culture

Stars shine at Met Gala, fashion's biggest night

BY RAPHAëLLE PELTIER

  • And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
  • The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style -- led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman -- hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night.
  • And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and style -- led by Beyonce, Madonna and Nicole Kidman -- hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the Manhattan charity ball that doubles as fashion's biggest night.
The A-listers were asked to dress for the theme "Fashion is Art," which dovetails with the exhibit "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.
And while not everyone followed the guidelines to the letter, the gala -- traditionally held on the first Monday in May -- certainly delivered as one of the world's top red carpets, with blinding star power.
Beyonce, one of the event's co-chairs who was making her first appearance in a decade, was one of the last to arrive, but she did not disappoint, stunning the crowd in a bejeweled skeleton gown topped with a dramatic feather coat and a headpiece.
Her rap mogul husband Jay-Z -- in a tuxedo with tails -- and daughter Blue Ivy Carter, in a white strapless gown and sparkling heels -- joined her.
Earlier, the singer's fellow co-chairs, tennis legend Venus Williams and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, kicked off the proceedings.
Kidman stunned in a shimmering red long-sleeved Chanel column dress with wide feather cuffs, while Williams glistened in a black crystal Swarovski gown with an elaborate neck plate.
From there, the stars kept on coming. Rock royalty Madonna, Cher and Stevie Nicks joined music's new generation of stars in Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat and Tyla.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were hours late, as per usual, making a grand entrance. 
Bad Bunny, who is having a blockbuster 2026 with major Grammy wins and the Super Bowl halftime show under his belt, wore prosthetics and a white wig to explore how he would look as an old man, according to Vogue.
Rapper Doja Cat, one of several members of a gala "host committee," wore a draped latex Saint Laurent gown with a demure neckline -- but slit up to her waist.
Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Anthony Vaccarello and Haider Ackermann were among the many fashion designers on hand for the evening.
Olympic gold medalists Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu -- whose dress had a built-in bubble maker -- led a strong contingent of athletes to the red carpet, along with NFL superstar Russell Wilson and several men's and women's basketball stars.
And actress Blake Lively made a surprise appearance at the gala, just hours after she settled a major court case over her film "It Ends with Us" with her co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Of course, the entire evening is overseen by Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour -- the ultimate tastemaker in US fashion who has helmed the event for 30 years.
The gala is a fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, and this year has raised a record $42 million (after $31 million in 2025), the museum's CEO Max Hollein told reporters early Monday. 
This year's exhibit juxtaposes elegant fashion looks with paintings and sculpture: think a Saint Laurent design next to Van Gogh's "Irises", or a John Galliano gown for Maison Margiela paired with an antique statue.
"When I think about the show, if there's one word to describe it, I suppose it would be equitability or equivalency, equivalency between artworks," the Costume Institute's curator Andrew Bolton told AFP.
"So there's no hierarchy between sculpture, painting, fashion, photography and no hierarchy between bodies, between the classical body or the disabled body."

'Genuinely care'

This year's function has drawn some controversy after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos were announced as the lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs of the gala.
In the run-up to Monday, a campaign opposing the billionaire couple's involvement cropped up in New York's streets and subways, with some calling for a boycott of the event some see as a gross display of immense wealth.
At the gala, one person attempted to enter the secure area but was quickly handled by police and event security. Bezos did not walk the carpet. 
Wintour said Monday that the couple had "shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back."
The Met Gala was first organized in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society -- until Wintour transformed the party into a high-profile catwalk for the rich and famous in the 1990s.
The "Costume Art" exhibit, which opens on May 10 at the venerable museum in Manhattan, will seek to explore the "dressed body" in artworks across the centuries.
bur-sst/ksb/lkd/lga

Global Edition

'Spreading like wildfire': Fiji grapples with soaring HIV cases

  • That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
  • As evening falls in Fiji's capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defence against one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
  • That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
As evening falls in Fiji's capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defence against one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
In the South Pacific nation -- a popular tourist destination of just under a million people -- there were over 2,000 new HIV cases recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024.
The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis.
"It's spreading like wildfire," Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested, told AFP.
The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is part of a push to bring testing into neighbourhoods.
Volunteers from the Survival Advocacy Network -- a group supporting sex workers -- and Rainbow Pride Fiji, which works with LGBTQ+ communities, are on hand to speak to those who may be reluctant.
Ana Fofole and her team at Medical Services Pacific, which runs the clinic, hand out condoms as part of their awareness drive and test for syphilis and hepatitis B.
"We don't just turn up anywhere -- we have to do it the right way," says Fofole.
Irinieta Foi, 45, is among those Medical Services Pacific hopes to reach by bringing testing into neighbourhoods.
Foi, who is able to get a result in 15 minutes, says she stumbled upon the clinic.
"I decided, OK, why not?"
Many stay away for fear of returning a positive result, said 28-year-old Ecelina Lalabaluva, who also got tested.

Transit hub for drugs

Clinics like this raise awareness about the blood-borne disease and can help pin down just how many people are living with HIV in Fiji and refer them to treatment.
The number of known cases is around 5,000, according to Renata Ram, country director for Fiji and the Pacific at UNAIDS, who says the crisis has been building for years.
That number was as low as 500 in 2014, according to estimates by UNAIDS, which classifies Fiji as having among the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics.
Transmission rates began to increase around 2019, when a group of "very high-risk" injecting drug users emerged, primarily in the sex worker community, Ram explained.
"Fiji, like other Pacific islands, for a long time have been transit hubs for drugs from Latin America and Asia destined for Australia and New Zealand," said Virginia Comolli, Pacific programme head at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
The flow of highly addictive drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine to those lucrative markets rose sharply after a lull during the Covid pandemic, she explained.
Those drugs are increasingly seeping into the Pacific's domestic markets -- in part due to foreign criminal syndicates opting to pay their local facilitators in kind, she said.
For those living with the virus, the social stigma can weigh heavy in a country where conservative values largely prevail.

'Wait to die?'

