investments

Waymo raises $16 bn to fuel global robotaxi expansion

  • Alphabet took a big part in the recent funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group, joined by Silicon Valley venture capital titans like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, according to Waymo.
  • Self-driving car star Waymo on Monday said it raised $16 billion in a funding round that valued the Alphabet subsidiary at $126 billion.
  • Alphabet took a big part in the recent funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group, joined by Silicon Valley venture capital titans like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, according to Waymo.
Self-driving car star Waymo on Monday said it raised $16 billion in a funding round that valued the Alphabet subsidiary at $126 billion.
Waymo co-chief executives Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov touted the massive investment as a sign that the age of large-scale autonomous mobility has arrived.
"This infusion of capital will ensure we are positioned to move forward with unprecedented velocity, while maintaining our industry-leading safety standards," Dolgov and Mawakana said in a blog post.
Waymo's focus is on spreading its robotaxi service throughout the United States and internationally this year, the executives added.
Waymo's white Jaguars, equipped with cameras and sensors, have become a familiar sight on San Francisco and Los Angeles streets.
Its service, available in 10 US cities as of early 2026, aims to expand to about 20 metropolitan areas within a year, including London.
Last year, Waymo more than tripled its annual volume to 15 million rides and now provides more than 400,000 rides weekly in the six major US metropolitan areas where it operates, according to the company.
"We are no longer proving a concept; we are scaling a commercial reality, laying the groundwork for ride-hailing operations in over 20 additional cities in 2026, including Tokyo and London," Dolgov and Mawakana said.
"We have demonstrated that our technology is not just the most advanced manifestation of AI in the physical world, but a vital service that people have come to rely on in their daily lives."
Alphabet took a big part in the recent funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group, joined by Silicon Valley venture capital titans like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, according to Waymo.
"Waymo has not only taught a car to drive itself, but to do so meaningfully better than any human or competing system, and we believe that lead will endure," Dragoneer partner Jared Middleman said in the blog post. 
Letting go of the steering wheel is no longer a fantasy as Waymo's robotaxis in the United States and China's Apollo Go -- which has been growing rapidly over the past year -- demonstrate the reliability of fully autonomous driving, where responsibility lies with the machine and not the human.
Rivals such as Uber are fast emerging. The ride-sharing giant last month unveiled a Lucid robotaxi, aiming to put a fleet of them to work in San Francisco later this year. 
gc/jgc

crime

Son of Norway crown princess stands trial for multiple rapes

BY PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES

  • Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is facing 38 charges, some dating back to 2018.
  • The son of Norway's crown princess goes on trial Tuesday accused of raping four women and assaulting several ex-girlfriends in a scandal that has tarnished the royal family's image.
  • Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is facing 38 charges, some dating back to 2018.
The son of Norway's crown princess goes on trial Tuesday accused of raping four women and assaulting several ex-girlfriends in a scandal that has tarnished the royal family's image.
Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son from a relationship prior to her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is facing 38 charges, some dating back to 2018.
He was arrested again on Sunday evening on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order.
He was remanded in custody for four weeks on Monday after police warned of a "risk of reoffending".
Hoiby, who faces up to 16 years in prison if found guilty, has admitted to some of the more minor offences but denies the most serious charges.
It comes as his mother was drawn into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal at the weekend, after unsealed US documents revealed her apparently close friendship with the convicted sex offender, who killed himself in prison in 2019.
Hoiby's trial in Oslo, which opens at 9:30 am (0830 GMT), is scheduled to last until March 19 and is expected to attract intense media coverage.
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo told AFP that Hoiby would "neither be treated more leniently nor more severely because of his family".
The defence has not made a public statement ahead of the trial. Hoiby will enter pleas for all of the charges on Tuesday and is expected to take the stand for the first time on Wednesday.
A tall strapping blond with slicked-back hair, earrings and tattoos, Hoiby was arrested on August 4, 2024 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the night before.
Several days later, he admitted he had acted "under the influence of alcohol and cocaine after an argument", having suffered from "mental troubles" and struggling "for a long time with substance abuse".
The investigation into that incident uncovered a string of other suspected offences, including the rapes of four women while they were sleeping or passed out drunk, some of which he filmed.
The four rapes allegedly took place in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the last one after the police investigation began.
Last month police announced six more counts against him, including a "serious narcotics offence" from 2020 in which he confessed to transporting 3.5 kilos (nearly eight pounds) of marijuana.

Kicks and punches

The first of Hoiby's seven alleged victims -- who all have restraining orders against him -- is due to testify on Tuesday.
Their identities have not been disclosed, with the exception of his ex-girlfriend Nora Haukland, a model and influencer who has publicly accused him of physical abuse.
Between the summer of 2022 and the autumn of 2023, while the two were in a relationship, Hoiby repeatedly struck her in the face, kicked and punched her, grabbed her by the throat, threw her against a refrigerator and hurled insults at her, according to the charge sheet.
The scandal, among the worst in the history of the Norwegian monarchy, has dealt a blow to its reputation, though it remains broadly popular thanks to King Harald and Queen Sonja -- both 88 -- who are respected as unifying figures.
In the streets of Oslo, opinions about the scandal differ.
Philip Wilson, a 35-year-old security guard and student, said the palace had handled the situation "terribly".
"I think the PR firms at the castle have a lot to do," he told AFP.
Meanwhile, Jostein Grosaas, a 66-year-old lawyer, said the scandal "has not changed my view on the royal family at all".
Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit will not attend the trial, nor will the king and queen.
Mette-Marit is currently fighting battles on several fronts. 
The 52-year-old suffers from an incurable lung disease that makes it hard for her to breathe, and will likely need a risky lung transplant in the future.
She has also faced harsh criticism in recent days over her links with Epstein.
The verdict against Marius Borg Hoiby is expected several weeks after the end of the trial.
str-phy/po/fg/sbk/mjw

