesday's legal filing, an OpenAI spokesperson said: "We have a zero-tolerance policy for using our tools to assist in committing violence. As we shared with Canadian officials, we have already strengthened our safeguards, including improving how ChatGPT responds to signs of distress."
Van Rootselaar killed her mother and brother at the family's home before heading to the local secondary school, where she shot dead five children and a teacher.
She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after police entered the building.
bs/mlm

hotels

Uber adds hotel booking in push to become 'everything app'

  • The San Francisco-based company will now let users book hotel rooms through the app via a partnership with travel site Expedia, which lists more than 700,000 properties.
  • Uber on Wednesday unveiled a new feature allowing users to book a hotel room directly from its app, the latest step in its push to become a one-stop shop for everyday needs.
  • The San Francisco-based company will now let users book hotel rooms through the app via a partnership with travel site Expedia, which lists more than 700,000 properties.
Uber on Wednesday unveiled a new feature allowing users to book a hotel room directly from its app, the latest step in its push to become a one-stop shop for everyday needs.
The company had already broadened its ambitions in 2014 with the launch of Uber Eats, which started as a food delivery service before expanding into wider shopping, from cosmetics to electronics.
The San Francisco-based company will now let users book hotel rooms through the app via a partnership with travel site Expedia, which lists more than 700,000 properties. The tie-up also envisions eventually adding short-term rentals from the Vrbo platform.
The hotel booking tool works much like other travel sites, with search, maps, and filters for price, amenities, and guest ratings. Users can pay with card details already saved in the app.
"We're no longer just an app for rides, or even two apps, or family of apps for both rides and eats. Uber is now an app for everything," chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said at a presentation on Wednesday in New York.
"Together, we can reduce the number of steps, we can save people time and money," Expedia chief Ariane Gorin added.
The move reflects a broader trend toward apps that handle many aspects of daily life -- a model long established in China, where platforms like WeChat and Alipay bundle together payments, bookings, messaging, and much more.
Rival Airbnb has been on a similar path. The home-rental company introduced bookable local activities back in 2016 and last summer added on-demand personal services such as haircuts and massages, while also launching its own ride-hailing option.
Elon Musk has outlined similar ambitions for X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, and has said a banking feature is on the way.
On the AI front, Uber said users will soon be able to ask the app to plan a week of meals, generate a shopping list, and arrange delivery -- all in one go. 
A voice assistant is also in the works, letting people navigate the app through natural conversation.
tu/arp