One of the few public faces of the crisis is Mark Lal, who was diagnosed with HIV two years ago.
"In Fiji, whenever the topic of sex comes up, everyone just disperses," says Lal, 24, a gay man who said he is not a drug user.
He originally knew little about HIV and the available treatment.
"When I was diagnosed, the first thing I asked the doctors was: 'What now? Do I just wait to die?'"
On his "Living Positive Fiji" page on Facebook, Lal has fielded questions from more than a hundred people.
Most are aged 17 to 20 and are unsure whether to disclose their HIV status out of fear of discrimination.
"If you come out publicly as someone living with HIV, there's a chance where you might actually not get a good reaction," Lal said.
His own hospital visit for his initial diagnosis left its mark.
"I saw some walking out with fear in their eyes, and I was like: 'I want to change this. I want to help people'."
Fiji has a tough task to rein in case numbers, according to Ram of UNAIDS, who said the country is "15 to 20 years behind" in its HIV efforts.
"A needle-syringe programme is what is very much needed right now."
The government has said it will adopt a plan to prevent the spread of disease through drug injections, but implementation of its programme to provide safe injecting equipment has been delayed.
For Foi, one of the women attending the outreach clinic, the task is simple.
"It's really important for everybody to get tested."
str/oho/aks/djw/fox

Global Edition

Amazon to ship stuff for any business, not just its own merchants

  • AWS started as an internal tool Amazon built for itself, then became a massive business by selling that same technology to other companies.
  • Amazon announced Monday it is opening up its massive shipping and delivery network to any business that wants to use it -- not just the merchants who sell on Amazon's website.
  • AWS started as an internal tool Amazon built for itself, then became a massive business by selling that same technology to other companies.
Amazon announced Monday it is opening up its massive shipping and delivery network to any business that wants to use it -- not just the merchants who sell on Amazon's website.
The new service, called Amazon Supply Chain Services (ASCS), lets companies pay Amazon to handle the behind-the-scenes work of getting products from factories to customers' doors. That includes shipping goods across oceans, storing them in warehouses and delivering packages to homes seven days a week.
Big names like Procter & Gamble, 3M, Lands' End and American Eagle are already signed up.
Amazon compared the move to the launch of Amazon Web Services, its cloud computing business. 
AWS started as an internal tool Amazon built for itself, then became a massive business by selling that same technology to other companies. Amazon is betting it can do the same thing with shipping and logistics.
Since 2006, independent sellers on Amazon's marketplace have used a program called Fulfillment by Amazon to let the company handle packing and shipping their orders. Amazon said those sellers have shipped more than 80 billion items through the program.
But until now, most of Amazon's logistics muscle was only available to businesses that sold products on Amazon's own site. 
The move puts Amazon in more direct competition with shipping giants like FedEx, UPS and DHL.
On Wall Street, investors punished UPS, which was down 10 percent, and FedEx, which fell nine percent
Amazon was up around one percent.
tu/arp/dw

religion

Swastikas daubed on NY Jewish homes, synagogues: police

  • A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP "multiple locations had swastikas drawn with spray paint" and that no arrests had been made but the investigation was ongoing.
  • Antisemitic graffiti including swastikas has been spray-painted onto Jewish homes, synagogues and a memorial commemorating Kristallnacht, New York police and city officials confirmed Monday, with the incidents being investigated as possible hate crimes.
  • A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP "multiple locations had swastikas drawn with spray paint" and that no arrests had been made but the investigation was ongoing.
Antisemitic graffiti including swastikas has been spray-painted onto Jewish homes, synagogues and a memorial commemorating Kristallnacht, New York police and city officials confirmed Monday, with the incidents being investigated as possible hate crimes.
The graffiti is the latest instance of antisemitic vandalism against the city's Jewish community, with previous targets including playgrounds, places of worship and the subway.
A wall outside the Rego Park Jewish Center in the borough of Queens was tagged with a swastika and the words "heil Hitler," images on social media showed.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP "multiple locations had swastikas drawn with spray paint" and that no arrests had been made but the investigation was ongoing.
Leftist New York mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on social media he was "horrified and angered by the swastikas painted on homes and a synagogue in Forest Hills, including on a plaque honoring survivors of Kristallnacht." 
Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," was an anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany in 1938 that saw followers of Adolf Hitler target Jewish homes and businesses.
"This is not just vandalism -- it is a deliberate act of antisemitic hatred meant to instill fear," Mamdani added, saying that the city police's Hate Crimes Task Force was investigating.
Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, wrote on social media that "multiple synagogues and private homes in Queens were vandalized overnight with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti."
"The graffiti will be removed once the investigation is complete. With antisemitism on the rise here and across the globe, we will always stand up for our Jewish community and fight back against hate."
Mamdani, who has called Israel an "apartheid regime," has been accused by some Jews of fueling a sharp rise in antisemitism through his politics, a charge he denies. 
Antisemitic incidents jumped 182 percent between January 2025 and January 2026, according to recent figures from police in New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. 
Some 82 percent of Jewish voters -- including two-thirds who voted for Mamdani -- signaled concern over the "rise of antisemitism in New York City," according to a new poll by the Jewish Majority group. 
gw/jgc

sea

Health emergency on the MV Hondius: what we know

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • - The journey - The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
  • Three passengers who were cruising the Atlantic Ocean on the MV Hondius have died, with one other person on the trip now in hospital with hantavirus, and two crew ill.
  • - The journey - The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Three passengers who were cruising the Atlantic Ocean on the MV Hondius have died, with one other person on the trip now in hospital with hantavirus, and two crew ill.
Here is look at what we know so far about the ship, its journey, the passengers, the fatalities, the casualties and the likely next steps:

Who is on board?

Including a deceased German passenger, there are 149 people on board, among them 23 different nationalities.
There are 88 passengers, from 15 countries, including 19 from Britain, 17 from the United States 13 from Spain and eight from the Netherlands.
There are 61 crew members, from 12 countries, including 38 from the Philippines, five from Ukraine, five from the Netherlands and four from Britain.