royals

Latest Epstein file dump rocks UK royals, politics

BY AKSHATA KAPOOR AND REEM HASSAN

  • While the former Duke of York and Epstein's friendship has been in the spotlight for years, the latest emails also appeared to reveal the extent of ties between Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Epstein.
  • Britain's former prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and a former UK ambassador to Washington were on Monday thrust back into the eye of the Jeffrey Epstein storm, as shocking emails with the late sex offender rocked political and royal circles.
  • While the former Duke of York and Epstein's friendship has been in the spotlight for years, the latest emails also appeared to reveal the extent of ties between Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Epstein.
Britain's former prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and a former UK ambassador to Washington were on Monday thrust back into the eye of the Jeffrey Epstein storm, as shocking emails with the late sex offender rocked political and royal circles.
The cache of documents included multiple emails between notable UK figures and Epstein, often revealing warm relations, illicit financial dealings and private photos.
The fallout continued on Monday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson saying Peter Mandelson, the UK's former ambassador to the United States, should be stripped of his membership of the House of Lords, Britain's upper chamber of parliament.
Government minister Darren Jones said Mandelson "must acccount for his actions and conduct".
Starmer has ordered an inquiry into Mandelson's contacts with Epstein, after allegations that he passed a confidential government memo to the disgraced financier.
Mandelson, 72, who was sacked as ambassador to the US last year over his ties to Epstein, also allegedly received several payments from Epstein in the early 2000s, according to documents.
One exchange appears to show Mandelson sending a sensitive economic briefing meant for then-prime minister Gordon Brown to Epstein in 2009, when he was Brown's business secretary.
Mandelson also appears in newly released, undated photographs, wearing a T‑shirt and underwear beside a woman whose face has been redacted.
The politician gave up his decades-long membership of the Labour Party on Sunday, while maintaining the allegations were "false".
Lawmaker Stephen Flynn, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) in parliament, said he had written to the commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police calling Mandelson to be investigated for potential misconduct in public office.
Meanwhile, calls grew for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor -- who was stripped of his royal titles last October -- to testify in front of the US Congress about Epstein's crimes, as another woman alleged she was trafficked to Britain for a sexual encounter with the then-prince.

'Just marry me'

The second sexual claim was allegedly made over a decade after Virginia Giuffre said she was trafficked by Epstein and sexually assaulted three times by Andrew, including when she was 17.
After Giuffre launched a lawsuit against Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein, the brother of King Charles III paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.
Charles has already stripped Andrew of all his titles and ordered that he quit Royal Lodge, his home of two decades on the Windsor estate west of London.
While the former Duke of York and Epstein's friendship has been in the spotlight for years, the latest emails also appeared to reveal the extent of ties between Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and Epstein.
"Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for," Ferguson, nicknamed "Fergie", wrote in an email dated August 2009 -- a year after Epstein was convicted for procuring a minor for prostitution.
"You are a legend," read a June 2010 email from "Sarah", although the email address is redacted as in the other exchanges.
"I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me."
Multiple exchanges appear to involve invitations and plans to meet, as well as discussions of Ferguson's money problems following her 1996 divorce from Andrew.
In one exchange about a possible meeting, Ferguson tells Epstein she was waiting for her younger daughter, Eugenie, to return from "a shagging weekend".
However, the relationship soured after "Fergie" apologised for her friendship and dealings with Epstein in a 2011 interview, saying she "abhorred paedophilia" and was cutting ties with him. 
She also called a £15,000 ($20,000) loan that she took from him to help pay off her debts a "gigantic error of judgement".

Uni drops US envoy's name

Queen's University in Northern Ireland on Monday said it was also dropping the former US senator George Mitchell's name from one of its institutes because of his links with Epstein.
Mitchell brokered the negotiations that in 1998 ended three decades of conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland, and was chancellor of the prestigious university from 1999-2009.
The latest tranche of documents includes 339 references to Mitchell, including several appointments and lunches.
Mitchell has previously said he regrets having met and known Epstein and said he had no knowledge of his illegal actions.
aks/har/jkb/ach 

