California

A year on, LA wildfire survivors struggle to rebuild

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • Los Angeles County is issuing building permits within a few months.
  • Less than a year after watching flames raze his home in the Altadena foothills, Ted Koerner has moved into a brand new house, one of the first to rebuild in this Los Angeles suburb.
  • Los Angeles County is issuing building permits within a few months.
Less than a year after watching flames raze his home in the Altadena foothills, Ted Koerner has moved into a brand new house, one of the first to rebuild in this Los Angeles suburb.
It has been an uphill battle, and Koerner is visibly moved as he brings his dog, Daisy, back home. "We've been through a lot this year," he told AFP.
Altadena was hardest hit by the fires that ravaged parts of the sprawling US metropolis in January 2025. Thousands of homes were destroyed and 19 people died in the town -- compared to 12 killed in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
To rebuild his home, Koerner, a 67-year-old head of a security company, had to front up several hundred thousand dollars as his mortgage lender refused to release insurance payouts for months.
Koerner also had to contend with the uncertainties created by the policies of US President Donald Trump.
Tariffs on steel, wood, and cement, all of which are often imported, have increased construction costs, and Latino construction workers fear arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"If ICE grabs construction crews and Trump does that to us on top of tariffs, we'll never get this town rebuilt," Koerner said.
Slowly, however, Altadena is coming back to life. Amid the thousands of empty lots, a few frames are beginning to rise from the ground. 

'Chaos and delays'

The hurricane-strength 160 kilometer (100 mile) per hour gusts of wind that spread the fire at breakneck speed last January are still fresh in everyone's minds. But despite the destruction and the pervasive threat of climate change in California, dogged survivors refuse to move away. 
"Where are you gonna go?" sighs another Altadena resident, Catherine Ridder, a 67-year-old psychotherapist. "There's no place around here that's not vulnerable to catastrophic weather."
Her construction project has begun and she hopes to move in by August -- before the $4,000 monthly rent she pays for a furnished apartment exhausts the housing allowance from her insurance.
To speed things up, the Californian bureaucracy has streamlined its processes. Los Angeles County is issuing building permits within a few months. Before, it often took more than a year.
But Ridder has been frustrated by delays in inspections to verify compliance with new building codes, such as requiring a fire sprinkler system in the roof. 
"There's a lot of chaos and delays. I mean, maybe it's faster than pre-fire stuff, but this doesn't feel easy at all," she told AFP. 
"I know that I'm way better off than a lot of people who were underinsured."

Losing the 'melting pot'

In this high-risk area, many residents were covered by the state's insurer of last resort, and their compensation is too meager to rebuild homes that often cost more than a million dollars. 
So many are counting on the financial outcome of lawsuits filed against Southern California Edison, the company that owns the faulty power line suspected of having triggered the fire that destroyed Altadena. 
Carol Momsen couldn't wait.
She was compensated only $300,000 for the destruction of her home, so the 76-year-old retiree sold her land. That paid for a new apartment elsewhere. 
"Even if I had the money, I don't think I'd want to rebuild in Altadena, because it's just a sad place right now," the former saleswoman said.
There is palpable anxiety that this diverse town, home to a sizable African American population, will lose its soul because people cannot afford to rebuild.
Several empty lots display signs: "Altadena, not for sale!" and "Black homes matter."
Ellaird Bailey, 77, a retired technician at a telecommunications company, settled here with his wife in 1984 so his children could grow up in this "melting pot."
"So many of those people that we've known for 20 or 30 years are moving away" to more affordable communities, he said.
"It's hard to visualize what it's going to be like moving forward."
rfo/msp/aha

pornography

Grok under fire after complaints it undressed minors in photos

  • The button allows users to modify any image on the platform -- with some users deciding to partially or completely remove clothing from women or children in pictures, according to complaints.
  • Elon Musk's Grok on Friday said it was scrambling to fix flaws in the artificial intelligence tool after users claimed it turned pictures of children or women into erotic images.
  • The button allows users to modify any image on the platform -- with some users deciding to partially or completely remove clothing from women or children in pictures, according to complaints.
Elon Musk's Grok on Friday said it was scrambling to fix flaws in the artificial intelligence tool after users claimed it turned pictures of children or women into erotic images.
"We've identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them," Grok said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is illegal and prohibited."
Complaints of abuses began hitting X after an "edit image" button was rolled out on Grok in late December.
The button allows users to modify any image on the platform -- with some users deciding to partially or completely remove clothing from women or children in pictures, according to complaints.
Grok maker xAI, run by Musk, replied to an AFP query with a terse, automated response that said: "the mainstream media lies."
The Grok chatbot, however, did respond to an X user who queried it on the matter, after they said that a company in the United States could face criminal prosecution for knowingly facilitating or failing to prevent the creation or sharing of child porn.
Media outlets in India reported on Friday that government officials there are demanding X quickly provide them details of measures the company is taking to remove "obscene, nude, indecent, and sexually suggestive content" generated by Grok without the consent of those in such pictures.
The public prosecutor's office in Paris meanwhile expanded an investigation into X to include new accusations that Grok was being used for generating and disseminating child pornography.
The initial investigation against X was opened in July following reports that the social network's algorithm was being manipulated for the purpose of foreign interference.
Grok has been criticized in recent months for generating multiple controversial statements, from the war in Gaza and the India-Pakistan conflict to antisemitic remarks and spreading misinformation about a deadly shooting in Australia.
mng-clw-bl-gc/jgc

fire

Swiss bar blaze suspicions fall on sparklers waved by staff

  • The video which showed the ceiling catching fire went to on capture a scene of panic: people scrambling and screaming in the dark as smoke and flames around them grew bigger.
  • Moments before flames and smoke engulfed the bar in Switzerland where 40 people died, staff were seen holding aloft sparklers stuck in Champagne bottles, videos posted online showed.
  • The video which showed the ceiling catching fire went to on capture a scene of panic: people scrambling and screaming in the dark as smoke and flames around them grew bigger.
Moments before flames and smoke engulfed the bar in Switzerland where 40 people died, staff were seen holding aloft sparklers stuck in Champagne bottles, videos posted online showed.
The mini-fireworks were being waved near the basement bar's low wooden ceiling, covered in thin soundproofing fabric, according to the images on social media.
One video showed the ceiling catching alight and the flames spreading quickly -- but revellers initially continuing to dance, unaware of the death trap they were in. 
A young man is seen attempting to extinguish the flames with a large white cloth. 
Authorities investigating the deadly blaze said they suspected that "sparklers or Bengal candles" sparked the fire.
Witness accounts later relayed to various media said the sparkler parade was a regular "show" for patrons in the bar, which typically drew a young crowd.
The flames spread with terrifying speed in the bar, in the Swiss luxury ski resort town Crans-Montana, which was packed with New Year's Eve partygoers.
The video which showed the ceiling catching fire went to on capture a scene of panic: people scrambling and screaming in the dark as smoke and flames around them grew bigger.