Three fatalities

A Dutch male passenger died on the ship on April 11. The cause of death could not be determined on board. The body was taken off the ship on April 24 in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena.
The wife of the deceased man, also Dutch, accompanied the "repatriation" of the body, said Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator.
It said that on April 27, it learned that she had become unwell during the return journey and had later died.
South African health ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale said the woman fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital. Mohale said she was 69 and her husband was 70.
"It has not been confirmed that these two deaths are connected to the current medical situation on board," Oceanwide Expeditions said.
On May 2, a German passenger died on the ship. The cause of death has not been established. The body remains on the vessel.

One passenger, two crew ill

On April 27, a British passenger became seriously ill and was medically evacuated to South Africa. Mohale said the passenger was 69.
"This person is currently being treated in the intensive care unit in Johannesburg and is in a critical but stable condition," said Oceanwide Expeditions.
A hantavirus variant has been identified in the patient -- the only confirmed case at this stage.
Two crew members, one British and one Dutch, have acute respiratory symptoms: one mild and one severe.
They require urgent medical attention but remain on board.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that currently there are no other symptomatic people on board.

Hantavirus

Hantaviruses circulate in rodents and can be deadly when transmitted to humans. In the Americas, the disease can cause severe respiratory illness.
Limited human‑to‑human transmission has been documented for only one hantavirus, which is found in South America.
There are no vaccines or specific medications for hantaviruses.

The ship

The Dutch-flagged MV (motor vessel) Hondius was built in 2019 for polar expedition cruising.
Its schedule shows it switches between southern and northern hemisphere summers.
The ship is operated by Dutch cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions.
It was built for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, and can take 57 crew, 13 guides and one doctor.
The ship is 107.6 metres (353 feet) long and 17.6 metres wide, with a top speed of 15 knots.

The journey

The cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina to Cape Verde followed an initial March 10-31 return trip from Ushuaia in Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula.
The ship left Ushuaia on April 1, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.
After visiting islands including South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha, the vessel called at Saint Helena, where the first fatality was taken off the ship on April 24.
It left Britain's Ascension Island on April 27.
The ship is now anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.

What is happening on board?

Strict precautionary measures are in place, including isolation, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.
The WHO says passengers are being asked to stay in their cabins while disinfection and other measures are being taken.

Where might the ship go next?

The Cape Verde authorities have said the passengers will not be allowed to disembark in the island country.
The option of sailing on to Las Palmas or Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands is under consideration for disembarkation and further medical screening.
rjm/apo/jhb

theatre

French scholars seek to resurrect Moliere with AI play

BY KARINE PERRET

  • The playwright, considered the father of modern French comedy, is as central to the nation's culture as Shakespeare to the English-speaking world -- so much so that French refer to their native tongue as the "language of Moliere".
  • What might France's greatest playwright have written had he not died of tuberculosis in 1673?
  • The playwright, considered the father of modern French comedy, is as central to the nation's culture as Shakespeare to the English-speaking world -- so much so that French refer to their native tongue as the "language of Moliere".
What might France's greatest playwright have written had he not died of tuberculosis in 1673?
A team of French scholars, researchers and artists have joined forces to tap into the power of artificial intelligence to create a play they say Moliere himself might have written.
"The Astrologer, or False Omens" is the result of three years of collaboration between the Sorbonne University and Obvious, a French trio of artists and researchers, who have trained AI to imitate Moliere's style and mastery of satire.
The playwright, considered the father of modern French comedy, is as central to the nation's culture as Shakespeare to the English-speaking world -- so much so that French refer to their native tongue as the "language of Moliere".
Written in 17th‑century French, the AI creation will hit the stage at the Royal Opera of Versailles on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The three‑act farce tells the story of a credulous father whose obsession with astrology leads him to force his young daughter to marry an old wigmaker.
Fidelity to Moliere's creative process and scholarly rigour were at the heart of the project, said Pierre‑Marie Chauvin, a vice president at the Sorbonne.
"There is no existing protocol for creating a play in the style of Moliere, so we had to devise one, but in the most rigorous way possible, and above all the most faithful," he told AFP.
The Sorbonne has said the "Moliere Ex Machina" project was aimed at "bringing to life a world that never was, but could have been", and acknowledged its attempt to imitate Moliere "was bold, almost sacrilegious".
Chauvin said the success of the project would be measured by its effect on the audience.
"Does it make people laugh?" he said.

AI music and costumes

The project is being billed as the first theatrical play written by AI.
It cost one million euros ($1.2 million), funded by North American donors and a handful of French patrons.
Researchers worked with Le Chat, a generative AI tool developed by the French start‑up Mistral, training it on Moliere's body of work, as well as dialogues and philosophical treatises.
The generated text was then reviewed during writing workshops with Coraline Renaux, a doctoral student in literature, and Mickael Bouffard, head of the Theatre Moliere Sorbonne, which seeks to revive theatrical techniques of the 17th century.
The work was subsequently submitted to reading committees, tasked with checking its syntax and overall coherence.
"In creating this piece, there were at least 20,000 back-and-forth exchanges between the algorithms and the creative team," said Gauthier Vernier of Obvious.
The AI was also trained to create about 15 costumes, as well as music and sets.
"For each costume, we'd go through around 50 iterations," said Hugo Caselles‑Dupre, also of Obvious.
"We had a huge number of back-and-forth discussions."

'Very human skills'

The theme of astrology emerged fairly quickly, as Moliere was interested in "denouncing human credulity", Bouffard said.
"The plot is very Moliere-esque," said the Quebec native, adding that the name of the father's astrologer, Pseudoramus –-- a pseudo-Nostradamus -- was "a clever invention by AI".
For the costumes and sets, the technology was trained using sketches by Henri de Gissey, a costume designer and decorator for the court of King Louis XIV.
Musicologists guided the AI's musical output using sheet music.
The stage production involves nine actors, two dancers and four musicians. It showcases wigs, hand-sewn costumes and sets made using period techniques.
AFP attended a recent rehearsal at the Theatre des Trois Pierrots in Saint-Cloud, west of Paris.
The plot and dialogue appeared plausible.
The actors' use of Classical French and historically faithful declamation could however disorientate some viewers.
Generative AI tools have surged into prominence in recent years, dramatically reshaping the world.
The use of artificial intelligence remains one of the most sensitive issues in the entertainment industry and has generated debate.
But the teams behind the Sorbonne project defend it as an innovative cultural experiment.
"AI gives us superpowers we don't have: a universal memory and the ability to write quickly," said Bouffard.
Chauvin stressed that humans were still at the heart of the production.
"We actually saw some truly impressive effects from AI at times, but the overall structure was achieved thanks to human work and very human skills."
kp-as/ah/jhb