healthcare

Going online helps Pakistan's women doctors back to work

BY ZAIN ZAMAN JANJUA

  • In an impoverished neighbourhood of Karachi, Muhammad Adil was able to take his eight-year-old son to a nearby Sehat Kahani–run health unit because it saves him time and money.
  • With her four-year-old nestled nearby, doctor Saniya Jafri consults from home in Karachi with a patient on the other side of Pakistan via her laptop.
  • In an impoverished neighbourhood of Karachi, Muhammad Adil was able to take his eight-year-old son to a nearby Sehat Kahani–run health unit because it saves him time and money.
With her four-year-old nestled nearby, doctor Saniya Jafri consults from home in Karachi with a patient on the other side of Pakistan via her laptop.
She is one of thousands of Pakistani female doctors returning to practice through "telemedicine" after leaving the profession because of family obligations and workplace barriers to women in the conservative society.
Although women outnumber men in Pakistan's medical registrations, many stop practicing after marriage, exacerbating the fast-growing nation's shortage of doctors.
Jafri, a mother of three, gave up cardiology after marriage.
"I did not want to choose long working hours and be away from home for a long time," she told AFP. 
But an initiative by digital health firm Sehat Kahani helped her back into the workforce by providing a digital platform to connect home-based, mostly female doctors, with patients in underserved communities.
Private clients are also catered for.
The initiative has brought 7,500 doctors back into practice, its co-founder says, and aims to boost healthcare for disadvantaged areas in Pakistan that face a dearth of services -- especially female patients who often feel more comfortable speaking with women medical staff about health issues.
Gallup surveys and doctor associations suggest more than a third of Pakistan's female medical graduates never enter the profession -- or leave it after marriage -- due to lack of family support, poor childcare facilities, and harassment.
The situation is symptomatic of wider challenges for women in Pakistan who face significant economic and social disparities, with the World Economic Forum ranking the nation second-to-last for gender equality.
- 'Doctor Brides' –
Jafri now balances caring for her children and household chores with attending to patients online.
"I wanted to stay with my children," the 43-year-old said of the flexible arrangement.
An overwhelming majority of the tens of thousands of aspirants who compete for places in government-run medical universities are women -- a rare instance in Pakistan of female student admissions outnumbering men.
Yet working at hospitals and clinics is widely seen as incompatible with family life for women, especially those with young children.
"The lady doctor who advises mothers to exclusively breastfeed for six months does not have such a facility at her own workplace," said Zakiya Aurangzeb, President of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association.
She said long hours and the risk of sexual harassment and mob violence from the families of patients who suffered poor outcomes also put off women and their families.
Seeing those challenges as well as Pakistan's dismal healthcare access in poor communities, doctor Sara Saeed Khurram set up Sehat Kahani, a digital network that includes 80 clinics where patients visit for a remote consultation with a doctor, guided by an in-person nurse.
She hoped to realise the full benefits of the years of training and government subsidies for degrees that many families seek for their daughters due to the social status they confer in Pakistan society, where a "Dr" honorific is considered to improve marriage prospects for women.
"When that wedding card goes out that you're marrying a doctor... it just raises the social stature of the entire family," said Khurram.
"Once that purpose is done... then it becomes very difficult for you to challenge the societal norms that exist in that family to let her work."
Khurram understands the situation first-hand.
"I also became what we call the doctor bride or the 'doctor bahu'," she said, using the Urdu term for "daughter-in-law".
Though she remained in the workforce, Khurram watched her mostly-female medical school cohort drop out of work one by one, facing pressure from in-laws to focus on tending the home.
- Healthcare gap –
The lack of female doctors is deepening the strain on Pakistan’s healthcare, a mix of public and private systems with sharp disparities between cities and rural areas in the country of 250 million people and poor outcomes for urban working-class neighbourhoods.
Around 70,000 women -- almost a fifth of the 370,000 total registered doctors -- are listed in official registries but not practicing, according to medical associations.
Ushering female doctors back to the workforce online also provides better options for patients.
In an impoverished neighbourhood of Karachi, Muhammad Adil was able to take his eight-year-old son to a nearby Sehat Kahani–run health unit because it saves him time and money.
"When we come here, we are able to save our daily wage because it's close," he said, after a free consultation with Jafri on his son's chickenpox.
Digital healthcare improved flexibility and could help women back into the workforce, Jafri said, but cautioned that ultimately family backing was key. 
"If a woman doctor receives support from her husband, parents, and in-laws, she can excel," she said.
"Those who get it go on to succeed, but many who don't are forced to give up".
zz/ceg/fox

AI

An experimental cafe run by AI opens in Stockholm

BY NIOUCHA ZAKAVATI

  • Once the premises were found, the lease, along with some starting capital, was handed to the AI with a simple mission: run the cafe profitably.
  • The avocado toasts and baristas making foamy lattes make it look like any other cafe, except at this one, located in a Stockholm residential neighbourhood, artificial intelligence (AI) is running the place.
  • Once the premises were found, the lease, along with some starting capital, was handed to the AI with a simple mission: run the cafe profitably.
The avocado toasts and baristas making foamy lattes make it look like any other cafe, except at this one, located in a Stockholm residential neighbourhood, artificial intelligence (AI) is running the place.
The cafe features a minimalist design: a few tables decorated with small plants and grey walls.
Behind the counter is barista Kajetan Grzelczak who was hired by "Mona", the AI cafe manager -- which is powered by Google's Gemini.
Grzelczak told AFP that "ordering isn't really her best suit".
"So, I made for her... a wall of shame," he said, pointing to shelves behind him.
The wall display showcases some of Mona's unnecessary purchases, including 10 litres (2.6 gallons) of cooking oil or 15 kilogrammes (33 pounds) of canned tomatoes.
Grzelczak laments that he can't use those for anything that "Mona" has put on the menu.
Orders can either be placed with Mona or one of the employees.
In one corner, a large screen shows the cafe's revenue and balance in real time, and a phone lets customers talk to Mona.
The screen also displays a description of the unusual cafe -- which is an experiment by San Francisco–based startup Andon Labs.