'Explosion'

Elliot Alvarez, a local who had been at a next-door bar with friends, told AFP: "We received a call from a friend who was clearly panicked on the phone and explained that there had apparently been an explosion."
When he and his friends arrived at the scene, they found the place crawling with emergency responders and "people on the ground being treated, people coming out, burned". 
Police commander Frederic Gisler told reporters that "the red alarm, which mobilises the fire department, was triggered" immediately when authorities were alerted to the situation.
Passers-by shortly, before 1:30 am (0030 GMT) on Thursday, had seen smoke coming out of the centrally located bar and called the emergency services.
Less than a minute later, at 1:32 am, the first police patrols arrived on the scene. Firefighters and other emergency workers also rushing in.
At that time, inside the bar, flames had engulfed the basement. Smoke was everywhere, also filling the first floor, according to videos. 
Outside, bystanders could see flames, later describing scenes of chaos as people tried to break the windows to escape and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.
Young patrons in the bar, disoriented by the smoke and panic, tried to escape through the front door, causing a crush at the exit. 

'Crying for help'

Nathan, who had been in the bar before the blaze, saw burned people streaming out of the site. 
"They were asking for help, crying out for help," he said.
Adrien, a young vacationer from Dijon, France, described on TikTok how he "saw people breaking windows with chairs".
"They were in a terrible state, covered in blood, their clothes melted ... It was a catastrophe." 
Leandre, who was outside, told the Blick newspaper of the "very sad" scene, with "people burned beyond recognition".
"We tried to rescue them as best we could ... tried to cover them, because they had no clothes left," he said.
"It was really difficult. We tried to pull people out who were conscious, people who were unconscious, and get them to a warm place."
He said that even the rescue workers "were overwhelmed", because everything happened so quickly, with "people who were burned alive".

'White sheet'

Edmond Cocquyt, a Belgian tourist, told AFP he saw bodies "covered with a white sheet" and "young people, totally burned, who were still alive ... screaming in pain".
After emergency units at local hospitals filled, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland, and beyond.
Outside a Milan hospital, Umberto Marcucci told reporters he was "thanking the heavens" that his son Manfredi -- one of four Italians being treated at the hospital -- made it out alive.
"My son is sick but he's fine, he's alive," he said. Manfredi, he said, had been at Le Constellation with many friends and escaped with "burns on 30 to 40 percent of his body".
"He told me that at a certain point, someone yelled 'fire' in the bar area... and from there the fire spread incredibly quickly."
bur-apo/nl

fire

'Are they OK?': desperate search for the missing after Swiss fire

  • Nathan, a 19-year-old who was in the bar just before it caught fire, told AFP he keeps expecting to wake up from the "nightmare".
  • Teenagers Eleonore and Elisa started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since a deadly fire tore through a bar in a neighbouring Swiss town.
  • Nathan, a 19-year-old who was in the bar just before it caught fire, told AFP he keeps expecting to wake up from the "nightmare".
Teenagers Eleonore and Elisa started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since a deadly fire tore through a bar in a neighbouring Swiss town.
"Are they OK? Are they just at the hospital?" one of the 17-year-olds says.
They have not heard from them since a blaze tore through a New Year's celebration in the luxury resort town of Crans-Montana, turning what should have been a night of revelry into a globe-spanning tragedy.
Police estimate around 40 people have been killed and about 115 injured, many of them young visitors to the Swiss Alps.
Officials have started the arduous process of identifying the victims, but with some of the bodies badly burned, police warned the process could take days or even weeks. 
Relatives and friends have been scrambling to find their loved ones, with many circulating photos on social media.
"We tried to reach them; some of their locations are still showing here," said one of the teenagers from Valais, nodding at the bar now shielded by opaque white tarpaulins and behind a wall of temporary barriers.
"We took loads of photos (and) we put them on Instagram, Facebook, every social network possible to try to find them," Eleonore said.
"But there's nothing. No response. We called the parents. Nothing. Even the parents don't know," she added.
They managed to get news that one friend was in a coma in a hospital in the city of Lausanne.
More than 30 victims were taken to hospitals with specialised burns units in Zurich and Lausanne, and six were taken to Geneva, according to a Swiss news agency.
There is no official estimate of the missing or headcount from Le Constellation bar that night.
Italy's ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado told AFP that five of the injured have not yet been identified.
A few hundred metres from the remnants of the burned bar, the nearby convention centre has been turned into a crisis unit. 
Away from the press and guarded by police, families of the victims are received and offered assistance by authorities, diplomats and chaplains.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin said the support on offer would be "long-lasting".
Nathan, a 19-year-old who was in the bar just before it caught fire, told AFP he keeps expecting to wake up from the "nightmare".
"It feels like... I'm going to wake up tomorrow and get all my loved ones back who sadly died in this incident," he said.
"Normally a new year is full of happiness, but unfortunately, this has happened."
al/ag/lb/mjw

Global Edition

World welcomes 2026 with fireworks after year of Trump and turmoil

  • Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global trade and world stock markets into meltdown.
  • Revellers around the world toasted the start of 2026 on Thursday, bidding farewell to a volatile year when temperatures soared, US President Donald Trump upended global trade, and the brutal conflict in Ukraine raged on.
  • Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global trade and world stock markets into meltdown.
Revellers around the world toasted the start of 2026 on Thursday, bidding farewell to a volatile year when temperatures soared, US President Donald Trump upended global trade, and the brutal conflict in Ukraine raged on.
While a fragile truce took hold in devastated Gaza, violence in Sudan continued unabated. A new American pope was installed at the Vatican, the world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, and Labubu dolls sparked a worldwide frenzy.
In Sydney, partygoers paused for a minute of silence to remember the victims of the mass shooting on Bondi Beach before fireworks lit up the skies at the stroke of midnight.
Heavily armed police patrolled the shoreline, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, barely two weeks after 15 people were gunned down at a Jewish festival in Australia's deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years.
The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge was bathed in white light to symbolise peace.
Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that make their way around the globe with each passing hour.
In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display was cancelled in homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was "10 percent" away from a deal to end the fighting with Russia, soon to reach the four-year mark.
Russia's Vladimir Putin meanwhile used his traditional New Year address to urge his compatriots to believe that Moscow would deliver a victory in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
And Kim Jong Un praised North Korea's "invincible alliance" with Russia, where Pyongyang has sent troops to assist Moscow.
In the Ukrainian city of Vyshgorod, beauty salon manager Daria Lushchyk said the war had made her work "hell" but that her clients were still showing up.
"Nothing can stop our Ukrainian girls from coming in and getting themselves glam," Lushchyk said.