migrants

Migrants deported from US stranded, 'scared' in DR Congo

  • She only found out where they were headed the day before being expelled from the United States.
  • Spending the past five days cooped up in a hotel in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not quite what a group of Latin Americans expected when they sought asylum in the United States.
  • She only found out where they were headed the day before being expelled from the United States.
Spending the past five days cooped up in a hotel in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not quite what a group of Latin Americans expected when they sought asylum in the United States.
But their predicament is far from the worst of it: the men and women told AFP on Wednesday that they arrived in Kinshasa after a 27-hour flight which they spent with their hands and feet shackled.
Gabriela, a 30-year-old Colombian sporting tattoos and clad like most of her fellow sufferers in a white T-shirt, summed up their plight.
"I didn't want to go to Congo. I'm scared, I don't know the language," she said.
She only found out where they were headed the day before being expelled from the United States.
The DRC -- one of a number of African nations that have agreed to take in deported migrants -- is one of the world's 15 poorest countries, thousands of kilometres from the Americas.
The first batch of deportees arrived last Friday in the central African country under a controversial US migration scheme to pack off undocumented foreign nationals to third countries.
Others include Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan.
The scheme has often been accompanied by US financial or logistical support.
Yet scant information is provided by the authorities in the host countries about the migrants' fate once they arrive on their soil.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which takes charge of them once they have obtained short-stay visas, told AFP it can offer "assisted voluntary return to migrants who request it".

Waiting

Since their arrival in Kinshasa, a megacity of more than 17 million people, the 15 South American migrants have been whiling away their time in a complex near the airport.
Rows of neat, white-walled little houses stand side by side. The migrants sleep there and say they are forbidden to leave the premises.
Police and army vehicles are parked outside and on occasion personnel can be seen from a private military firm which AFP was unable to identify.
Cast adrift by US President Donald Trump's immigration policy, the migrants spend their days on their mobile phones, trying to contact their families.
None speaks French, the DRC's official language.
They claim to have received around $100 in aid from IOM officials but are not allowed any visitors.
"Several of our friends have taken ill -- as have I," said Gabriela.
"We've had fevers, vomiting and stomach problems. But we're told that's normal and that we must adapt."
Some have been given medication, but Gabriela said no healthcare worker has come to examine them.
Four residents of the hotel said they had been issued with a seven-day visa, extendable for three months.
But once the seven days are up, they said they are threatened with no further support, as well as with being left to fend for themselves.
"They've got us cornered because they tell us: if you don’t accept the repatriation programme, you'll be stuck in a mess here in Congo," said Gabriela, visibly upset.
"That is inhumane and unfair."

Afraid

The noisy chaos of the overcrowded Congolese capital reverberates behind the walls of the hotel.
A constant stream of minibuses and cars honk their horns on a potholed road that is surrounded by dilapidated buildings.
Most Kinshasa residents have no reliable access either to running water or electricity.
Nearly three-quarters of Congolese people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
The arrival of South American migrants has sparked strong reactions among civil society and on Congolese social media.
"I get three meals a day, the hotel staff cleans the rooms, and we're well protected," said Hugo Palencia Ropero, a 25-year-old Colombian who said he spent five months in US detention before being deported to the DRC.
But he added: "I'm more afraid of being here in Africa than in Colombia.
"If the seven days go by and we don't receive any further assistance, things will get very difficult for us, especially since we don't have work permits."
He said he was willing to accept "any travel document" just to "be able to leave this country".
clt/cld/cw/phz/jhb

religion

'No pilgrims': regional war hushes Iraq's holy cities

BY QASSEM AL-KAABI

  • Millions of Shia Muslims from around the world typically flock to Najaf and fellow holy city Karbala every year. 
  • In Iraq's holy city of Najaf, the majestic shrine of Imam Ali stands quiet, its vast courtyards no longer echoing with the multilingual whispers of pilgrims from before the Middle East war.
  • Millions of Shia Muslims from around the world typically flock to Najaf and fellow holy city Karbala every year. 
In Iraq's holy city of Najaf, the majestic shrine of Imam Ali stands quiet, its vast courtyards no longer echoing with the multilingual whispers of pilgrims from before the Middle East war.
The absence of tourists leaves nearby shopkeepers and hotel owners with little to do, their days dragging on as they hope for the crowds to return and revive their businesses. 
"Iranians used to keep us busy, whether the jeweller, the fabric merchant or the taxi driver. Now there are none," said jewellery shop owner Abdel Rahim Harmoush.
"It used to be hard even to step into the market because of foreigners... Even street vendors drew huge crowds of visitors," the 71-year-old added. 
Millions of Shia Muslims from around the world typically flock to Najaf and fellow holy city Karbala every year. 
But the regional war ignited in late February by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has stemmed the usual influx of pilgrims from the Islamic republic, Lebanon, the Gulf states, India, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Iraq was drawn into the conflict from the onset, with strikes targeting US interests and Tehran-backed armed groups in the country.
People in the holy cities "live on religious tourism", said Harmoush, who for 38 years has worked in the old market near Najaf's golden-domed mausoleum.
The shrine is the ornate burial place of Ali -- the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, the fourth Islamic caliph and the first Shia Imam.
Harmoush warned of economic ruin were the crisis to persist: shop owners unable to pay rent and taxes, cab drivers left without passengers and labourers struggling to find work.