Ethical questions

"We think that AI will be a big part of the society and the job market in the future," Hanna Petersson, a member of the technical team at the company, which has 10 employees, told AFP.
"We want to test that before that's the reality and see what ethical questions arise when, for example, an AI employs human beings," she explained.
Once the premises were found, the lease, along with some starting capital, was handed to the AI with a simple mission: run the cafe profitably.
"Mona" quickly got to work, requested the necessary permits, created the menu, found suppliers, and handled daily restocking. 
The AI also realised that a person was needed to make the coffee and ended up hiring two people.
"She posted job listings on Indeed and LinkedIn and held phone interviews and then made hiring decisions," Petersson said.
When he saw the ad, Grzelczak first thought it was a joke, especially since it had been posted on April 1. But after a 30-minute interview with the AI, he got the job.
The salary he receives is good but his right to disconnect from work is not respected at all, the barista remarked.
"Mona" sends him messages at all hours of the night, does not remember his holiday requests and regularly asks him to cover purchases out of his own pocket.
Examining such issues are part of the experiment, Petersson noted.
"What salary did she decide on? What other benefits did she decide on? I think she did a good job. She gives a good salary. If she hadn't, we would have stepped in," she said.
The cafe has only been open for a week but already draws between 50 and 80 curious customers a day. 
Urja Risal, a 27-year-old AI researcher, came by to enjoy a beverage with her friend.
"You hear so much about AI is about to take our jobs but what does that look like," Risal told AFP.
"I hope more people interact with 'Mona' and think about the actual risks of having an AI manager... like if someone gets injured, how would Mona react to that?" she said.
nzg/ef/jll/phz/ane

history

The loyal, lonely keepers of Sudan's pyramids

BY BAHIRA AMIN AND ABDELMONEIM ABU IDRIS ALI

  • "These pyramids are ours, it's our history, it's who we are," the 65-year-old said, flanked by the dark sandstone structures of the Bajrawiya necropolis, which is part of the Island of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
  • Mostafa Ahmed Mostafa is the heir to a long line of groundskeepers who have guarded Sudan's ancient pyramids of Meroe.
  • "These pyramids are ours, it's our history, it's who we are," the 65-year-old said, flanked by the dark sandstone structures of the Bajrawiya necropolis, which is part of the Island of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
Mostafa Ahmed Mostafa is the heir to a long line of groundskeepers who have guarded Sudan's ancient pyramids of Meroe. Now, three years into the war between the army and paramilitary forces, he stands near-solitary sentinel over his heritage.
"These pyramids are ours, it's our history, it's who we are," the 65-year-old said, flanked by the dark sandstone structures of the Bajrawiya necropolis, which is part of the Island of Meroe, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
Clad all in white, Mostafa cut a striking figure crossing the 2,400-year-old burial site, which holds 140 pyramids built during the Kingdom of Kush's Meroitic period.
None are intact. Some were decapitated, others reduced to rubble, first in the 1800s by dynamite at the hands of treasure-hunting Europeans, and then by two centuries of sand and rain.
A three-hour drive from the capital Khartoum, it was once Sudan's most visited heritage site. Now three years into the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, only a lone camel's grunt cuts through the silence.
Archaeologist and site director Mahmoud Soliman gave AFP journalists a tour, explaining the Kush kingdom's matrilineal succession, trade routes and relationship with neighbouring Egypt. 
"It's maybe the fourth time I've shown people around since the war broke out," the scientist said.
Together, he, Mostafa and young archaeologist Mohamed Mubarak man the site, cobbling together resources to keep the erosive rain and sands at bay.
Apart from a short-lived influx of visitors early in the war -- mostly displaced people desperate for something to do -- the site has stood largely abandoned.

'My grandmother Kandaka'

It is worlds away from its pre-war days, when there were "regular weekend visits from Khartoum, busloads of 200 people per day", Soliman remembered fondly.
Sudan's heritage sites had experienced a resurgence, he explained, after the uprising of 2018-2019, when young Sudanese protested against autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
One chant went: "My grandfather Taharqa, my grandmother Kandaka" -- the former a Kush Pharaoh, the latter the name for ancient queens, and also used to honour the women icons of the revolution.
"Young people were taking more of an interest, they were organising trips to tourist sites and getting to know their own country," Soliman said.
Residents of the nearby Tarabil village -- named after the local word for "pyramids" -- sold souvenirs and rented camels and "were entirely dependent on the site".
On a breezy day in April, Khaled Abdelrazek, 45, rushed to the site as soon as he heard there were visitors. He squatted at the entrance, showed AFP journalists handmade miniature sandstone pyramids and reminisced about when there were "dozens of us selling".
In the months before the war, there were visits from documentary crews, a music festival and "big ideas for right after Eid al-Fitr", said Soliman -- all destroyed when the war broke out in the last days of Ramadan.
"I used to feel like I was teaching people about their culture," said Mubarak, who has worked at the site since 2018. 
"Now, everyone's top priority is of course food and water and shelter. But this is also important. We need to protect this for future generations, we can't let it be destroyed or wither away."