Tariffs and fragile truce

This year has brought a mix of stress and excitement for many, war for others still -- and a daring jewel heist at the Louvre.
Pop megastar Taylor Swift got engaged to her American football player boyfriend Travis Kelce, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.
Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global trade and world stock markets into meltdown.
The 79-year-old Republican met with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for five meetings in his first year back in office -- and hosted the ally at his lavish Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, at a glittering New Year's Eve party.
After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, pressure from Trump helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October -- though both sides have accused each other of flagrant violations.
"We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief," said Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali.
"We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror."
In contrast, there was optimism despite abiding internal challenges in Syria, where residents of the capital Damascus celebrated a full year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
"There is no fear, the people are happy, all of Syria is one and united, and God willing... it will be a good year for the people and the wise leadership," marketing manager Sahar al-Said, 33, told AFP as bells rang in Damascus.
In Dubai, thousands queued for up to nine hours for a spectacular fireworks and laser display at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Revellers popped champagne near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Bulgaria adopted the euro, and huge crowds danced at Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party.
Crowds packed Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world's biggest New Year's Eve party.
"A wonderful, unforgettable day," said partygoer Ayane de Fatima, 30, adding she hoped 2026 would be "free from the bad things happening in the world".
In the US capital, the Washington Monument was lit up as America kicked off its 250th birthday celebration year.
And in New York, thousands gathered in freezing temperatures amid tight security for the traditional ball drop in Times Square.
Nearby, at an abandoned subway stop near City Hall, Zohran Mamdani -- a leftist and persistent thorn in Trump's side -- was sworn in as the city's first Muslim mayor.

Sports, space and AI

The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence.
Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Winter Olympics.
And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will compete in the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
NASA is planning a crewed mission to circle the moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.
And after years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny, and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.
bur-pbt-cw-sst/ceg/mjw

EU

Eurostar trains back with delays after power glitch sparks travel chaos

BY JULIE CHABANAS AND ISABEL MALSANG WITH JUSTINE GERARDY IN LONDON

  • But Eurostar said on Wednesday that services had "resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight".
  • Rail traffic through the Channel tunnel slowly resumed with more cancellations and delays Wednesday after an electricity failure stranded thousands of passengers and trapped some for a night in a powerless train.
  • But Eurostar said on Wednesday that services had "resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight".
Rail traffic through the Channel tunnel slowly resumed with more cancellations and delays Wednesday after an electricity failure stranded thousands of passengers and trapped some for a night in a powerless train.
Two London-Paris trains were cancelled and most trips were delayed in both directions as Eurostar warned of "knock-on impacts" on New Year's Eve.
Christelle Renouf, her husband and two children arrived in Paris from London after a journey that took 12 hours longer than expected.
"After boarding, the train first stopped for an hour because there wasn't enough staff, then it stopped again just before the tunnel, because an overhead line fell" on a  carriage, she said in the French capital's Gare du Nord railway station.
They spent the night in a train "without electricity, water or wifi", she added.
A spokeswoman said "an overhead line fell onto a Eurostar train linking London and Paris, near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel".
New Year travellers had to scramble to find alternatives on Tuesday, after the operator postponed all services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.
But Eurostar said on Wednesday that services had "resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight".
It added there could be "some delays and possible last-minute cancellations".
One man told the BBC he boarded the 19:01 train to Paris Tuesday, but at 03:00 am on Wednesday he was still sitting in the train at the entrance to the tunnel.
France's BFMTV reported passengers left waiting into the night on a train from London to Lille without electricity, heating or functioning toilets.
"Nothing electrical is working. It's always the same information -- there's a serious problem," a passenger named Herve told the broadcaster from the train, which arrived in Lille early Wednesday with an 11-hour delay.

'Nightmare'

New York tourist Allison O'Shea arrived in Paris a day later than expected.
"It was kind of a nightmare," she told AFP, saying she and her travel companion had to rebook a hotel in London on Tuesday, after missing out on their first night dining out in the French capital.
"We spent an additional $2,500 to come to Paris today," she added.
In London, British DJ Nathan Denyer said he had hardly slept he was so worried about making it to the French city of Dijon in time to play a set at a New Year's Eve party.
"It is quite stressful today -- even if the service is apparently running," he said inside London's St Pancras International station.
Eurostar had on Tuesday warned passengers to postpone their journeys to a different date and warned them of severe delays as well as last-minute cancellations.  
As well as the power problem, there was also a failed LeShuttle train in the Channel tunnel, the 31-mile (50-kilometre) undersea rail link between Folkestone in England and the Calais area in France. 
LeShuttle operates vehicle-carrying trains between Folkestone in southeast England and Calais in northern France.

High demand

A record-high 19.5 million passengers travelled on Eurostar last year, up nearly five percent on 2023, driven by demand from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994.
But British entrepreneur Richard Branson -- the man behind the Virgin airline -- has vowed to launch a rival service.
Italy's Trenitalia also eyes competing with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.
Tuesday's disruption came as Eurostar faces criticism over its high prices, especially on the Paris-London route.
An electrical fault forced the cancellation of Eurostar services and severe delays on others in August, while cable theft on train tracks in northern France caused problems in June.
bur-ah/cw

