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.
lt/yad

court

Swiss court dismisses corruption case against late Uzbek leader's daughter

  • The Swiss charges covered the period from 2005 to 2012 and revolved around "participation in a criminal organisation", "money laundering", "acceptance of bribes as foreign public officials" and "forgery of documents".
  • Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday dismissed a money laundering case against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan's former president, who has been incarcerated in her home country.
  • The Swiss charges covered the period from 2005 to 2012 and revolved around "participation in a criminal organisation", "money laundering", "acceptance of bribes as foreign public officials" and "forgery of documents".
Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court on Tuesday dismissed a money laundering case against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan's former president, who has been incarcerated in her home country.
The trial of Karimova and a Swiss private bank opened on Monday but Karimova was not present as she is serving a 13-year sentence in Uzbekistan for embezzlement.
A spokeswoman for the court in Bellinzona told AFP the proceedings against Karimova were dismissed due to what she called a "persistent impediment".
Karimova, whose father Islam Karimov ruled Uzbekistan for 25 years until his death in 2016, was indicted by Switzerland in 2023 in a vast case involving alleged corruption, fraud and organised crime stretching over many years.
The full decision to dismiss the case will be published along with the final judgement, the spokeswoman said.  
"The judgement will address the potential confiscation of the seized assets and valuables held by Ms Karimova," she added.
Swiss domestic news agency Keystone-ATS, in Bellinzona, said the court justified the dismissal by saying Karimova would not be able to leave Uzbekistan before the statute of limitations on the Swiss charges expires in 2028, with Tashkent refusing to allow her to leave before the end of her sentence.
This non-culpable absence from her trial therefore constituted an impediment to the proceedings and the case against Karimova was dismissed, it said.

Bank refutes allegations

The dismissal "is equivalent to an acquittal under Swiss law", her lawyers, Gregoire Mangeat, Fanny Margairaz, and Romain Wavre, told AFP in a statement.
This "very clearly shows that in Switzerland, a person who has been arbitrarily held in a detention for more than 10 years cannot be tried", they said.
They also claimed it proved that someone "subjected to sham trials... cannot be tried in absentia" and someone "cannot be tried when their most basic rights to a defence are blatantly violated by a state --Uzbekistan -- that scoffs at the rule of law".
The Swiss charges covered the period from 2005 to 2012 and revolved around "participation in a criminal organisation", "money laundering", "acceptance of bribes as foreign public officials" and "forgery of documents".
The Swiss attorney general's office (OAG) first opened an investigation in 2012, although Karimova herself initially enjoyed diplomatic immunity, since she was serving as Uzbekistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
After that immunity was lifted in 2013, the investigation expanded to focus on her.
The OAG said its investigation led it to conclude that some of the funds laundered in Switzerland were allegedly deposited into accounts at the Lombard Odier bank in Geneva.
Proceedings against the bank and a former employee are still going ahead, the federal court spokeswoman said.
In a statement Monday, the bank said the charges "pertain to alleged organisational shortcomings in relation to the effective prevention of money laundering.
"The bank firmly refutes these allegations and intends to defend itself at trial."
After Tuesday's dismissal of the case against Karimova, the bank told AFP: "After nearly 15 years of investigation, this decision highlights the fundamental difficulties of the current proceedings -- with regard to all the defendants."
apo/rjm/nl/cw