Hotels closed

Hotel owner Abu Ali, 52, was forced to lay off five employees, leaving just one to tend to nearly 70 empty rooms.
"How can I pay salaries if there is no work?" he said.
Saeb Abu Ghneim, head of the hotel association in Najaf, told AFP that 80 percent of the city's 250 hotels had closed, with more than 2,000 employees laid off or on unpaid leave.
He added that most of Najaf's religious tourism relies on Iranians, followed by Lebanese visitors -- also trapped at home by war -- and other nationalities. 
The sector, which already weathered the closure of mosques and shrines in the pandemic, is a rare type of tourism in a country reeling from decades of conflicts.
Religious tourism also constitutes a significant source of revenue for Iraq's non-oil economy.
Before the war, 28-year-old Moustafa al-Haboubi could barely manage the crowds queuing to exchange foreign currency for Iraqi dinars.
He now spends the long hours idly scrolling through his phone or chatting with neighbours.
"We barely receive one or two customers," he said. "There are no pilgrims now, Iranian or otherwise."
Even after a fragile ceasefire took effect on April 8 and Iraq's airspace reopened, little has changed.
Some pilgrims trickle through during the week, while on weekends the area grows somewhat livelier as Iraqis visit the sacred sites.

'Catastrophe'

The situation is no different in Karbala, which is around 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Najaf and home to the shrines of the revered grandsons of Prophet Mohammed, Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas. 
The main corridor linking the two golden shrines and the surrounding alleyways were once alive with the murmurs of tourists walking to prayers. 
Today, the visitors are almost exclusively Iraqi.
"The situation is dangerous... a catastrophe," said Israa al-Nasrawi, head of Karbala's tourism committee.
She warned that the war had devastated the city's economy, slashing tourist numbers by around 95 percent and forcing hundreds of hotels to close.
The city's many pilgrim tour companies sit idle.
Akram Radi, who has worked in the sector for 16 years, said his company once helped up to 1,000 visitors a month but is now operating at only 10 percent of capacity.
"I might have to close and look for another job," he said.
sf-str/rh/amj/lga

music

Under full moon, Shakira thrills 2 million fans on Rio's Copacabana beach

BY LUCIA LACURCIA

  • The beach has hosted the biggest divas in pop in recent years, with Madonna striking a pose for 1.6 million in 2024 and Lady Gaga singing her greatest hits to 2.1 million fans last year.
  • Latin pop queen Shakira delighted crowds of two million that packed Rio's famed Copacabana beach under a full moon Saturday, delivering fan-favorite hits and words of love for Brazil.
  • The beach has hosted the biggest divas in pop in recent years, with Madonna striking a pose for 1.6 million in 2024 and Lady Gaga singing her greatest hits to 2.1 million fans last year.
Latin pop queen Shakira delighted crowds of two million that packed Rio's famed Copacabana beach under a full moon Saturday, delivering fan-favorite hits and words of love for Brazil.
The 49-year-old Colombian superstar took the stage dressed in Brazil's national colors shortly after 11 pm (0200 GMT), more than an hour behind schedule, heralded by drones overhead forming the image of a she-wolf -- Shakira's nickname.
"Brazil, I love you! It's magical to think that here we are, millions of souls together, ready to sing, dance, be moved and remind the world what really matters," Shakira told the crowd in Portuguese.
"Two million people. The she-wolf made history in Rio," city mayor Eduardo Cavaliere wrote on X, citing the official tourism body.
The beach has hosted the biggest divas in pop in recent years, with Madonna striking a pose for 1.6 million in 2024 and Lady Gaga singing her greatest hits to 2.1 million fans last year.
Shakira on Saturday performed hits such as "Hips Don't Lie," "La Bicicleta," " La Tortura" and "Estoy Aqui" on a huge stage outside the legendary Copacabana Hotel measuring 1,345 square meters (14,500 square feet).
The concert, featuring 10 outfit changes, saw Shakira performing local-style funk with Brazilian pop star Anitta, and featured guests including Brazilian pop music legends Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethania.

'She loves Brazil so much'

With more than 90 million records sold, four Grammys, 15 Latin Grammys and a generation-spanning repertoire including bangers "Hips Don't Lie," "Waka Waka" and "Whenever, Wherever," Shakira enjoys unique popularity in Brazil, where she has performed numerous times.
"I'm very inspired by her, she's a Latin woman at the top," 26-year-old designer Joao Pedro Yellin told AFP, dressed in an overcoat made of scraps representing Latin American flags.
"She loves Brazil so much and the love she has for us is the love we have for her," said superfan Graciele Vaz, who slept on the beach Friday night after traveling four hours from the resort town of Paraty.
"I've been a Shakira fan for more than 20 years," the 43-year-old said, sporting a large she-wolf tattoo on her back.
Shakira's 2025 tour kicked off in Rio and has already earned a Guinness World Record for highest-grossing tour for a Latin artist.

Rio energized

Rio has been readying for the concert for days, with huge posters blanketing the city.
Copacabana vendors were busy Saturday hawking beer, caipirinhas, t-shirts and little vials of "Shakira's tears," a nod to her current "Women No Longer Cry" tour.
Security was also tight, with nearly 8,000 officers deployed, along with drones, facial recognition cameras and 18 screening points with metal detectors.
Last year, after Lady Gaga's performance, police said they had foiled a bomb plot by a group that disseminated hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community.
Some Shakira fans camped out in front of the Copacabana Palace, where she was staying, hoping to glimpse her at a window.
City officials estimated the event would inject more than $160 million into the local economy.
National tourism officials said airline bookings were up 80 percent this week compared to 2024.
ll-ffb/vel/hol/ami

gender

Fleeting freedom at festival for India's transgender community

BY SATISH BABU

  • The festival culminates in two days of ceremonies as Koovagam briefly becomes a rare space of acceptance.
  • For a few fleeting days each year, India's often-shunned transgender community is welcomed and revered at a festival that is at once sacred ritual, celebration, and a refuge.
  • The festival culminates in two days of ceremonies as Koovagam briefly becomes a rare space of acceptance.
For a few fleeting days each year, India's often-shunned transgender community is welcomed and revered at a festival that is at once sacred ritual, celebration, and a refuge.
At the heart of it is the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.
Several thousand attend the annual ceremony in Koovagam, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts that has gained prominence in recent decades.
"I need a life like a bird," said Thilothama, 34, who uses only one name, her voice steady amid the hum of drums and devotional songs.
"Freedom -- to do what I want, despite being transgender."
Thilothama, who works for Thozhi, a Chennai-based charity supporting transgender people, has spent more than a decade helping others find work and counselling those navigating rejection and uncertainty.
Her own journey has been shaped by both resilience and loss.
Facing opposition from her family over her gender identity, she left home and built a life within the transgender community.
Today she earns a modest income -- but speaks with quiet pride about her independence.