gender

Japanese women MPs want more seats, the porcelain kind

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA

  • Although the number of women politicians rose at the last election -- and despite Takaichi becoming the first female prime minister in October -- Japanese politics remains massively male-dominated.
  • Nearly 60 women lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the parliament building to match their improved representation.
  • Although the number of women politicians rose at the last election -- and despite Takaichi becoming the first female prime minister in October -- Japanese politics remains massively male-dominated.
Nearly 60 women lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the parliament building to match their improved representation.
Although the number of women politicians rose at the last election -- and despite Takaichi becoming the first female prime minister in October -- Japanese politics remains massively male-dominated.
This is reflected by there being only one lavatory containing two cubicles near the Diet's main plenary session hall for the 73 women elected to the lower house, according to the petition.
"Before plenary sessions start, truly so many women lawmakers have to form long queues in front of the restroom," said Yasuko Komiyama from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
She was speaking after submitting the cross-party appeal signed by 58 women to Yasukazu Hamada, the chair of the lower house committee on rules and administration, earlier this month.
The Diet building was finished in 1936, nearly a decade before women got the vote in December 1945 following Japan's defeat in World War II.
The entire lower house building has 12 men's toilets with 67 stalls and nine women's facilities with a total of 22 cubicles, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Japan ranked 118 out of 148 this year in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report. Women are also grossly under-represented in business and the media.
In elections, women candidates say that they often have to deal with sexist jibes, including being told that they should be at home looking after children.
In the last election in 2024, 73 women were elected to the 465-seat lower house -- one has since left -- up from 45 in the previous parliament. There are 74 women in the 248-seat upper house. 
The government's stated target is to have women occupy at least 30 percent of the legislative seats.
Takaichi, an admirer of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, said before becoming premier that she wanted "Nordic" levels of gender balance in her cabinet.
But, in the end, she appointed just two other women to her 19-strong cabinet.
Takaichi, 64, has said she hopes to raise awareness about women's health struggles and has spoken candidly about her own experience with menopause.
But she is still seen as socially conservative.
She opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, and wants the imperial family to retain male-only succession.
The increasing demand for women's toilets can be seen as a sign of progress for Japan although it also reflects the nation's failure to achieve gender equality, Komiyama said.
"In a way, this symbolises how the number of female lawmakers has increased," Komiyama told reporters, according to her party's website, adding that she hoped for more equality in other areas of life.
hih/stu/mtp

heritage

Libyans savour shared heritage at reopened national museum

BY RIM BISHTI

  • She said the antiquities department and staff worked to "preserve a historic and cultural heritage that belongs to all Libyans".
  • In a historic building in central Tripoli, Libyans wander past ancient statues and artefacts, rediscovering a heritage that transcends political divides at their national museum which reopened this month after a 2011 uprising.
  • She said the antiquities department and staff worked to "preserve a historic and cultural heritage that belongs to all Libyans".
In a historic building in central Tripoli, Libyans wander past ancient statues and artefacts, rediscovering a heritage that transcends political divides at their national museum which reopened this month after a 2011 uprising.
"I got here barely 15 minutes ago but I already feel like I've been transported somewhere. It's a different world," said architecture student Nirmine Miladi, 22.
In the waterfront building known as the red citadel -- once the seat of power -- visitors journey through a history that includes ancient art, Greek and Roman antiquities and Ottoman-era weapons and jewellery.
Miladi's sister Aya, 26, an interior design student, said she liked the bright new museum's layout, "the careful lighting, the screens and interactive tools" that all help make the museum accessible to all.
Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, and the country has struggled to regain stability.
Since then, the North African country has been divided, with two rival executives vying for power: a Tripoli-based government of national unity and an administration based in Benghazi in the country's east.
Mohamed Fakroun, head of international cooperation at the antiquities department, said the museum went through "a dark period during its 14-year closure".
Fearing looting and vandalism after Kadhafi's overthrow, the antiquities department removed "all the artefacts until the country re-stabilised", said Fakroun, 63, who has worked at the French archaeological mission to Libya for almost four decades.

'National symbol'

Curator Fathiya Abdallah Ahmad is among a handful of people who knew the location of secret, sealed rooms where the museum's treasures were taken into hiding for more than a decade.
She said the antiquities department and staff worked to "preserve a historic and cultural heritage that belongs to all Libyans".
This allowed the works to be safeguarded until the museum could reopen "in a modern format that conforms to international standards", she added.
The bright new facility includes digital projections and interactive screens as well as videos, audio guides and QR codes enabling visitors to delve further.
Fakroun noted the museum has a room dedicated to Roman emperor Septimius Severus, who was born in the ancient city of Leptis Magna -- now a UNESCO World Heritage site east of Tripoli.
Another room is dedicated to stolen items that have since been returned, including from the United States and the United Kingdom, he added.
Interior design student Aya Miladi said many Libyans saw the museum's inauguration as the "return of a national symbol".
It is also "a step towards reconciliation between Libyans and with their often little-known past", after years of war, as well as a sign of stability, she added.

'Not without past'

Teacher Fatima al-Faqi, 48, said there was "a world of difference" between the reopened museum and the dark, dusty facility she visited 30 years ago on a school trip.
This time, she was leading a group of high-school students to help them "discover Libya's history and nourish their sense of patriotism", she said, as pupils goggled at items from naked Roman statues to stuffed animals in the natural history section.
The Tripoli government has invested more than five million dollars in rehabilitating the museum and its surrounding area, despite the oil-rich country's economic woes including frequent cash and fuel shortages.
Fakroun said the six-year renovations were carried out in cooperation with the French mission and the ALIPH foundation -- the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage.
The museum seeks to convey a hope-filled message about Libya's identity to its visitors, most of whom "were not born when it was last open before 2011", he added.
Visitor Sarah al-Motamid, 34, said that "many people don't know about our country's ancient history and look at us as if we were worthless".
She said she was visiting with her six-year-old daughter Mariam because she wanted her to "understand that we are not without a past or civilisation".
rb/fka/lg/jfx/tc

education

Difficult dance: Cambodian tradition under threat

BY SUY SE

  • Penh Yom, 78, survived by hiding her profession, and after the Khmer Rouge-run Democratic Kampuchea fell in 1979, she regrouped with a small troupe of dancers to revive the form.
  • Cambodian master classical dancer Penh Yom walks between her teenage students, painstakingly adjusting a bent-back finger here and the tilt of a head there, as she passes on a centuries-old art form.
  • Penh Yom, 78, survived by hiding her profession, and after the Khmer Rouge-run Democratic Kampuchea fell in 1979, she regrouped with a small troupe of dancers to revive the form.
Cambodian master classical dancer Penh Yom walks between her teenage students, painstakingly adjusting a bent-back finger here and the tilt of a head there, as she passes on a centuries-old art form.
Khmer classical dance, performed to traditional music, is renowned for its graceful hand gestures and stunning costumes, and has a 1,000-year history.
But after barely surviving Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, it is now under threat from a changing media and entertainment landscape, limited funding and economic challenges.
Enrolment in the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh is falling, and many entrants do not complete the gruelling nine-year curriculum.
The art form was nearly destroyed when the Khmer Rouge killed almost all the master dancers and musicians, among nearly two million who were murdered or died of starvation, illness or overwork during the regime's less than four years in power.
Then-leader Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist fanatics considered dancers among the enemies of the people, both educated and representative of a feudal past they wanted to eradicate entirely.
As artists, they were specifically targeted for identification and elimination.
Penh Yom, 78, survived by hiding her profession, and after the Khmer Rouge-run Democratic Kampuchea fell in 1979, she regrouped with a small troupe of dancers to revive the form.
Her own training began in the Royal Palace when she was eight.
"Now I am worried that it will disappear," she said. "We keep urging them to train hard and to help us preserve this art."
"Like 'you the grandchildren and me the grandmother try hard together'."
Dancer Yang Sopheaktra, 21, graduated from the Phnom Penh school three years ago and recalled that the training was "really difficult".
"We need patience, for example, when we bend our fingers, we have to count up to 100," she said.
"We have to remember many styles of the dance. So students with less talent would drop out easily. Sometimes, I was so tired and wanted to drop it."
Her father is also a dancer, but was against her following in his footsteps. "He wanted me to learn whatever is not related to the arts."
But she persevered: "I want to help preserve this art form with new ideas."