court

Bullying claims 'nonsense', actress Rebel Wilson tells Sydney court

  • Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
  • Australian film star Rebel Wilson dismissed as "nonsense" claims she had bullied women on the set of her directorial debut film "The Deb", as she gave evidence in a Sydney court on Tuesday.
  • Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
Australian film star Rebel Wilson dismissed as "nonsense" claims she had bullied women on the set of her directorial debut film "The Deb", as she gave evidence in a Sydney court on Tuesday.
Wilson -- star of Hollywood hits including "Bridesmaids" and "Pitch Perfect" -- is accused of defamation by actress Charlotte MacInnes.
The claims centre around Instagram posts and comments by Wilson suggesting MacInnes changed an account of having been victim of sexual harassment in order to advance her career.
The federal court case focuses on an incident where MacInnes and Amanda Ghost, a producer of "The Deb", shared a bath in an apartment after swimming at Bondi Beach.
"It felt like she was making a sexual harassment complaint to me," Wilson told the court on Tuesday according to Australian national broadcaster ABC, referring to communication she had with MacInnes.
An affidavit from Ghost tendered in court on Tuesday described how she and MacInnes had swum at the beach in the early evening of September 2023, returning to her apartment feeling cold.
The pair got into a hot bath while wearing swimming costumes to warm up, it said.
"It was an oversized bath, with plenty of room for two people to sit without touching (and we didn't touch)," Ghost said in the statement tendered to court.
Two days later, Wilson phoned Ghost to say MacInnes had felt uncomfortable about the bath.
MacInnes has denied telling Wilson that and has told the court Wilson had shamed her to 11 million followers on Instagram.
Wilson on Tuesday denied she mistreated women while making "The Deb", saying this was "nonsense".
She told the court she had made truthful statements about MacInnes and Ghost.
kln/oho/jm

restaurant

New York restaurant's $40 half chicken fuels cost of dining debate

BY BEN TURNER

  • - 'Just getting by' - The chicken row gained traction after a local lawmaker alluded to the $40 menu price in an exasperated Instagram post that received over 9,000 likes.
  • Hugo Hivernat's restaurant was only open for a few days before he got dragged into New York's cost of living row for pricing a half rotisserie chicken at $40.
  • - 'Just getting by' - The chicken row gained traction after a local lawmaker alluded to the $40 menu price in an exasperated Instagram post that received over 9,000 likes.
Hugo Hivernat's restaurant was only open for a few days before he got dragged into New York's cost of living row for pricing a half rotisserie chicken at $40.
For some, the cost highlights how dining out has become prohibitively expensive in one of the world's culinary capitals. But Hivernat insists that steep overheads leave little room for profit.
"We are at the mercy of the affordability crisis," he told AFP at Gigi's, a small, wooden-floored restaurant in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood. 
"Maybe people think we're driving a Porsche in the Hamptons on the weekends with our $40 chicken, but we're like everyone here," Hivernat added, referring to a wealthy beach resort in the New York area.
The cost of living is a worry across the United States and is acutely felt in New York, where leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani was elected largely on promises to counter the problem. 
Its restaurants are not immune to inflation, from operating costs to wholesale food prices.
Menu prices in the city rose by 43.6 percent in the decade up to 2023, compared to 42.8 percent nationally, according to a report this February by the state's fiscal watchdog. 
"People have a very strong idea about how much things should cost in the restaurant industry, but they have absolutely no idea what the real cost is," Hivernat said.
The 36-year-old, who co-ran the esteemed Fulgurances restaurant in Paris and New York before opening Gigi's this month, said his pricing falls in line with industry standards. 
He explained that 25 percent of the $40 revenue is spent on raw ingredients -- including quality chicken from upstate New York -- and the rest goes toward rent, bills, salaries and other expenses. 
Anything left, Hivernat added, helps pay down the half-a-million dollar debt incurred from opening the restaurant. 

'Just getting by'

The chicken row gained traction after a local lawmaker alluded to the $40 menu price in an exasperated Instagram post that received over 9,000 likes.
It prompted one local food outlet to produce a "half chicken price index" ranking the dishes from below $10 all the way to $78 at a French restaurant in affluent Manhattan.
However, a stream of online commenters defended Gigi's and pointed to the financial pressures for small businesses. 
"Many restaurants aren't even making money. They're just getting by," Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, told AFP. 
He noted a confluence of factors including insurance premiums, slow economic recovery from the Covid pandemic, and higher food costs -- the latter partly due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Menu prices will inevitably reflect those pressures, Rigie said.
"It costs so much to run a small business in New York City that our beloved local restaurants are forced to charge these prices just so they can survive, not even thrive," he added. 
Underscoring the issue, almost half (46 percent) of over 200 restaurants surveyed by the New York City Hospitality Alliance reported making fewer sales than expected in the final quarter of 2025. 
Their chief concerns were labor costs, the price of goods and services, and a lack of customers. 
At Gigi's, head chef Thomas Knodell is glad the controversy over the $40 half chicken has prompted a much-needed conversation about affordability.
"It's blown up because it's a discussion about the cost of everything, the overall frustration that people have," he said.
"I get it, it is expensive. We agree with you, but this is the reality that we're in now, unfortunately."
Knodell, 35, believes that policy changes are needed -- such as price caps on how much food wholesalers can charge -- to stem the ever-growing costs at restaurants. 
"It's good that it's a discussion, because, you know, that actually makes change," he said. 
bjt/dw/cms