history

Paying for a selfie: Rome starts charging for Trevi Fountain

BY ELLA IDE

  • The Pantheon -- a church and former Roman temple -- began charging visitors in 2023, and Venice last year introduced a tourist entry fee during peak periods. ide/phz
  • Italy's Trevi Fountain launched a new ticketing system Monday, making the famous Rome landmark the latest tourist site to charge entry in a bid to raise funds and battle overcrowding.
  • The Pantheon -- a church and former Roman temple -- began charging visitors in 2023, and Venice last year introduced a tourist entry fee during peak periods. ide/phz
Italy's Trevi Fountain launched a new ticketing system Monday, making the famous Rome landmark the latest tourist site to charge entry in a bid to raise funds and battle overcrowding.
People posed in the sunshine in front of the Baroque masterpiece after paying the two-euro ($1.68) fee to access the now largely crowd-free area next to the basin.
"Tell me it's not worth two euros! It's worth thousands if not millions, it's beautiful!" 41-year-old Polish tourist Agata Harezlak told AFP.
The backdrop to the most famous scene in Federico Fellini's film "La Dolce Vita", when actress Anita Ekberg takes a dip, is top of the list for many visitors exploring the Eternal City.
But in the past, crowds in the public square have been so dense that it has been hard to get a proper look.
Briton Phillip Willis, wearing shorts and T-shirt despite the cold, said he was pleased to get "a decent picture of myself without being bombarded by lots of other people".
It also felt good to spend money which would go to "preserving the fountain for many generations to come, hopefully", he said.
Most of the square is still open to the public and many people snapped pictures from there rather than paying for a closer look.
Ticket-holders can visit between 9:00 am and 10:00 pm, apart from Monday and Friday, when the area opens at 11:30 am.
City hall estimates the access ticket could bring in at least six million euros a year, Rome's council member for tourism Alessandro Onorato told journalists.
The earnings will go in part to pay for the 25 blue-vested stewards hired to staff the ticket office and usher people through the gated area at the top of the steps and down to the basin.
Funds raised would also permit free access for locals to a series of museums across the Italian capital, he said.

'Happy to pay'

Francois Tricot, a 35-year-old from Belgium, said he was "happy to pay" to have room to snap the perfect picture of his partner, who was flashing a brand new engagement ring.
The couple laughed as they then tossed coins into the water, which traditionally ensures their return one day to Rome.
Making a wish and tossing a coin into the 18th-century fountain is so popular that authorities collect thousands of euros a week to donate to the Caritas charity.
Italian Mattia Loconte, 12, who uses a wheelchair, said he hoped some of the funds would go to installing ramps.
Disabled people can access the basin for free -- if they can get down the steps.
Unlike the others on his class trip, Loconte said "I can't get... close up, or do the famous coin ritual".
Nearby, a group of giggling tourists who had not paid for a ticket took advantage of a steward looking the other way to throw their coins from a distance, cheering as they went in.
Not all were convinced by the fee.
Albanian tourist David Lyucia said it was "ok for tourists", but "it's not right for Italians to have to pay", while Argentine Vittoria Calabria said "it should be free" for all.
But Rome's tourism czar Onorato brushed off complaints, saying that "if the Trevi Fountain had been in New York, they would have asked for 100 euros, not two".
The Pantheon -- a church and former Roman temple -- began charging visitors in 2023, and Venice last year introduced a tourist entry fee during peak periods.
ide/phz

pope

Faced with Trump, Pope Leo opts for indirect diplomacy

BY CLéMENT MELKI

  • The pope is operating in a context that is "hyper-polarised, where the Church is also targeted through the populations it helps, like migrants or the Hispanic community", the source added.
  • Faced with a highly polarised US political landscape, Leo XIV, the first American pope, has opted for discreet and indirect criticism while also keeping channels of communication open.
  • The pope is operating in a context that is "hyper-polarised, where the Church is also targeted through the populations it helps, like migrants or the Hispanic community", the source added.
Faced with a highly polarised US political landscape, Leo XIV, the first American pope, has opted for discreet and indirect criticism while also keeping channels of communication open.
Since he was elected in May, the Chicago-born pontiff has taken a clear stand against some decisions by US President Donald Trump's administration.
He has denounced the "inhuman" treatment of migrants, urged dialogue in Venezuela and lamented a "diplomacy of force".
But, in recent weeks, Leo has favoured restraint.
He has made no reference to a possible US intervention in Iran, nor to Trump's designs on Greenland, nor to the volatile situation in Minneapolis after two protesters were shot by federal agents.
His weekly statements carefully avoid these subjects, while his Tuesday evening comments to the press outside his Castel Gandolfo country residence have become increasingly rare.
He briefly broke his silence on Sunday to voice "great concern" about rising tensions between Cuba and the United States, calling on all sides to "avoid violence".
"Leo is very cautious. He knows his voice is universal. As an American, he is somewhat the natural opponent of Trumpism," a Vatican source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"On the United States, he's walking on eggshells.
"He understands that the American Church is also targeted by ICE, people are afraid," the source said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency currently in the spotlight for its immigration crackdown.
The pope is operating in a context that is "hyper-polarised, where the Church is also targeted through the populations it helps, like migrants or the Hispanic community", the source added.

Bishops on the front line

But despite increasing concerns within the corridors of the Holy See at the Trump administration's actions, the pope prefers to rely on the American Catholic hierarchy rather than wade into the fray himself.
"I think he thinks the first response should come from the country's bishops themselves," Christopher White of Georgetown University in Washington and author of the book "Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy", told AFP.
Last week, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US bishops' conference, reacted forcefully to the "killing" of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, denouncing "failures in our society to respect the dignity of every human life".
Bishop Anthony Taylor (Little Rock, Arkansas) pointed to "obvious parallels" between the United States now and Nazi Germany, although he said that "Trump is no Hitler".
"We are doomed to repeat failures of the past if we are not willing to remember them and learn from them," he wrote.
The same approach applies on the international stage: in a joint statement, three leading cardinals -- Blase Cupich (Chicago), Robert McElroy (Washington) and Joseph Tobin (Newark) -- condemned America's interventionist drift, the erosion of the multilateral framework and the risks to world peace.
According to several Vatican sources, the text received Leo XIV's quiet approval.