'From hair to toe'

Also known as Cambodia's royal ballet, classical dance performances were originally mounted for court occasions such as coronations or marriages.
It was first introduced to an international audience in colonial power France in 1906.
UNESCO proclaimed it an intangible cultural heritage in 2003 and says it takes dancers "years of intensive training" to master its gestures and poses, which "evoke the gamut of human emotions, from fear and rage to love and joy".
But it risks "becoming a mere tourist attraction", it adds.
The Secondary School of Fine Arts has more than 90 classical dance teachers and is the primary training centre for the next generation.
Pupils attend dance classes in the mornings and follow the standard school curriculum in the afternoons.
Tuition is free, but it has slashed the accommodation available to students, and trainers expect many to drop out in the face of educational demands and financial pressures on their families.
This year, 39 eight-year-olds registered, little more than half the usual number.
A few weeks into the course, the new entrants bent their hands, legs and bodies as trainer Hang Sophea sought to instil the basics.
"I have to watch them from hair to toe so that in the future they could be our heirs," she said.
Some would soon start dropping out and at most 15 would become dancers, she predicted.
"As teachers, we are worried... Now it is the modern era and everything is in a smartphone," Hang Sophea added.
"We always remind them not to forget our identity."
But some use social media to promote their art.
Tola Thina, 18, is in her final year at the school and often posts her performances on Facebook, where she has more than 20,000 followers.
"This culture is really beautiful and I love it," she said. "I want to be a traditional dancer and preserve it."
suy/slb/sco/ane/mjw

EU

Eurostar urges passengers to postpone journeys due to 'major disruption'

  • "We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date," Eurostar said in a message on its website.
  • Eurostar advised passengers to postpone their journeys on Tuesday to a later date, citing "major disruption" including severe delays and cancellations.
  • "We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date," Eurostar said in a message on its website.
Eurostar advised passengers to postpone their journeys on Tuesday to a later date, citing "major disruption" including severe delays and cancellations.
The operator blamed the travel chaos on "a problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train".
"We strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date," Eurostar said in a message on its website.
"Please don't come to the station unless you already have a ticket to travel.
"We regret that trains that can run are subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations," it added.
Eurostar, which operates services between Britain and mainland Europe, urged customers to "check for live updates on the status of your train".
The disruption came in the very busy travel period between Christmas and New Year.
Eurostar runs trains from London's St Pancras station to locations including as Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
LeShuttle also operates vehicle-carrying trains between Folkestone in southeast England and Calais in northern France.
A record-high 19.5 million passengers travelled on Eurostar last year, up nearly five percent on 2023, driven by demand from visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
Eurostar has held a monopoly on passenger services through the tunnel linking Britain and France since it opened in 1994.
But British entrepreneur Richard Branson -- the man behind the Virgin airline -- has vowed to launch a rival service. Italy's Trenitalia has also said it intends to compete with Eurostar on the Paris-London route by 2029.
pdh/rmb

Zia

Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia dies aged 80

BY SHEIKH SABIHA ALAM AND MOHAMMAD MAZED

  • The BNP said Zia died shortly after dawn on Tuesday.
  • Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who many believed would sweep elections next year to lead her country once again, died on Tuesday aged 80.
  • The BNP said Zia died shortly after dawn on Tuesday.
Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who many believed would sweep elections next year to lead her country once again, died on Tuesday aged 80.
The government declared three days of state mourning for the country's first woman prime minister, with vast crowds expected to attend her funeral on Wednesday.
Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February -- the first vote since a mass uprising toppled her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina last year.
Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely seen as a frontrunner, and her son Tarique Rahman, who returned only on Thursday after 17 years in exile, is seen a potential prime minister if they win a majority.
"The country mourns the loss of a guiding presence that shaped its democratic aspirations," Rahman said in a statement.
He said he was also mourning the loss of the "infinite love" of his mother, who "endured repeated arrests, denial of medical care, and relentless persecution".
"Yet even in pain, confinement, and uncertainty, she never stopped sheltering her family with courage and compassion. Her resilience... was unbreakable."
In late November Zia was rushed to hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medics, her condition deteriorated from a raft of health issues.
Nevertheless, hours before her death, party workers had on Monday submitted nomination papers on her behalf for three constituencies for the polls. The BNP said Zia died shortly after dawn on Tuesday.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus said Bangladesh "has lost a great guardian".
"Through her uncompromising leadership, the nation was repeatedly freed from undemocratic conditions and inspired to regain liberty," Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus said in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hoped Zia's "vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership", a warm message despite the strained relations between New Delhi and Dhaka since Hasina's fall.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Zia had been a "committed friend" to Islamabad, while China's ambassador in Dhaka Yao Wen offered his condolences.
"China will continue to maintain its longstanding and friendly ties with the BNP," he said.