internet

Australia aims to tax tech giants unless they pay news outlets

  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
  • Australia unveiled draft laws on Tuesday that would tax tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily strike deals to pay local outlets for news.
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
Australia unveiled draft laws on Tuesday that would tax tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily strike deals to pay local outlets for news.
Traditional media companies around the world are in a battle for survival as readers increasingly consume their news on social media.
Australia wants big tech companies to compensate local publishers for sharing articles that drive traffic on their platforms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tech giants Meta, Google and TikTok would be given a chance to strike content deals with local news publishers.
If they refused, they faced a compulsory levy that amounted to 2.25 percent of their Australian revenue, he said.
"Large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code," Albanese told reporters.
"At this point the three organisations are Meta, Google and TikTok."
The changes aim to close a loophole under a previous media law which allowed organisations to avoid a levy if they removed news from their platforms.
The three firms were singled out based on a combination of their Australian revenues and large numbers of domestic users.
"What we are encouraging is for them to sit down with news organisations and get these deals done," Albanese said.
Journalism needed to have a "monetary value attached to it", Albanese said.
"It shouldn't be able to be taken by a large multinational corporation and used to generate profits with no compensation."
The draft laws have been designed to stop the tech giants from simply stripping news from their platforms.
When Canberra mooted similar laws in 2024, Facebook parent Meta announced that Australian users would no longer be able to access the "news" tab.
Meta had previously announced it would not renew content deals with news publishers in the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

'Only fair'

Meta said the proposed laws were "nothing more than a digital services tax".
"News organisations voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so," a spokeswoman said in a statement to AFP.
"The idea that we take their news content is simply wrong."
Google said it already had commercial arrangements in place with more than 90 local news businesses, and was the only technology company in Australia to do so.
"While we are currently reviewing the draft legislation, we have been clear: we reject the need for this tax," a Google spokesman said in a statement to AFP.
The firm said other major platforms such as Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI had been arbitrarily excluded.
Supporters of such laws argue that social media companies attract users with news stories and hoover up online advertising revenue that would otherwise go to struggling newsrooms.
Australia's University of Canberra has found that more than half the country uses social media as a source of news.
"People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok and Google," Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
"We believe it's only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue."
The draft laws were presented on Tuesday for public consultation, which will close in May.
They would then be introduced into parliament later this year.
sft/oho/ami

health

Horses unlikely saviours for those who serve in uniform

BY PIRATE IRWIN

  • Former Royal Air Force reservist John Lewis contemplated suicide, serving police officer Nick Morton had a mental health breakdown and ex- military intelligence operative Al Strudwick lost his self-confidence after having both his legs amputated because of sepsis.
  • Members of the armed forces and the police may put their lives on the line for their country but even they have their mental and physical limits and often it is horses, not humans, who can provide salvation.
  • Former Royal Air Force reservist John Lewis contemplated suicide, serving police officer Nick Morton had a mental health breakdown and ex- military intelligence operative Al Strudwick lost his self-confidence after having both his legs amputated because of sepsis.
Members of the armed forces and the police may put their lives on the line for their country but even they have their mental and physical limits and often it is horses, not humans, who can provide salvation.
Former Royal Air Force reservist John Lewis contemplated suicide, serving police officer Nick Morton had a mental health breakdown and ex- military intelligence operative Al Strudwick lost his self-confidence after having both his legs amputated because of sepsis.
All three shared a fear of horses, but it was to be the animals and not the therapists who would bring the trio back from the depths of despair after being put in touch with British charity Warrior Equine.
Such has been Warrior Equine's success that it has been selected as the charity for the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show, which takes place on May 14-17.
Morton had over 20 years of experience, but the accumulation of dealing with traumatic incidents, such as child murders, took its toll. 
"We are sometimes seen as that knight in shining armour, unflappable," he told AFP.
"But actually we're human beings. Same as our military colleagues are, we're all humans. 
"We weren't born police officers or soldiers," added Morton.