'Reputation'

At the end of December, the Vatican Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, tried in vain to dissuade Washington from launching a military operation in Venezuela during a meeting with the US ambassador.
"The aim was to avoid a bloodbath and bring the actors back to reason," a senior Vatican source said.
Invited to Trump's new "Board of Peace" on Gaza, the Vatican is biding its time, saying it is "reflecting" on its response -- another sign of an increasingly deliberate caution.
Leo has yet to meet Trump, although he received Vice President JD Vance two weeks after his election in May 2025.
The challenge is to avoid exacerbating the divisions of an already split American Church and to prevent his words from being read through a partisan lens.
For the Vatican, the broader goal is "to prevent historians from writing in five, 10, or 20 years that the American Church was tied to Trumpism", said Italian historian Massimo Faggioli, a professor at Trinity College Dublin and author of the book "From God to Trump: Catholic Crisis and American Politics".
"The risk is a disintegration, even a collapse, of the reputation and historical role of the American Church," he said.
cmk/dt/ar/phz/mjw

music

Dalai Lama's 'gratitude' at first Grammy win

  • Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the 14th reincarnation of a spiritual leader first born in 1391.
  • Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Monday he was grateful for his first Grammy, after bagging the top music industry award for audio book, narration and storytelling.
  • Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the 14th reincarnation of a spiritual leader first born in 1391.
Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Monday he was grateful for his first Grammy, after bagging the top music industry award for audio book, narration and storytelling.
The charismatic 90-year-old, who lives in exile in India, is lauded worldwide for his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for his Tibetan homeland, which Beijing says is an integral part of China.
He was announced as the winner at the Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles for his book "Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama".
"I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility," he said on social media.
"I don't see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility."
In his maroon robes, simple sandals and wide-rimmed spectacles, the Dalai Lama is an unlikely global celebrity.
"I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings," he added.
"Meditation: Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama" features artists such as Rufus Wainwright, who accepted the award on behalf of the spiritual leader, and Maggie Rogers.
The Dalai Lama was just 23 when he fled the Tibetan capital Lhasa in fear for his life after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in 1959. He has never returned.
Beijing, which condemns the Dalai Lama as a rebel and separatist, opposed his Grammy win, calling his work "anti-China political manipulation".
"We firmly oppose relevant parties using art awards as a tool for anti-China political manipulation, and this position is consistent and clear," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press conference.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate insists he has many more years to live, but Tibetans are preparing for an inevitable future without him.
Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the 14th reincarnation of a spiritual leader first born in 1391.
Self-declared atheist and Communist China said last year that it must approve his eventual successor. The Dalai Lama says only his India-based office has that right.
ash/pjm/fox

ban

Snapchat blocks 415,000 underage accounts in Australia

  • As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 Snapchat accounts in Australia belonging to under-16s.
  • Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, but warned some youngsters may be bypassing age verification technology.
  • As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 Snapchat accounts in Australia belonging to under-16s.
Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, but warned some youngsters may be bypassing age verification technology.
The platform urged the Australian authorities to oblige app stores to check users' ages as an "additional safeguard" for the world-first crackdown.
Platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube must stop underage users from holding accounts under the legislation, which came into effect on December 10.
Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$34 million) if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.
Australia's eSafety online regulator reported last month that tech giants had already blocked 4.7 million accounts, delivering "significant outcomes".
As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 Snapchat accounts in Australia belonging to under-16s.
"We continue to lock more accounts daily," it said in an online statement.
But the law leaves "significant gaps", Snapchat said, arguing that age estimation technology was only accurate to within two to three years.
"In practice, this means some young people under 16 may be able to bypass protections, potentially leaving them with reduced safeguards, while others over 16 may incorrectly lose access."
Snapchat joined billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's Meta in calling on Australia to require app stores to check users' ages before allowing downloads.
"Creating a centralized verification system at the app-store level would allow for more consistent protection and higher barriers to circumventing the law," Snapchat said.
The platform said it did not believe an outright ban was the right approach.
Snapchat said it understood Australia's objectives and wanted to protect people online, but did not agree its platform should be covered by the social media ban.
"In the case of Snapchat -- which is primarily a messaging app used by young people to stay connected with close friends and family -- we do not believe that cutting teens off from these relationships makes them safer, happier, or otherwise better off," it said.
djw/fox