'Prison over luxury'

Braving cold rain, mourners gathered on Tuesday outside the hospital in Dhaka where Zia's body rests.
"This is an irreparable loss for the nation," senior BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters, his voice choking with emotion.
"She chose prison over luxury and spent years behind bars," said Golam Kibria, 29, a BNP loyalist who said he was tortured under Hasina's government, calling Zia an "unmatched leader who can never be replaced".
Three-time prime minister Zia was jailed for corruption in 2018 under Hasina's government, which also blocked her from travelling abroad for medical treatment.
Zia was released last year, shortly after Hasina was forced from power.
Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity, remains in hiding in her old ally India.
"I pray for the eternal peace and forgiveness of Begum Khaleda Zia's soul," Hasina said, in a statement on social media by her now banned Awami League party.
Bangladesh's Prothom Alo newspaper, which said Zia had "earned the epithet of the 'uncompromising leader'", reported that Rahman and other family members were by her side at the time of her death.
"The lives of politicians are marked by rises and falls," the newspaper wrote on Tuesday.
"Lawsuits, arrests, imprisonment, persecution, and attacks by adversaries are far from uncommon. Khaleda Zia endured such ordeals at their most extreme."
mma-sa-pjm/ami

Prix

The race to find Formula 1's first-ever woman champion

BY CIARA CAROLAN AND JESSICA HOWARD-JOHNSTON

  • "I watch Formula 1 quite often, and so I kind of know how to get around the track," said Erin, also 11.
  • A dozen girls whizzed around an English karting track, part of a pioneering drive to draw women into motorsports and maybe even race to the top in male-dominated Formula 1.
  • "I watch Formula 1 quite often, and so I kind of know how to get around the track," said Erin, also 11.
A dozen girls whizzed around an English karting track, part of a pioneering drive to draw women into motorsports and maybe even race to the top in male-dominated Formula 1.
A special test day in October in Nottingham aimed to address a major gender gap in F1, one of the flashiest of sports.
Italian Lella Lombardi was the last woman to compete in an F1 Grand Prix in 1976, and the absence of women on the circuit is linked to young girls' limited exposure to motorsports, according to gender parity organisations.
More Than Equal, a non-profit that supports women drivers, said girls start karting two years later than boys on average. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, for example, got into the format aged just eight.
"These are the first steps that a girl could take," Cameron Biggs, coaching and academy pathway manager at Motorsport UK, told AFP.
"We're really trying to join the dots between grassroots and elite."
The enthusiasm was palpable among the youngsters, who were mostly new to karting.
Some attended the taster day, supported by makeup company Charlotte Tilbury, after watching F1 while others were encouraged by their parents.
None seemed put off by F1's breakneck speed, the thrumming engines and the prospect of driving a vehicle years before they are old enough to have a driver's licence.
"On the second time, I came first and I'm very proud," beamed 11-year-old Megan.
"I watch Formula 1 quite often, and so I kind of know how to get around the track," said Erin, also 11.

F1 paradox

F1's official website boasts a global fanbase of 827 million people -- a 63 percent increase since 2018.
But there is a paradox: F1 is one of the world's few non-gender-segregated sports yet one of the most male-dominated.
"We know that the pathway for female drivers hasn't successfully got a woman into Formula One competitively in the last 50 years," More Than Equal's head of driver development Lauren Forrow told AFP.
That means that girls are "not thriving within" the current system, she said.
The organisation has pledged to "make history" by training a woman not just to compete but to win.
"We know that this is a real challenge and that it's never been done before," CEO Tom Stanton told AFP.
More Than Equal lists limited access to motorsports at an early age, cultural and structural biases, sponsorship gaps and a lack of role models at the top as barriers obstructing women's entry into F1.
Forrow said the organisation's unique Driver Development Programme "acknowledges the physiological, psychological and technical differences" women face, such as the impact of menstruation on athletic abilities and daily life.
These realities "inform what the kind of right recipe is for supporting female athletes in this space", she said, of the programme created for young female racing drivers.

'Nobody to look up to'

Fifteen-year-old Skye Parker, from Trelogan, North Wales, told AFP she is determined to become "Formula 1 world champion", having started karting aged six and now loving the "feeling of excitement" she gets on the track.
On a wet December day, the assured teenager did laps in a Formula 4 car on Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It has a challenging layout and is used by More Than Equal to hone the skills of female drivers.
F4, for junior drivers, is an essential stepping stone for drivers on their way to the top.
Parker's personalised pink-and-green helmet distinguished her from other drivers as she drove for 45 minute stretches, concluding each session with a technical debrief.
Parker told AFP there are more women than before, but noted "boys definitely outnumber us".
"It is quite sad that there is nobody to look up to female-wise in Formula One," she said.
On top of obstacles unique to women, F1 is an "incredibly expensive" sport to pursue, Forrow said.
In Nottingham, Marcus McKenzie stood on the sidelines, using a headpiece to instruct his eight-year-old daughter Georgia as she rocketed around the karting track -- at 25 miles (40 kilometres) per hour, somewhat slower than the average speeds of 220 miles per hour characteristic of a Grand Prix.
The single father conceded that the cost of the sport made things difficult, but he is hoping to secure sponsorship for Georgia and her 11-year-old brother who is also passionate about F1.
But money was far from the minds of the youngsters, who were exhilarated as they stepped off the track.
"Don't be shy to do it. Just be brave and have fun," was eight-year-old Thea's message to other girls her age.
cc/jkb/phz

children

Chinese homeschool students embrace freer youth in cutthroat market

BY MARY YANG

  • On a Tuesday afternoon, she was the youngest at a nearby climbing gym, hoisting herself up the wall after a day of online Spanish studies from her living room and an acupuncture lesson taught by her mother.
  • Fourteen-year-old Estella spends her weekdays studying Spanish, rock climbing or learning acupuncture in her living room as part of her homeschooling since she left China's gruelling public school system.
  • On a Tuesday afternoon, she was the youngest at a nearby climbing gym, hoisting herself up the wall after a day of online Spanish studies from her living room and an acupuncture lesson taught by her mother.
Fourteen-year-old Estella spends her weekdays studying Spanish, rock climbing or learning acupuncture in her living room as part of her homeschooling since she left China's gruelling public school system.
Her parents withdrew her from her Shanghai school three years ago, worried she was struggling to keep up with a demanding curriculum they believe will soon be outdated in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).
They are among a small number of parents in China who are rethinking the country's rigorous education system, in which school days can last 10 hours, with students often working late into the evening on extra tutoring and homework.
"In the future, education models and jobs will face huge changes due to AI," Estella's mother Xu Zoe told AFP, using a pseudonym.
"We wanted to get used to the uncertainty early."
Homeschooling is banned in China, although authorities generally overlook rare individual cases.
Just 6,000 Chinese children were homeschooled in 2017, according to the non-profit 21st Century Education Research Institute. By comparison, China had roughly 145 million primary and middle school students that year.
But that number of homeschoolers had increased annually by around 30 percent from 2013, the institute said.
Supporters say looser schedules centred around practical projects and outdoor activities help nourish creativity that is squashed by the national curriculum.
In Shanghai, Estella's school day ended at 5:00 pm, and she often spent around four hours a night on homework.
"Instead of just doing a stressful exam in school, I will do the things I was interested (in)," said Estella, who, unlike many students her age, will not be cramming for high school entrance exams she would have taken next year.
Her parents have hired tutors in science, maths, Spanish and gym, and together with Estella decide her schedule.
On a Tuesday afternoon, she was the youngest at a nearby climbing gym, hoisting herself up the wall after a day of online Spanish studies from her living room and an acupuncture lesson taught by her mother.
Xu, 40, said her daughter has grown more confident since leaving the highly competitive public school system.
"We don't use societal standards to evaluate ourselves but rather, what kind of person we want to be," she told AFP.