'Overwhelmingly controlling'

To keep costs at a minimum Warrior Equine, which was founded in 2019, has no permanent facilities or horses and uses both civilian equestrian centres and military horses for their three-day courses, of which between six and eight are held annually.
Warrior Equine was the brainchild of Ele Milwright, though she and equine instructor Jim Goddard had been working with veterans for several years before that.
As the wife of an RAF officer, Milwright had an inkling of how troubled some service personnel were after tours of duty.
"I did notice a lot of our friends and colleagues were coming back a little bit quirky," she said.
"You couldn't quite put your finger on it, but they came back and it was different.
"Nobody told you what to do about it. It was the elephant in the room. 
"So three things, understanding the value of horses, understanding how horses think, their psychology, and my commitment to help people with a military background or those who serve, all came together." 
The work involves the attendee leading the horse into a pen and using body language and energy to encourage the horse to move and interact.
As the attendees practise emotional self-regulation techniques, such as softening their body language, slowing their breathing and lowering their heart rate, they will aim to achieve a calm but focused state, which the horse will find safe to be around.
Lewis said the experience rescued him from the darkest of places.
The father of two had contemplated suicide after he suffered multiple fractures and spent months in hospital when a school bus squashed him between it and his vehicle.
"That vulnerability became exacerbated every time I was away from my family and my kids," he said.
"It became so overwhelmingly controlling. Even if I went into a supermarket to buy a loaf of bread and there wasn't any bread on the shelf, that was me failing to be able to protect them.
"Then I would get into conflict in the supermarket just because there wasn't bread on the shelf."

'Quite comical'

Lewis had tried several types of therapy and was so sceptical about Warrior Equine he turned back three times on his way to attend a course.
However, he eventually realised "I had to give this a go because ultimately, I was going to leave my kids with no dad."
It proved to be a cathartic moment.
"The point where the horse can detect that you're in control of those stress emotions going on inside you, they will, of their own free will, walk over to you and follow you around with no lead," said Lewis.
"They'll sit on your shoulder in this amazing way. And the way it's been described to us, and you can really see it, is that they just want to sit there and trust you."
Lewis says it has transformed his life and rid him of the excessive controlling behaviour.
"That dark tunnel doesn't even stare me in the face," he said.
"I know it's there. But I'm able to turn my back on it every single time."
Such has been the positive impact on Strudwick's self-confidence he climbed the Pen y Fan mountain in Wales -- part of the test for candidates for the British SAS special forces -- in a wheelchair.
"It made me realise how far I had come, from lying in a hospital bed for 50 nights, and being released with shot-away kidneys and a slowly recovering liver, to climbing a mountain," he said.
Despite the double amputation, Strudwick is blessed with self-deprecatory humour -- his forthcoming book is titled "Finding My Feet Again" -- as is his wife.
Shedding his prosthetic legs on a crowded beach in Cornwall, he went swimming with her.
"My little stumps kept sticking out of the water, which was quite comical," he said.
"My wife joked when we were about to get out of the water that I should crawl up the beach screaming 'shark!' and see people's reaction to it."
He resisted.
"It would have traumatised the youngsters!"
pi/gj