Italy

Olympic Games in northern Italy have German twist

BY JULIETTE RABAT

  • As well as the official languages of English and French, and the host language Italian, the Olympic Games is adding German to some of the material published for the 2026 events.
  • Biathlon fans brush up your Italian -- but also your German, for the events this Winter Olympics will be in South Tyrol in Italy, an autonomous province bordering Austria and Switzerland.
  • As well as the official languages of English and French, and the host language Italian, the Olympic Games is adding German to some of the material published for the 2026 events.
Biathlon fans brush up your Italian -- but also your German, for the events this Winter Olympics will be in South Tyrol in Italy, an autonomous province bordering Austria and Switzerland.
The valley of Anterselva, with its snow-capped peaks and verdant pastures, is the most northern of the seven venues for the Games, which run in Italy from February 6 to 22.
The province is known in Italian as Alto Adige, but in English as Bolzano-South Tyrol, and nearly 70 percent of locals speak German, one of three official languages along with Italian and Ladin, a local language spoken in the Dolomites.
The birthplace of tennis great Jannik Sinner, the province enjoys considerable administrative, legislative and fiscal autonomy from Rome and remains deeply committed to upholding its multiculturalism.
The province's president Arno Kompatscher told AFP that place names were bilingual out of "respect for people's sensitivities" in an area with a turbulent history.
In light of that, the province pushed for -- and won -- "an exemption from the International Olympic Committee... because their nomenclature only included one name," Kompatscher said.
As well as the official languages of English and French, and the host language Italian, the Olympic Games is adding German to some of the material published for the 2026 events.
It is the first time organisers have dealt with a host venue that has bilingual place names.

Forced assimilation

The region once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire but was ceded to Italy as part of a First World War settlement.
A policy of brutal assimilation followed, implemented from the 1920s onward by the Fascist regime, which encouraged immigration from other Italian regions to South Tyrol and attempted to impose the use of Italian.
The struggle of German-speaking activists for reunification with Austria culminated in bombings targeting Italian infrastructure in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bolzano and neighbouring province Trento were granted the status of autonomous areas in 1972, and in South Tyrol multiculturalism is protected by law.
The Milan-Cortina organising committee confirmed that "on signs and maps, the towns and villages of South Tyrol have been indicated with their official bilingual names" in Italian and German.
"Materials intended primarily for local communities" have also been produced in two languages, including a guide for volunteers, it told AFP.

'Little Europe'

South Tyrol's designation as autonomous ushered in "remarkable economic and cultural development" as well as "a form of self-governance found in few other Italian provinces", tourism historian Hans Heiss told AFP.
Posters reading "Grüß Gott in Tirol" ("Welcome to Tyrol" in German) have been put up at some bus stops by the South Tyrolean Shooting Federation, in collaboration with the South Tyrolean Patriotic League.
"The goal is to draw attention to a historical reality that many are unaware of," Christoph Schmid, the federation's provincial head, told the local press.
On the posters, a QR code links to a page that recounts the history of the region and deplores the "persistent injustice" of the province having been annexed to Italy, without asking the locals their opinion.
South Tyrol's folklore will also be celebrated during the Games.
For the biathlon events in Anterselva, expected to attract many German-speaking tourists, there will "always be people in traditional Austrian costumes," the province's president Kompatscher said.
In Bolzano's central square on Tuesday evening, dozens of musicians in traditional black jackets, round hats for the men, and long skirts for the women, welcomed the arrival of the Olympic flame.
"We want to be a little Europe within Europe, taking up the European slogan of unity in diversity," said President Kompatscher. 
That which "perfectly matches the Olympic spirit," Kompatscher said.
jra/ide/ams/phz

housing

Afghan returnees in Bamiyan struggle despite new homes

BY ISABELLE WESSELINGH

  • The Rahesh family is among 30 to be given a 50-square-metre (540-square-foot) home in Bamiyan, with each household in the nascent community participating in the construction and being paid by UNHCR for their work. 
  • Sitting in his modest home beneath snow-dusted hills in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, Nimatullah Rahesh expressed relief to have found somewhere to "live peacefully" after months of uncertainty.
  • The Rahesh family is among 30 to be given a 50-square-metre (540-square-foot) home in Bamiyan, with each household in the nascent community participating in the construction and being paid by UNHCR for their work. 
Sitting in his modest home beneath snow-dusted hills in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, Nimatullah Rahesh expressed relief to have found somewhere to "live peacefully" after months of uncertainty.
Rahesh is one of millions of Afghans pushed out of Iran and Pakistan, but despite being given a brand new home in his native country, he and many of his recently returned compatriots are lacking even basic services. 
"We no longer have the end-of-month stress about the rent," he told AFP after getting his house, which was financed by the UN refugee agency on land provided by the Taliban authorities.
Originally from a poor and mountainous district of Bamiyan, Rahesh worked for five years in construction in Iran, where his wife Marzia was a seamstress.
"The Iranians forced us to leave" in 2024 by "refusing to admit our son to school and asking us to pay an impossible sum to extend our documents," he said.
More than five million Afghans have returned home since September 2023, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as neighbouring Iran and Pakistan stepped up deportations. 
The Rahesh family is among 30 to be given a 50-square-metre (540-square-foot) home in Bamiyan, with each household in the nascent community participating in the construction and being paid by UNHCR for their work. 
The families, most of whom had lived in Iran, own the building and the land. 
"That was crucial for us, because property rights give these people security," said the UNHCR's Amaia Lezertua.