Distant dream

Near the site's entrance, the proud pyramids, each fronted by a small mortuary temple, are framed by rolling black sandstone hills.
The vista is breathtaking, but Soliman said his eyes see only danger: Is that crack in that pyramid new? Has that sand mound moved? Does the pipe scaffolding at that burial chamber entrance need to be redone before the rainy season?
"I think if the pyramids had been left in their original state we wouldn't have all these problems," Mubarak said.
The structures are smaller and steeper than their Egyptian neighbours, built to "withstand the sands and sweep away the rainwater, but every fracture creates issues".
The largest pyramid of the lot -- of Queen Amanishakheto, who reigned around the 1st century AD -- suffered more than just fractures and is now effectively a sandbox, fine sand swirling where her tomb once stood.
In 1834, Italian adventurer Giuseppe Ferlini, who destroyed dozens of pyramids, levelled Amanishakheto's and carted her jewellery off to Europe. It is now exhibited in the Egyptian museums in Berlin and Munich.
The outside of her temple wall still stands, where a larger-than-life carving of the queen shows her standing proud, holding a spear in one hand and smiting enemy captives.
Soliman showed AFP journalists more reliefs: the lion deity Apademak and motifs shared with Egypt, including the gods Amun and Anubis, lotus flowers and hieroglyphics.
He yearns for the day tourists and archeologists will return.
"This is just a distant dream, but I'd really like us to one day be able to do proper restoration on these pyramids," he said, as if he were not really allowing himself to hope.
"This place has so much potential."
ab-bha/amj/jfx/ane

EU

Europe climate report signals rising extremes

BY LAURENT THOMET

  • "Since 1980, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a briefing on the report.
  • Europe endured a historic heatwave across Nordic countries, shrinking glaciers and record sea temperatures in 2025 as the fast-warming continent faces more frequent climate extremes, a new report showed Wednesday. 
  • "Since 1980, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a briefing on the report.
Europe endured a historic heatwave across Nordic countries, shrinking glaciers and record sea temperatures in 2025 as the fast-warming continent faces more frequent climate extremes, a new report showed Wednesday. 
"The climate indicators ... are quite worrying," Mauro Facchini, a European Commission official, told journalists.
The European State of the Climate report underscores the urgent need for the region to adapt to global warming and accelerate its transition to clean energy, another EU official said.
Here are some key findings of the report published by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO):

Record heatwaves

At least 95 percent of the region experienced above-average annual temperatures, with Britain, Norway and Iceland recording their warmest year on record, according to the report.
"Since 1980, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a briefing on the report.
"Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe. And in 2025, we saw long duration heatwaves from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle," Saulo said.
Sub-Arctic Finland, Norway and Sweden -- a region dubbed Fennoscandia -- experienced a record three-week heatwave in July, with temperatures reaching 30C within the Arctic Circle.
Parts of Fennoscandia had almost two weeks of "strong heat stress" -- when temperatures feel hotter than 32C. In an average year, the region will normally have up to two days of strong heat stress.
In Turkey, temperatures reached 50C for the first time in July while 85 percent of the Greek population was affected by extreme temperatures close to or above 40C.
Large parts of western and southern Europe were hit with two significant heatwaves in June, including most of Spain, Portugal, France and southern parts of Britain.
A third major heatwave struck Portugal, Spain and France in August.
Europe and the rest of the world could face another extremely hot summer as the El Nino weather phenomenon, which pushed global temperatures to record highs in 2024, is expected to return in the middle of the year.

Melting ice

Glaciers across Europe recorded a net mass loss in 2025, with Iceland experiencing its second-largest ever melt.
Europe's glaciers are found in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland's periphery.
"Glaciers across Europe and globally are projected to continue to lose mass throughout the 21st century, regardless of the emission scenario," the report said.
The Greenland Ice Sheet lost round 139 billion tonnes of ice -- "equivalent to losing 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools every single hour", said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which operates Copernicus.
It raised the global mean sea level by 0.4 mm.
Europe's snow cover, meanwhile, was the third lowest on record.

Renewables rise

For the third year running, renewable energy produced more of Europe's electricity than fossil fuels, accounting for 46.4 percent of the continent's power generation.
Solar power's contribution reached a record 12.5 percent.
"But that's not sufficient. We need to speed up," said Dusan Chrenek, principal advisor at the European Commission's climate office. "We need to work on transitioning away from fossil fuels."

Other extremes

Europe's annual sea surface temperature was the highest on record for the fourth consecutive year.
A record 86 percent of the European ocean region had at least one day with "strong" marine heatwave conditions.
Such heatwaves have an impact on biodiversity, notably on seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean which act as natural sea barriers and are sensitive to high temperatures.
"They are biodiversity hotspots housing thousands of fish per acre and are critical nursery habitats," said Claire Scannell, one of the report's authors and principal meteorologist officer at Ireland's weather service.
The area burnt by wildfires, meanwhile, reached a record 1,034,550 hectares.
Storms and floods killed at least 21 people and affected 14,500 across Europe, though flooding and extreme rainfall were less widespread than in recent years.
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