court

Weinstein rape accuser gives emotional testimony at US retrial

BY BEN TURNER

  • She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
  • Former US actress Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein's retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room. 
  • She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
Former US actress Jessica Mann told Harvey Weinstein's retrial Monday how the disgraced movie mogul flooded her with praise in the weeks before allegedly raping her in 2013 in a New York hotel room. 
Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the MeToo movement, is already in prison for other sex offenses, so he will remain behind bars regardless of the verdict. 
It is the third time that Mann has taken the stand against Weinstein after a 2020 guilty verdict was overturned due to mishandling of witnesses, and a 2025 case ended in mistrial after a jury-room feud. 
"I felt like he was a really nice person and he was offering to mentor me," Mann, wearing a beige jacket over a white top, told a New York courthouse. 
She recalled how he showered her with compliments after the pair met at a party in early 2013, when Mann was an aspiring 27-year-old actress and Weinstein a Hollywood powerbroker.
"He told me that I was prettier than Natalie Portman," she said.
She added that Weinstein's apparent interest in boosting her career, including buying her books on acting, initially seemed like a "miracle."
The 40-year-old's testimony -- much of which echoed the 2020 and 2025 cases -- was emotional and she took occasional pauses as her voice broke. 
Mann's testimony will continue Tuesday. 

Avalanche of allegations

Weinstein, wearing a suit and seated in a wheelchair he is bound to due to ill health, occasionally shook his head as Mann spoke.
Prosecutor Candace White told last week's opening hearing how Weinstein "preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman."
The defense is seeking to dismiss Mann's rape allegation by painting her relationship with Weinstein as consensual.
The Oscar-winning Weinstein, 74, is already serving a 16-year prison term in a California case for the rape of a European actress more than a decade ago. He is appealing that conviction.
He is also appealing a conviction last June of sexual assault against movie producer Miriam Haley.
Weinstein was known for his fiery temper, and the industry had long been rife with suggestions that he took advantage of his power to sexually exploit women.
In 2017, blockbuster investigations by the New Yorker and the New York Times laid bare a series of claims by young women that triggered an avalanche of allegations from more than 80 complainants and prompted the global MeToo movement.
bjt/md

government

California billionaire tax appears headed to the ballot

  • The proposal gathered 1.5 million signatures -- nearly twice the number required to get on the ballot.
  • A proposed emergency tax on California billionaires to help fund the state's cash-strapped healthcare system has gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum in November, the union behind the measure announced.
  • The proposal gathered 1.5 million signatures -- nearly twice the number required to get on the ballot.
A proposed emergency tax on California billionaires to help fund the state's cash-strapped healthcare system has gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum in November, the union behind the measure announced.
The proposal gathered 1.5 million signatures -- nearly twice the number required to get on the ballot.
"Most Californians and most billionaires recognize how reasonable and necessary this proposal is -- both to keep emergency rooms open and to save California businesses from closing," Suzanne Jimenez of the Services Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), the measure's lead sponsor, said late Sunday.
Under the California Billionaire Tax Act, the state's wealthiest residents would be hit with a one-time tax of five percent of their net worth.
Some 90 percent of the tens of billions of dollars in expected revenue would be used to fund the state healthcare system for five years to offset the massive federal cuts imposed by President Donald Trump's budget law.
While the tax would be a one-off, the proposal has sparked controversy in the most populous state and across the nation.
Opponents fear it will scare off Silicon Valley and trigger an exodus of the ultra-wealthy, which would hurt tax revenue. California is home to more than 250 billionaires, more than any other US state.
The American left has been divided on the issue. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considered a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, opposes it, while progressive Senator Bernie Sanders is its chief supporter in Congress.
High-profile entrepreneurs are against it. According to US media, Google co-founder Larry Page, Oracle's Larry Ellison, and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel have all taken steps to reduce their footprint in California.
And the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence communities are funding ad campaigns against it.
Jimenez, the union leader, described the measure's wealthy opponents as "a very small group of the most controversial billionaires on the planet."
"Healthcare workers and our allies won't quit until we fully protect our patients from the looming healthcare disaster that will be caused by $100 billion in cuts to California healthcare," she added.
In the face of growing wealth inequality worldwide, taxation of the ultra-rich has become a flashpoint of debate in recent years.
Brazil put the idea of a billionaire tax on the G20 agenda when it hosted the forum's annual leaders' summit in 2024.
Last year France's parliament rejected the proposed 'Zucman tax,' a measure that would have taxed the ultra-wealthy at an annual rate of two percent.
rfo-mlm/ksb