Waiting for water

Despite the homes lacking running water and being far from shops, schools or hospitals, new resident Arefa Ibrahimi said she was happy "because this house is mine, even if all the basic facilities aren't there". 
Ibrahimi, whose four children huddled around the stove in her spartan living room, is one of 10 single mothers living in the new community. 
The 45-year-old said she feared ending up on the street after her husband left her. 
She showed AFP journalists her two just-finished rooms and an empty hallway with a counter intended to serve as a kitchen. 
"But there's no bathroom," she said. These new houses have only basic outdoor toilets, too small to add even a simple shower. 
Ajay Singh, the UNHCR project manager, said the home design came from the local authorities, and families could build a bathroom themselves. 
There is currently no piped water nor wells in the area, which is dubbed "the dry slope" (Jar-e-Khushk). 
Ten litres of drinking water bought when a tanker truck passes every three days costs more than in the capital Kabul, residents told AFP. 
Fazil Omar Rahmani, the provincial head of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs, said there were plans to expand the water supply network. 
"But for now these families must secure their own supply," he told AFP. 

Two hours on foot

The plots allocated by the government for the new neighbourhood lie far from Bamiyan city, which is home to more than 70,000 people.
The city grabbed international attention in 2001, when the Sunni Pashtun Taliban authorities destroyed two large Buddha statues cherished by the predominantly Shia Hazara community in the region.
Since the Taliban government came back to power in 2021, around 7,000 Afghans have returned to Bamiyan according to Rahmani.
The new project provides housing for 174 of them. At its inauguration, resident Rahesh stood before his new neighbours and addressed their supporters.
"Thank you for the homes, we are grateful, but please don't forget us for water, a school, clinics, the mobile network," which is currently nonexistent, he said.
Rahmani, the ministry official, insisted there were plans to build schools and clinics.
"There is a direct order from our supreme leader," Hibatullah Akhundzada, he said, without specifying when these projects will start.
In the meantime, to get to work at the market, Rahesh must walk for two hours along a rutted dirt road between barren mountains before he can catch a ride.
Only 11 percent of adults found full-time work after returning to Afghanistan, according to an IOM survey.
Ibrahimi, meanwhile, is contending with a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) walk to the nearest school when the winter break ends.
"I will have to wake my children very early, in the cold. I am worried," she said. 
iw/ash/rsc/fox/cms/lb

gold

Chinese cash in jewellery at automated gold recyclers as prices soar

BY JING XUAN TENG

  • "Gold prices hold steady at a historic high, it's the right time to sell gold," an ad on the machine advised customers.
  • Dozens of people crowded around an automated gold recycling machine at a Shanghai mall, hoping to melt down family heirlooms for cash as prices of the precious metal hit record highs.
  • "Gold prices hold steady at a historic high, it's the right time to sell gold," an ad on the machine advised customers.
Dozens of people crowded around an automated gold recycling machine at a Shanghai mall, hoping to melt down family heirlooms for cash as prices of the precious metal hit record highs.
China is the world's largest consumer of gold, which is traditionally purchased by families to mark special occasions like births and weddings.
But as prices soared to a fresh high near $5,600 on Thursday, customers surrounding the bright yellow machine installed by gold trading firm Kinghood Group were looking to sell.
"I never thought prices would rise so dramatically," said 54-year-old Wu, who told AFP she wanted to sell panda-themed gold coins she had purchased after the birth of her daughter in 2002.
She said she had previously sold the machine a ring inherited from her late father, which fetched around 10,000 yuan ($1,400) -- a huge increase from the original 1,000 yuan her mother had paid for the ring decades ago.
"Gold prices hold steady at a historic high, it's the right time to sell gold," an ad on the machine advised customers.
An embedded screen displayed the Shanghai Gold Exchange's fluctuating prices, while a live video feed showed a robotic arm moving gold scraps onto a scale and under a device that used light waves to measure its purity.
Some people told AFP they had waited over an hour for their turn.
An attendant kept track of each seller's position in the queue, and helped to deposit ornate pendants, hammered rings and commemorative coins into an opening in the device.
Wu said her elderly mother was especially excited about soaring gold prices, and saw the recycling machine as a chance to supplement her modest pension.
"Everyone is suddenly talking about (gold), and it has sparked this emotion in her," Wu told AFP.

Old gold

Zhao, a woman sporting an intricately carved gold medallion on a necklace of jade beads and shimmering bangles on her wrist, brought her late grandfather's ring to the recycling machine.
The ring's surface was adorned with the Chinese character for "luck" and tiny images of traditional gold ingots.
She said she believed her grandfather had purchased the ring sometime between the 1950s and the 1980s, and that her mother had handed it down to her this year.
"If the price is good, I will sell it," she told AFP as she waited for her turn.
Minutes after Zhao deposited the ring into the machine, a message popped up on its screen that said Kinghood would buy the chunk of high-karat gold for over 12,000 yuan.
Satisfied, Zhao clicked "agree" on the terms displayed onscreen and keyed in her full name, ID number and bank account details, while her grandfather's ring was melted down into a smooth puddle on the live video feed.
The attendant promised she would receive the full amount via bank transfer by the end of the day.
"Other places test the gold by burning it slightly, but here they test it directly and it's open and transparent," Zhao said, explaining that she trusted the automated recycler over a traditional human buyer.
In addition to a steady stream of sellers, the machine also drew the attention of bystanders who gawked at the large sums of money changing hands at the unassuming corner of the mall.
"Damn!" said a passerby when she saw that one person was selling their old jewellery for more than 75,000 yuan.
And onlookers crowded around an elderly couple as the machine calculated that their finger-sized gold bar could fetch over 122,000 yuan.
tjx/reb/ami