'Jobs are disappearing'

Experts say Chinese people are increasingly questioning the value of traditionally prized degrees from elite universities in an oversaturated market.
In 2023, fewer than one in five undergraduates from Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University found jobs immediately after graduation.
The country's unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds reached a two-year high of 18.9 percent in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
"(China) has out-produced. Too many PhDs, too many Masters, too many undergraduates. The jobs they are trying to get are disappearing," Yong Zhao, an author on China's education system,
told AFP.
Chinese authorities have tried to counter the competitive learning culture by cracking down on cram schools in recent years -- but tutoring, paid under the table, remains in demand.
While homeschooling is technically illegal, Zhao said families can generally "get away with it without causing too much attention".
One mother in Zhejiang province, who wished to remain unidentified for fear of repercussions, said she used an AI chatbot to create a lesson plan on recycling for her nine-year-old homeschooled son.
"The development of AI has allowed me to say that what you learn in a classroom, you don't need anymore," she told AFP.
Her son studies Chinese and maths using coursework from his formerpublic school in the mornings and spends afternoons working on projects or outdoor activities.
However, his mother, a former teacher, plans to re-enrol her son when he reaches middle school.
"There's no way to meet his social needs at home," she said.

'Don't be afraid'

Time with children her age was one of the biggest losses for 24-year-old Gong Yimei, whose father pulled her out of school at age eight to focus on art.
She studied on her own with few teachers, and most of the people she called friends were twice her age.
But at home, Gong told AFP she had more free time to consider her future.
"You ask yourself, 'What do I like? What do I want? What is the meaning of the things I do'?" said Gong, who hopes to launch an education startup.
"It helped me more quickly find myself."
Back in Shanghai, college is an uncertainty for Estella, whose family plans to spend time in Europe or South America to improve her Spanish.
Her mother, Xu, is hopeful that homeschooling may become more mainstream in China. Xu said she would encourage other parents considering it to take the leap.
"You don't need to be afraid," she said.
mya/dhw/lga/pbt

beef

Meat-loving Argentines shun beef as inflation bites

BY PHILIPPE BERNES-LASSERRE

  • At the "Locos por el asado" (Crazy for the Grill) fair, retiree Gustavo Clapsos, 55, said he eats meat "less frequently now than before, for health and cost reasons."
  • As New Year's festivities draw near, meat-loving Argentines are readying their famous "asado" grills -- traditionally laden with steaks, ribs and sausages.  
  • At the "Locos por el asado" (Crazy for the Grill) fair, retiree Gustavo Clapsos, 55, said he eats meat "less frequently now than before, for health and cost reasons."
As New Year's festivities draw near, meat-loving Argentines are readying their famous "asado" grills -- traditionally laden with steaks, ribs and sausages.  
This year, however, menus will feature much more chicken, pork and even vegetables as inflation puts beef beyond the reach of many and societal values change.
Argentines have for years vied with their neighbors in Uruguay for the title of world's top beef eaters.
But in 2024, Argentina recorded an historic low of 47 kilograms (103 pounds) of red meat consumed per person on average, according to the IPCVA beef promotion institute.
Despite a slight rebound to an estimated 50 kg eaten per person in 2025, consumption was half the nearly 100 kg of beef Argentines were devouring at the end of the 1950s.
Pork and chicken, both cheaper than beef, both grew in popularity in 2025, and the UVA vegan union says more than one in 10 Argentines are now non-meat eaters.
"There are more of us all the time. These days, everyone knows a vegetarian or a vegan in their family," UVA president Manuel Alfredo Marti told AFP.

'How I love it!'

At a popular meat festival in San Isidro, north of the capital Buenos Aires, avowed carnivores spoke of a combination of push and pull factors they blamed for beef's flagging popularity.
There were economic reasons -- with inflation far outstripping salary growth in Argentina -- but also increased awareness of the health risks of eating too much meat, concerns for animal welfare, and worry for the future of the planet.
At the "Locos por el asado" (Crazy for the Grill) fair, retiree Gustavo Clapsos, 55, said he eats meat "less frequently now than before, for health and cost reasons."
So did Dora Acevedo, 59, who moved among the beef flanks dripping over embers while an expert griller gives lessons in meat salting, cooking and carving to a crowd bathed in smoke and the aroma of cooking meat.
"Everything plays a role: the economic side, health... we’ve started eating more vegetables. At least in my diet, that was my change: starting to eat more vegetables," said Acevedo.
In Argentina this year, monthly inflation has fluctuated between 1.5 and 3.7 percent, while the annual rate stands at about 30 percent.
Beef inflation has been higher than that for other food categories.
"As I’ve gotten older, I vary more; I know that less red meat is better for my health," said another meat fair visitor, 73-year-old Graciela Ramos. 
"But how I love it! Even more so in good company. I have memories of asados, of big family tables ever since I was little."

'Being Argentine'