'My world'

For the past 10 years Thilothama has returned to Koovagam, where a beauty pageant and singing contests are held alongside religious rituals.
"I believe the rituals here bring good things," she says, adjusting her sari.
She recalls caring for a friend's bedridden mother, only to be barred from the funeral rites after her death.
"That was the hardest time," she says.
The festival culminates in two days of ceremonies as Koovagam briefly becomes a rare space of acceptance.
On the first, priests tie a sacred thread around the necks of the transgender devotees, symbolising their marriage to the Hindu warrior god Aravan.
The next day, as devotees cry in mourning for his death, the thread and their wrist bangles are cut.
South Asia has a long history of people assigned male at birth but who identify as female.
In India's last census in 2011, more than 487,000 people were members of the third gender -- a designation the supreme court formally recognised in 2014, but whose members still face severe discrimination.
For Anuya, a member of the community, the change in how she is treated at the festival is striking.
"Here, people smile at me, speak kindly. The villagers who are participating in this festival believe that if they get blessing from transgender people, they will have prosperity in their life," she says.
"So I am getting more respect, and in this way I feel more proud of becoming transgender."
As night falls, music and laughter ripple through the village.
"Usually, I feel alone. Here, I see so many like me," says Dhanshika, another member of the community, smiling as she watched friends dressed in their finest sari dresses.
"I feel this is my world."
str-pjm/sjc/mtp/abs

army

Illegal party at French military site draws up to 40,000 ravers

BY GREG OZAN AND KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

  • While modern shells posed no threat, he warned of the risk from older unexploded ordnance dating back to World War II. - Old artillery shells - He said that even the France's Directorate General of Armaments, which owns the land, did not have precise knowledge of the risks.
  • Up to 40,000 partygoers gathered on Saturday for an illegal rave at a military site in France, defying warnings about the risk of possible explosions from old ordnance.
  • While modern shells posed no threat, he warned of the risk from older unexploded ordnance dating back to World War II. - Old artillery shells - He said that even the France's Directorate General of Armaments, which owns the land, did not have precise knowledge of the risks.
Up to 40,000 partygoers gathered on Saturday for an illegal rave at a military site in France, defying warnings about the risk of possible explosions from old ordnance.
Thumping techno music echoed across a vast firing range near the central French town of Bourges as revellers -- many dressed in brightly coloured outfits, others shirtless -- assembled for the unauthorised event, known as a "free party", which began on Friday.
Behind them, tents and vans stretched across the grassy field.
Authorities had estimated attendance at 20,000 on Saturday morning, but more ravers arrived during the day and Tekno Anti Rep, a free party support network present at the site, told AFP the total was between 35,000 and 40,000 by the evening.
Bomb disposal experts had to intervene after a shell was discovered near a road passsing through the party site, the local officials said.
The gathering comes as the French parliament is seeking to tighten legislation against unauthorised rave parties, introducing prison sentences for organisers and fines for attendees.
"Despite its illegal nature, the government has mobilised to ensure the safety of this event and limit any disturbances," the prefecture said.
Philippe Le Moing Surzur, the local prefect, said the site was "extremely dangerous due to the unexploded ordnance it may contain".
While modern shells posed no threat, he warned of the risk from older unexploded ordnance dating back to World War II.

Old artillery shells

He said that even the France's Directorate General of Armaments, which owns the land, did not have precise knowledge of the risks.
"This is a site that has been in use for 150 years, and we know there are potentially old artillery shells there," he said, adding that bomb disposal experts discover them regularly.
The firing range covers 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) and is crisscrossed by roads that are closed during tests but open to the public at other times.
Signs prohibit access to the range itself, but it is not fenced off.
The organisers have urged attendees to refrain from lighting fires, digging or picking up any objects.
The local mayor's office said residents and partygoers were getting on well. 
"For once there's something going on, make the most of it!" Paulette, 64, who lives in the village nearby and declined to give her family name, told AFP.
Emergency services treated 12 people with minor injuries Saturday morning.
The prefect said one person had been struck by a vehicle, and a number of the injured people had cut themselves while handling sharp shrapnel.
Revellers see the giant party not only as a chance to unwind, but also as a protest against the rave-curbing legislation.
"It's a way of showing that participants are mobilised and will keep coming, whatever happens, and will continue to challenge these laws," a member of the Tekno Anti Rep collective told AFP.

'Message against repression'

A free party is usually an illegal form of rave rooted in anti-establishment culture.
They are held without permission in remote locations, and admission is free or by donation.
"I had heard there were going to be a lot of people, but once you're there, it's still a shock to see so many people gathered in one place," said one 22-year-old man, who did not want to be named.
Another partygoer, 19, also anonymous, said the turnout was "a strong message against repression".
Around 600 police and 45 firefighters were deployed at the site.
"We're getting ready for a big get-together tonight," said Edith Raquin, the mayor of Cornusse, a village of 220 people located less than two kilometres (about one mile) from the site. 
She said that the revellers came across as "peaceful people" and some elderly residents were "delighted" to talk with them.
"They are polite, they say hello," Raquin said. 
bur-pdw/jj