royal

Ex-prince Andrew again caught up in Epstein scandal

BY JOE JACKSON

  • Asked Saturday whether Andrew should testify in the US Congress as repeatedly demanded, Starmer said "yes" as he wrapped up an official visit to China and Japan.
  • As Britain's former prince Andrew was again caught up in the Epstein scandal, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the disgraced royal should testify in the US about the late American sex offender's crimes.
  • Asked Saturday whether Andrew should testify in the US Congress as repeatedly demanded, Starmer said "yes" as he wrapped up an official visit to China and Japan.
As Britain's former prince Andrew was again caught up in the Epstein scandal, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the disgraced royal should testify in the US about the late American sex offender's crimes.
King Charles III's brother is under renewed pressure to answer US lawmakers' questions in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein after the US Justice Department released the latest batch of files on the case Friday.
It included embarrassing photographs of Andrew and emails between him and Epstein from 2010, two years after the financier had pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution. 
The undated photos of the then-prince show him kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the floor.
The emails feature Epstein proposing Andrew have dinner with a "beautiful, trustworthy" 26-year-old Russian woman. 
Asked Saturday whether Andrew should testify in the US Congress as repeatedly demanded, Starmer said "yes" as he wrapped up an official visit to China and Japan.
"I've always said anybody that [has] got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that," the British leader told reporters.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor -- as the former Duke of York is now known -- has long been dogged by his links to Epstein, who committed suicide in jail in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

Windsor exit

The 65-year-old son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, stepped back from royal duties that same year over their ties. 
Then last October, Charles stripped Andrew of his royal titles and honours after the late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre recounted shocking claims against him in a posthumous memoir.
Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen who took her own life last year, has alleged she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17.
After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.
The latest disclosures in Washington come as Andrew is reportedly set to leave his 30-room mansion on the royal estate at Windsor after Charles ousted him, and are likely to fuel further criticism.
He was pictured Saturday driving on the grounds of the estate, west of London, according to UK media.
One of the newly released undated pictures of Andrew and the unidentified female, both of them clothed, appears to show him touching her abdomen. In another he stares, crouching over her, directly into the camera.
No context is provided for the images and it is unclear where and when they were taken.

'Private time'

Meanwhile, in the August 2010 emails, Epstein told Andrew -- addressed as "The Duke" -- that he had "a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with" in London later that month.
In the exchanges, Epstein said the woman was "26, Russian, clevere [clever] beautiful, trustworthy", noting that he had given her the prince's email.
Andrew eventually replied he "would be delighted to see her". It is unclear if such a meeting took place.
Weeks later, he and Epstein also discussed having dinner at Buckingham Palace after the American contacted Andrew while in London saying they needed to have some "private time".
Andrew replied they could "have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy", later adding "come with whomever".
In a 2019 BBC interview, Andrew claimed he had cut ties with Epstein after December 2010, but court documents revealed later showed he continued to communicate with him.
Other documents made public last year and Giuffre's memoir have reignited UK anger over their ties and the claims against Andrew.
US lawmakers and investigators have for years repeatedly requested he face questions about his Epstein association.
Last November, 16 Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a "transcribed interview" with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein.
But Andrew has given no public indication in recent years that he would be willing to do so.
bur-jj/jj/gv

conflict

Ukraine hit by mass power outages after 'technical malfunction'

  • Shmygal said on Telegram that a "technical malfunction" caused "a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine" had caused the shutdown.
  • Ukraine's power grid experienced mass outages for several hours on Saturday after a "technical malfunction" caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine to fail, Ukraine's energy minister said.
  • Shmygal said on Telegram that a "technical malfunction" caused "a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine" had caused the shutdown.
Ukraine's power grid experienced mass outages for several hours on Saturday after a "technical malfunction" caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine to fail, Ukraine's energy minister said.
By Saturday evening, the power companies had restored power to all regions of Kyiv, said Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmygal.
Kyiv's metro system had completely suspended operations during the power cut, paralysing transport for thousands. The emergency services helped evacuate almost 500 passengers stranded in the network when the power went down.
It was the first time that has happened since the 2022 start of the war with Russia. The network resumed operations after several hours.
Shmygal said on Telegram that a "technical malfunction" caused "a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania and Moldova and the 750-kilovolt line between western and central Ukraine" had caused the shutdown.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident an "emergency". In his evening address he said: "The causes are being investigated in detail."
But he added: "As of now, there is no evidence of external interference or cyberattacks. More data indicates that weather conditions caused the lines to freeze, resulting in automatic shutdowns."