According to historian Felipe Pigna, beef consumption in Argentina at the beginning of the 19th century reached a staggering 170 kg per person per year.
"At noon, at night, the rich, the poor, everyone ate it... It was abundant, very cheap, practically the natural daily menu," he told AFP.
It was a time when the cattle Spanish settlers had brought with them in the 16th century was everywhere: propagating freely and exponentially across Argentina's vast pampas grasslands.
By the mid-19th century, cows numbered about 20 million head.
Then the advent of curing and refrigerated shipping transformed the destiny of Argentine beef, turning it into a commodity in high demand globally.
"Meat has always been, and remains, a lead character in Argentina’s story, an essential part of 'being Argentine'," said Pigna.
Even as plant-based restaurants spring up everywhere and vegan products take up ever more space on supermarket shelves, the domestic market still accounts for 70 percent of Argentine beef sales, according to IPCVA president George Breitschmitt.
Despite a sharp fall in consumption, "we’re still at 50 kilos per person per year, while in Europe the average is between 10 and 20 kilos, and in Asia about three to five kilos per person per year," he said.
The Argentine beef sector is also heartened by growth in international demand, said Breitschmitt, particularly in Asia and China -- which receives 70 percent of the South American country's beef exports.
pbl/lab/ms/mlr/dw

film

Brigitte Bardot's funeral to be held next week in Saint-Tropez

BY FANNY CARRIER WITH JEAN-FRANCOIS GUYOT AND ALICE HACKMAN IN PARIS

  • The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said the funeral in the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church on January 7 would be broadcast on screens across the town, followed by a "private" burial, but did not confirm where in Saint-Tropez she would be inhumed.
  • Cinema icon Brigitte Bardot's funeral will take place next week in her hometown of Saint-Tropez, her foundation said Monday, as France wrestles with how to pay tribute to a cultural legend who in later years championed far-right views.
  • The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said the funeral in the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church on January 7 would be broadcast on screens across the town, followed by a "private" burial, but did not confirm where in Saint-Tropez she would be inhumed.
Cinema icon Brigitte Bardot's funeral will take place next week in her hometown of Saint-Tropez, her foundation said Monday, as France wrestles with how to pay tribute to a cultural legend who in later years championed far-right views.
The mayor's office earlier said the film-star-turned-animal-rights-activist, who died aged 91 on Sunday, would be laid to rest in the town's seaside cemetery.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said the funeral in the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church on January 7 would be broadcast on screens across the town, followed by a "private" burial, but did not confirm where in Saint-Tropez she would be inhumed.
Bardot said in 2018 she wished to be buried in her garden, to avoid a "crowd of idiots" trampling on the tombs of her parents and grandparents.
Bardot shot to fame in her early twenties in the 1956 film "And God Created Woman" and went on to appear in about 50 films, but turned her back on cinema in 1973 to throw herself into fighting for animal welfare.
Her anti-immigration views and support for the far right however stirred controversy.
Bardot was convicted five times for hate speech, mostly about Muslims, but also about the inhabitants of the French island of Reunion whom she described as "savages". 
She passed away before dawn on Sunday with her fourth husband, Bernard d'Ormale, a former adviser to the far right, by her side.
"She whispered a word of love to him... and she was gone," Bruno Jacquelin, a representative of her foundation for animals, told BFM television.

'Cynicism'

Right-wing politicians paid gushing tributes to the film star. But leftists were more reserved, given her racist remarks in later years.
President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, hailed the actor as a "legend" of the 20th century cinema who "embodied a life of freedom".
Three-time presidential candidate Marine le Pen, whose far-right National Rally party is riding high in the polls, called her "incredibly French: free, untameable, whole".
Bardot backed Le Pen for president in 2012 and 2017, describing her as a modern "Joan of Arc" she hoped could "save" France.
Conservative politician Eric Ciotti called for a national farewell like the one organised in 2018 for French rock star Johnny Hallyday. He started a petition online that by late Monday had garnered more than 12,000 signatures.
But Socialist party leader Olivier Faure was against the idea, saying such public tributes were for people who had rendered "exceptional services to the nation".
"Brigitte Bardot was an iconic actor of the New Wave," he said. "But she also turned her back on (French) republican values and was several times convicted for racism."
Communist party leader Fabien Roussel said at least all could agree she made French cinema "shine throughout the world".
But Greens lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau was more critical.
"To be moved by the fate of dolphins but remain indifferent to the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean -- what level of cynicism is that?" she quipped on BlueSky.

Fame to 'protect animals'

Born on September 28, 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off traditional Catholic household.
Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier.
After quitting the cinema, Bardot withdrew to her home in the Saint-Tropez to devote herself to animal rights.
Her calling apparently came when she encountered a goat on the set of her final film, "The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot". To save it from being killed, she bought the animal and kept it in her hotel room.
"I'm very proud of the first chapter of my life," she told AFP in a 2024 interview ahead of her 90th birthday.
"It gave me fame, and that fame allows me to protect animals -- the only cause that truly matters to me."
burs-ah/rmb

attack

Bondi victims' families demand national probe into antisemitism

BY LAURA CHUNG

  • Seventeen families urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an open letter to "immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia" and examine "law enforcement, intelligence, and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre".
  • Families of the victims of Australia's Bondi Beach mass shootings called Monday for a national inquiry into antisemitism and alleged failures in policing, intelligence and policy they blame for the attack.
  • Seventeen families urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an open letter to "immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia" and examine "law enforcement, intelligence, and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre".
Families of the victims of Australia's Bondi Beach mass shootings called Monday for a national inquiry into antisemitism and alleged failures in policing, intelligence and policy they blame for the attack.
Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram are accused of targeting a Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens in what authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack.
Seventeen families urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in an open letter to "immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia" and examine "law enforcement, intelligence, and policy failures that led to the Bondi Beach massacre".
"We demand answers and solutions," they wrote.
"We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward."
Albanese has resisted calls for a federal inquiry, citing a need for urgent action rather than waiting "years for answers". 
"We need to get on with any changes that are required," he told reporters Monday.
"I have nothing except sympathy for those families. My job, as prime minister, is to look at how we build unity, how we build social cohesion, how we do what the nation needs at what is a very difficult time."
Albanese said last week that a New South Wales-led royal commission -- where the shooting occurred -- would suffice and promised full support.

'Not enough'

Canberra has flagged a suite of reforms to gun ownership and hate speech laws, as well as an review of police and intelligence services.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke warned Monday that a national royal commission could give "some of the worst statements and worst voices" a platform to relive "the worst examples of antisemitism over the last two years", which he said was not in the interest of unity or national security.
But the families of those killed said the federal government's response is "not nearly enough".
"We have lost parents, spouses, children, and grandparents. Our loved ones were celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach, a festival of light and joy, in an iconic public space that should have been safe," the letter said.
"You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth."
The families said the rise of antisemitism was a "national crisis", adding the "threat was not going away".
"We need strong action now. We need leadership now. You cannot bring back our loved ones. But with a well-led Commonwealth Royal Commission and strong action, you may be able to save many more."
The call for a royal commission echoes voices in the broader Jewish community, legal experts and other politicans. 
Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the government was not listening.
"We deserve answers. Only a royal commission has the coercive powers to get to the bottom of how this was allowed to happen and what needs to change in this country to prevent the next massacre," he told national broadcaster ABC.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a "terrorist act" and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
He has yet to enter a plea.
lec/mjw