Sports

Human Rights Watch warns of 'exclusion and fear' at World Cup

  • HRW warned against what it described as "increasing authoritarianism and backsliding on human rights in the United States".
  • This summer's World Cup risks being defined by "exclusion and fear" due to crackdowns on immigration, demonstrations and press freedom in the United States, Human Rights Watch warned on Monday.
  • HRW warned against what it described as "increasing authoritarianism and backsliding on human rights in the United States".
This summer's World Cup risks being defined by "exclusion and fear" due to crackdowns on immigration, demonstrations and press freedom in the United States, Human Rights Watch warned on Monday.
The tournament is in danger of becoming "a platform for abusive policies targeting immigrants and visitors, showcasing racism, exclusion, fear, and discrimination", the NGO said in a briefing document for journalists.
HRW warned against what it described as "increasing authoritarianism and backsliding on human rights in the United States".
President Donald Trump's return to power has led to "increased threats to press freedom, the rights of peaceful protesters, and community safety", the organisation said.
The World Cup will take place on June 11-July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with 78 out of 104 matches scheduled to take place in the United States.
Maja Liebing, head of the Americas desk at Amnesty International Germany, told a press briefing about the HRW document that "fans, journalists and others travelling to the United States risk encountering detention, deportation or discrimination in the rights landscape shaped by the Trump administration's policies".
The document itself accused world football organising body FIFA of a "weak response" to what it called Trump's "abusive policies".
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, has close ties to Trump, and last year the organisation presented him with a "FIFA Peace Prize".
Concerns among supporters have intensified amid ongoing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations targeting undocumented migrants. 
According to HRW, citing US figures, at least 167,000 people were arrested between January 2025 and March this year in and around the 11 cities where the US matches will be played.
During the Club World Cup last year, seen as a warm-up for the main event, an asylum seeker who took his children to the final in New Jersey was detained, separated from them and deported, according to the NGO.
Four countries competing in the finals -- Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast -- may have to play without support from their fans as their citizens are subject to US travel bans.
pyv-fec/sr/gv

Egypt

US woman speaks of ordeal in France Al-Fayed trafficking probe

BY CLARA WRIGHT AND FRANCOIS BECKER

  • The American says a recruiter approached her in Paris in August 2008 to offer her a job as an executive assistant for Al-Fayed.
  • An American woman who has accused Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault after being recruited in Paris has spoken of the "pain" of the late Egyptian-born businessman never being held to account.
  • The American says a recruiter approached her in Paris in August 2008 to offer her a job as an executive assistant for Al-Fayed.
An American woman who has accused Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault after being recruited in Paris has spoken of the "pain" of the late Egyptian-born businessman never being held to account.
Pelham Spong, a 42-year-old from South Carolina, says Al-Fayed assaulted her in London when she was in her twenties.
She has told The Times she went to British police in 2017, several years before his death in 2023 aged 94, but claims he was not even questioned.
"There's my story, but I know around 30 women who are victims," she told AFP late last month in the French capital, where she is one of several plaintiffs in a French sex trafficking probe.
"Every time a woman tells me her story, the pain multiplies. All these stories live inside me," she added.
The alleged crimes of Al-Fayed first came to light in a BBC investigation in September 2024.
British police have said 154 victims have so far come forward to say the former owner of Harrods, as well as the Paris Ritz and Premier League club Fulham, abused them over a timeframe of more than 35 years.
But his accusers have been frustrated by the British probe.
French authorities last year began investigating Al-Fayed and his brother Salah, who died in 2010, amid allegations of a vast system of sex trafficking and abuse on French soil.
A psychologist spoke to Spong in late March to corroborate her testimony as part of the French investigation, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Monday.
Her lawyer confirmed this, saying it was a "key stage" in any case of alleged sexual violence.
The American says a recruiter approached her in Paris in August 2008 to offer her a job as an executive assistant for Al-Fayed.
She said she then spent "a week of professional orientation" in London and forced to undergo gynaecological exams as part of a medical check-up.