protests

UK PM says some pro-Palestinian marches could be banned

  • They also denounced pro-Palestinian activists holding marches in British cities, which began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
  • Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that banning some pro-Palestinian marches could be justified, especially when they call for the intifada to spread.
  • They also denounced pro-Palestinian activists holding marches in British cities, which began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that banning some pro-Palestinian marches could be justified, especially when they call for the intifada to spread.
Labour leader Starmer is under pressure to act after a spate of antisemitic incidents, including this week, when two men were stabbed in the north London suburb of Golders Green, which is home to a large Jewish community.
A 45-year-old British national who was born in Somalia was remanded in custody when he made his first appearance in court on Friday accused of attempted murder.
Starmer visited the scene of the attacks and a Jewish volunteer ambulance service on Thursday and was booed by some locals, who accused him of not doing enough to protect them.
They also denounced pro-Palestinian activists holding marches in British cities, which began after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
The prime minister, a former human rights lawyer and chief public prosecutor whose wife is of Jewish origin, said many Jewish people had told them they were affected by "the repeat nature" of the protests.
"I'm a big defender of freedom of expression, peaceful protests," he told the BBC. "But when there are chants like 'globalise the intifada', that's completely off limits.
"Clearly, there should be tougher action in relation to that."
The intifada refers to the Palestinian civilian uprisings against Israel in 1987-1993 and the early 2000s.
Starmer said he wanted to police the language used on marches more strongly and that there were "instances" when some protests should be stopped altogether.
Discussions had been taking place with the police for some time about what further action could be taken, he added.
In December last year, police in London and the northwest city of Manchester said they would arrest anyone chanting "globalise the intifada".
The Jewish community in Britain views the chant as "very, very dangerous", said Starmer.
On Thursday, the UK increased its security alert level to "severe" -- the second highest -- in part because of the attack in Golders Green, as well as the threat from Islamist extremism and the far-right.
The police have said they would look closely at all calls about future protests.
cla/phz/jxb

royals

King Charles gets warm welcome in Bermuda after whirlwind US visit

BY HENRY NICHOLLS

  • Charles was visiting the archipelago without Queen Camilla, who had accompanied him to the United States.
  • King Charles III spent a day in the British island territory of Bermuda on Friday after a high-stakes visit to the United States where he sought to heal strained ties between Washington and London.
  • Charles was visiting the archipelago without Queen Camilla, who had accompanied him to the United States.
King Charles III spent a day in the British island territory of Bermuda on Friday after a high-stakes visit to the United States where he sought to heal strained ties between Washington and London.
It was the first visit by a British king to Bermuda in its 400-year history, Charles said -- a history that involved making the archipelago a maritime hub of Britain's transatlantic slave trade, which the monarchy has been pressured to address.
The king toured a museum exhibit on the slave trade and watched a dance with roots in the era.
"I'm told, to my amazement, it is also the first time in Bermuda's 400 year history, the islands have actually received a reigning king," Charles said during a reception at Government House in Bermuda's capital of Hamilton. "So I'm terribly sorry it has taken so long."
Charles was visiting the archipelago without Queen Camilla, who had accompanied him to the United States.
Early in the day the British monarch greeted a line of schoolchildren, pausing to chat with them, on the steps of the whitewashed St. Peter's Church in St. George's, the Atlantic Ocean territory's first English settlement.
"Thank you for coming," said one crowd member who held a miniature Union Jack flag.
"Get home safe," said another member of the hundreds-strong crowd gathered in King's Square.
One well-wisher wore a plastic crown speckled with imitation jewels as she filmed the gathering on her cell phone after a 21-gun salute.
Charles received a Royal Salute and the Royal Bermuda Regiment's band played the national anthem before setting a more relaxed tone with Bob Marley and the Wailers' song "Jamming."
In Sandys Parish, the royal party was treated to a performance by Gombeys -- dancers who maintain a folklore tradition with African, Caribbean and Native American influences. 
Their vibrant costumes evolved from the era of slavery, when performances were restricted and painted masks helped conceal dancers’ identities.
Charles also visited Trunk Island, an island in Bermuda's Harrington Sound where the local zoological society runs education programs.
Long a vocal conservationist, Charles appeared "right at home" on the island, Bermuda Zoological Society spokeswoman Robyn Bardgett told AFP, adding it was clear his passion for the environment was "completely genuine."
Charles asked a society staff member "are you getting the message through?"
The king took "real time to chat with them about what (members) are learning about coral reefs," Bardgett added.
Charles is scheduled to depart for the United Kingdom on Saturday.

Trump's 'greatest king'

The four-day US visit was largely seen as a success, with President Donald Trump serving as a solicitous host who honored the royal couple with a white-tie banquet at the White House.
"He's a great king -- the greatest king, in my book," Trump told reporters as they said farewell.
Soon after, Trump announced he was removing tariffs on Scottish whisky "in honor" of Charles and Camilla.
The centerpiece of the US trip was Charles's speech Tuesday to Congress, the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.
The address was warmly received, even as Charles touched on subjects from climate change and the need for restraints on presidential power to the importance of NATO and defense of Ukraine -- sensitive issues for the US president.
The 77-year-old king skirted around tensions between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain's refusal to join the war against Iran, insisting the partnership between the two countries was "born out of dispute, but no less strong for it."
burs-gw/bgs/md/ksb

politics

Raisin moonshine banned in Iran enjoys resurgence in New York

BY RAPHAëL HERMANO

  • "Being in New York helps, because I can see people are not supportive of what is happening in this administration -- either the war or like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and all of that," Imani said. 
  • Three Iranian men pressed rehydrated raisins at an artisan distillery just outside New York, thousands of miles from their war-struck homeland. 
  • "Being in New York helps, because I can see people are not supportive of what is happening in this administration -- either the war or like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and all of that," Imani said. 
Three Iranian men pressed rehydrated raisins at an artisan distillery just outside New York, thousands of miles from their war-struck homeland. 
They were carefully producing aragh sagi, a traditional spirit banned by the clerical authorities along with all alcohol following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Despite its outlaw moonshine status, the drink is still made clandestinely and consumed inside Iran. 
"Everybody's drinking, but we just don't want to get caught," said Siavash Karampour, formerly a fixture on Tehran's rock music scene and now the co-manager of a bar in Brooklyn. 
Together with three childhood friends who, like him, came to New York to rebuild their lives, they decided to brew the Iranian firewater in the United States. 
They say they wanted to offer others like them a taste of home as well as "something that has been behind the curtain." 
Branded as "SAG," their aragh sagi -- like a stronger Italian grappa -- is made in the still of David Nahmias, a distiller born into a Moroccan Jewish family who makes mahia, a traditional dried fig-based spirit from his homeland. 
"They came to me through word of mouth. Their alcohol uses the same process as arak, which you find in Syria or Lebanon -- but without the anise. It wasn't complicated for me... And I liked them!" Nahmias said. 
The creators of SAG, aged between 35 and 41, settled in New York several years ago and remain active in the local Iranian diaspora and all have day jobs.
They were the first to bring aragh sagi to the US market, although a handful of brands exist in Europe. 