'Some kind of silk robe'

She said Al-Fayed summoned her after 10 pm one evening.
"I'm in his office and he's sitting there in some kind of silk robe with a white tie," she said.
She said he informed her that her new job would include "having sexual relations with him". 
"My whole heart went, 'Oh fuck!' But I laughed," she said, because she was wanted to believe it was a joke.
"I'm serious. You're going to make love to me," he allegedly insisted. 
"I replied that I couldn't do that. He started to be more aggressive and told me, 'God gave you a brain. God gave you beauty. Why don't you use them?' As if I were stupid for not using my body to get ahead in life," Spong said.
She has accused Al-Fayed of then forcibly kissing her.
She says she remained in the recruitment process because her "survival instinct" kicked in, and she believed she could convince him to employ her without having to sleep with him. But it was in vain and she refused the job.
In her complaint filed with French authorities seen by AFP, Spong has accused the management of the Paris Ritz of being "aware that the hotel was being used as a base from which women were to be interviewed and selected to be sent to England to be sexually assaulted by Mr Fayed".
The Ritz in February told AFP that it was "deeply saddened by the testimonies and the allegations of abuse" and that it is "ready to fully cooperate with the judicial authorities".
fbe-clw/ah/ach 

conflict

Chernobyl refugee town welcomes Ukraine's conflict displaced

BY ROMAIN COLAS

  • According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR representative in Ukraine, Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, every family in Ukraine has been "touched" in some way by the displacement of the war. 
  • Slavutych was built as a Soviet paradise for refugees from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster but now it is being born again as a haven for people escaping Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
  • According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR representative in Ukraine, Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, every family in Ukraine has been "touched" in some way by the displacement of the war. 
Slavutych was built as a Soviet paradise for refugees from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster but now it is being born again as a haven for people escaping Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With is massive theatre, stadium, schools, hospital and rows of identical concrete apartment blocks, Slavutych was the perfect example of the Soviet Union's ideal of "friendship of the peoples".
After the Chernobyl reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, workers and architects from the eight Soviet republics -- Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Russia -- took part in the construction carried out at breakneck speed.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia had to leave their homes as Chernobyl's radiation spread across Europe after the world's worst nuclear accident. 
The population of Prypyat, a town near the Chernobyl reactor where most of its workers lived, were sent to Slavutych. Hundreds gathered in the town on Sunday at 1:23 am, the time of the reactor explosion.
"All the residents aged over 39 are internally displaced," Slavutych mayor Yurii Fomichev told AFP. 
But the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the final closure of Chernobyl in 2000 saw many of Slavutych residents lose their job, and hope. Most decided it was best to leave. 

Soviet welcome

Now there are only about 20,000 people in a town designed to take 50,000. Some buildings in Slavutych were left to abandon, until Russia decided to invade in 2022.
Some 1,265 of the population moved to the town in northern Ukraine because of the war, according to Mykola Kalachnyk, the administration head of the Kyiv region that includes Slavutych. That, however, is just a fraction of the 3.7 million people that the United Nations says has been internally displaced by the Russian onslaught. 
Russian forces even occupied Slavutych for a few days in March 2022 but left when Kyiv's forces ousted them.
"Here the people have been through so much and they understand us," said Olga, a 50-year-old who lives in the town with her elderly, handicapped mother. 
Four years ago, Olga, who only gave her first name, was forced to flee the town of Enegodar that was home for workers of another Ukrainian nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest civilian nuclear power complex, remains in Russian hands. 
Olga and her mother spent 18 months living with another family in the town of Zaporizhzhia before arriving in Slavutych in 2024. She has been given a brand new apartment.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR representative in Ukraine, Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, every family in Ukraine has been "touched" in some way by the displacement of the war. 
A children's nursery and part of a hospital have been renovated, with help from the government and the United Nations, and turned into apartments for the displaced.
Kateryna Romanenko, 40, left the devastated city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, just before it was captured by the Russians in 2023.
Romanenko is delighted by her Slavutych home which she called her "most positive" experience of the past four years. She pays no rent, just for power and services. 
But Olena Tolstova, 74, said she is feeling the pain of the war turmoil.
"I want to go home," said the retired pharmacist, who pines for her apartment in Energodar and small country dacha house in the countryside.
Tolstova, a widow, is living in hospital dormitory in Slavutych, after spending several months at the home of a friend who had worked at Chernobyl.
Despite wanting to leave Slavutych, she acknowledged that she had been helped under the Soviet principle of "friendship of the people".
rco/tw/asy