' I feel privileged'

The company's output of 7,000 bottles a year -- sold for $50 a pop in around 30 liquor stores and available in as many bars -- remains modest.
But bars have latched on to their creation as a way to promote new cocktails.
"We just started this back in the day, as a hobby... we kind of want to grow organically," said brew group member Sasan Oskouei, a visual artist. 
The entrepreneurs see their venture as a project that goes beyond a simple spirit, representing an emotional and cultural gesture. 
"So many Iranian artists and filmmakers have highlighted some parts of Iran that haven't been seen before, and in making this, we are kind of doing the same thing," said Karampour. 
Since they launched SAG two years ago, many artistic projects have emerged to complement the brand, with parties in New York and DJ sets performed by Iranian musicians. 
Their connection to Iran through friends and family is constant, making the ongoing conflict between Tehran and their host nation all the more painful. 
"It's really tough to be seeing all these images, and then you still have to go to work and live your daily life... You technically live in two countries," said Karampour. 
With the help of large handheld food mixers, they carefully grind the mixture of dried Californian grapes and water, which they then ferment before distilling it in a large still imported from Germany. 
Amir Imani, a computer engineer, says New York was the ideal place to establish their brand, a city that is both very diverse and tolerant, and where their business is not written off as "exotic." 
"Being in New York helps, because I can see people are not supportive of what is happening in this administration -- either the war or like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and all of that," Imani said. 
"So I feel privileged that I'm here surrounded by people who think the same."
rh-gw/sst

politics

Baguettes take centre stage on France's Labour Day

BY BEATRICE JOANNIS WITH BAPTISTE PACE IN SAINT-JULIEN-CHAPTEUIL

  • "Let's have several... at least four," he said, as he sought to promote a new bill to clearly exempt independent bread and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day.
  • French bakeries sold crusty baguettes and flaky croissants with government backing Friday, defying labour unions arguing that May 1 should remain a day of compulsory rest.
  • "Let's have several... at least four," he said, as he sought to promote a new bill to clearly exempt independent bread and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day.
French bakeries sold crusty baguettes and flaky croissants with government backing Friday, defying labour unions arguing that May 1 should remain a day of compulsory rest.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered several baguettes for lunch in front of the cameras in the village of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil in central France.
"Let's have several... at least four," he said, as he sought to promote a new bill to clearly exempt independent bread and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day.
It is also a day for unions to organise marches and protests. Police said 158,000 had joined the activities across France and the interior ministry added that 15 people had been arrested. The main CGT union said 300,000 had taken part.
Under French law, "May 1 is a public holiday and a non-working day". Essential services -- such as hospitals and hotels -- can remain open but must pay their staff double.
But there has been confusion about whether bakeries can make their employees work.
Labour inspectors on the public holiday in 2024 reported five bakers to the authorities for operating.
Although the bakers were all acquitted last year, their plight sparked debate across France.
The government earlier this week encouraged bakers to work on May 1, saying they were "indispensable to the continuity of social life".
It also said florists could employ staff to sell fragrant lily of the valley, which is traditionally sold on Labour Day in France.
On Wednesday, the cabinet put forward a bill -- that has yet to go to a vote in parliament -- to allow both bakeries and florists to open on the first day of May, provided staff volunteer to work in writing and are paid double wages.
The government decided not to back a previous proposal for more businesses including butchers and fishmongers to open on the public holiday.

'Hands off May 1'

The country's main unions argue that no employee is truly free to volunteer when they are seeking to keep a work contract.
They fear French workers will soon all be required to work on the holiday as exceptions gradually become the rule.
"Hands off May 1," read the poster of a hard-left activist at a May Day protest in Paris.
CGT leader Sophie Binet criticised "employers who feel entitled to open all their businesses and make their staff work on May 1, even though it's not allowed".
"The government must ensure that the law and the rule of law are upheld," she said, leading the protest in the capital.
She added that the public holiday was not however her chief concern.
"It's not the stealing of May 1 that should be on parliament's agenda. It's a major plan to raise wages," she said.
Some came to protest in costume.
A man dressed as a late 18th-century revolutionary held a pike topped with a picture of the US president, billionaire Donald Trump.
A woman protester nearby was dressed as Marie-Antoinette, the queen executed by guillotine during the French revolution.
According to folklore, when she was told the poor were running out of bread, she responded: "Let them eat cake".
burs-ah/jxb/jj

demonstration

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

  • Earlier, the CHD Lawyers' Association said police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
  • Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide.
  • Earlier, the CHD Lawyers' Association said police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
Turkish police on Friday fired tear gas and arrested hundreds of people holding May Day demonstrations in Istanbul, as thousands rallied nationwide.
A statement from the office of the governor of Istanbul said that as of 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), police had arrested 575 people, describing them as people who had defied security decisions.
Earlier, the CHD Lawyers' Association said police had arrested at least 550 people by mid-afternoon in Istanbul, where police fired tear gas from riot-control vehicles into the crowd, AFP journalists observed.
Large numbers of police, many in riot gear, had set up metal barricades to cut off access to central neighbourhoods of Istanbul, including Taksim Square, the site of many gatherings.
Images aired on the opposition channel HALK TV also showed the president of the Turkish Workers' Party, Erkan Bas, engulfed in pepper spray.
"Those in power already speak 365 days a year, so let workers talk about the hardships they face at least one day a year," he said.
Police focussed on groups who had signalled their intention to march to Taksim Square -- the scene of several anti-government protests in the past -- which had been sealed off overnight by police.
A union official, Basaran Aksu, was arrested just after denouncing the Taksim lockdown. 
"You can't close off a square to the workers of Turkey," he said.
"Everyone uses Taksim, for official ceremonies, for celebrations. Only the labourers, the workers, the poor find the square closed to them."

Police lines

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

gender

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

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

politics

Baguettes take centre stage on France's Labour Day

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

US

Lufthansa apologises for lost Oscar after US airport security row

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

Smuggled footage

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

culture

Afghans celebrate spring in bright red poppy fields

BY ATIF ARYAN

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