Chernobyl 'precarious': IAEA

Most of the Moldovan capital Chisinau was temporarily without power, though it was largely back on line by 3:40 pm, according to the Moldovan energy ministry. Moldova produces its own power but also imports some, mainly from Romania, as well as Ukraine.
The site of Ukraine's former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which still requires electricity, particularly to keep its cooling and control systems operating, experienced a brief power outage, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported.
"No direct impact on nuclear safety expected, but overall situation remains precarious," the IAEA posted on X.
The incident piles further pressure on Ukraine's energy grid, which was already in a fragile state due to weeks of intense Russian bombardment.
Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure throughout its nearly four-year invasion but Kyiv says this winter has been the toughest yet, with attacks cutting power and heating to millions during sub-zero temperatures.
The Kremlin, which has bombarded Ukraine's energy grid for weeks, said on Friday it was refraining from attacks on Kyiv until Sunday following an appeal from US President Donald Trump.
Around 800,000 passengers use the Kyiv metro system daily, according to data published last year.
Residents also use its 52 stations as bomb shelters during Russian attacks.
bur-jj/gv

drugs

'It wasn't working': Canada province ends drug decriminalization

BY NAV RAHI WITH BEN SIMON IN TORONTO

  • But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
  • Over 35 years as a drug user, Vancouver resident Garth Mullins said he's had "hundreds and hundreds" of interactions with police, and long believed drug decriminalization was smart policy.
  • But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
Over 35 years as a drug user, Vancouver resident Garth Mullins said he's had "hundreds and hundreds" of interactions with police, and long believed drug decriminalization was smart policy.
"I was first arrested for drug possession when I was 19, and it changes your life," said Mullins, who is now in his 50s and was an early backer of Canadian province British Columbia's decriminalization program that ended on Saturday.
"That time served inside can add up for a lot of people. They do a lifetime jolt in a series of three‑month bits," he told AFP.
BC's three-year experiment with drug decriminalization, which launched in 2023 and shielded people from arrest for possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, was groundbreaking for Canada.
Many praised it as a bold effort to ensure the intensifying addiction crisis devastating communities across the country was treated as a healthcare challenge, not a criminal justice issue.
But on January 14, BC's Health Minister Josie Osborne announced the province would not be extending the program.
"The intention was clear: to make it easier for people struggling with addiction to reach out for help without fear of being criminalized," Osborne said.
The program "has not delivered the results we hoped for," she told reporters.
For Mullins, the province's desired results were never realistic.
The former heroin user, who currently takes methadone, is an activist and broadcaster who co‑founded the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), which advised BC's government on decriminalization.
At VANDU's office in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, home to many drug users, the walls are full of pictures honoring those who have died from overdose.
"The idea behind decriminalization was one simple thing: to stop all of us from going to jail again and again and again," he said.
Breaking the cycle of arrests is crucial because criminal records make it more difficult to find work and housing, often perpetuating addiction, experts say.
But thinking decriminalization could help steer waves of users into rehab was misguided, and misinforming the public about the possible outcomes of the policy risked a backlash, Mullins said.
"For everybody out there, in society, sending fewer junkies to jail might not sound like a good thing to do."

Plan not 'sufficient'

After the province announced the program's expiration, Canadian media was filled with critics who said it had been mishandled.
Vancouver police chief Steven Rai said his force had been willing to support the plan, but "it quickly became evident that it just wasn't working."
Decriminalization "was not matched with sufficient investments in prevention, drug education, access to treatment, or support for appropriate enforcement," he added.
Cheryl Forchuk, a mental health professor at Western University who has worked on addiction for five decades, said BC "never really fully implemented" decriminalization because the essential complementary programs -- especially affordable housing supply -- were never ramped up.
"It was like they wanted to do something, but then really didn't put the effort into it and then said, gee, it didn't work," she told AFP.

Public safety

BC's experience mirrors that in the US state of Oregon, which rolled back its pioneering drug decriminalization program in 2024 after a four-year trial.
Like in Oregon, BC's program faced fierce criticism, with many saying public safety was threatened by a tolerance of open use.
A flashpoint moment in the western Canadian province was a 2024 incident where a person was filmed smoking what appeared to be a narcotic inside a Tim Hortons, the popular coffee shop chain frequented by families across the country.
Local politicians in Maple Ridge, BC, attributed the incident to a permissiveness about drugs ushered in by decriminalization.
But for Mullins, the incident spoke to broader misconceptions about the intent of the policy.
Decriminalization did not allow for drug use inside a restaurant, and the person could have been arrested.
Drug user advocates, he added, don't want policy that makes the broader public feel threatened.
"We need something where everybody feels safe, right? If people who are walking with their kids don't feel safe, that's a problem for me," he said.
But, he added, security also matters to users for whom "the world feels very scary and unsafe."
bs/bgs

disinformation

Social media fuels surge in UK men seeking testosterone jabs

BY ANNA MALPAS

  • Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP.  Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
  • Social media claims by clinics promoting testosterone treatment for men to improve their physique and mood are driving large numbers to pay for unnecessary medication that can have serious side effects, doctors say.
  • Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP.  Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
Social media claims by clinics promoting testosterone treatment for men to improve their physique and mood are driving large numbers to pay for unnecessary medication that can have serious side effects, doctors say.
Men's hormone levels can fluctuate for lifestyle reasons but many are being prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) without medical need despite the health risks, doctors in the UK and Australia told AFP. 
Promotional campaigns by private clinics use social media and influencers, as well as an ad campaign in the London Underground, to encourage young body-conscious men to test their levels, claiming fatigue or irritation are symptoms. 
"Do you wish you could have more energy? Less body fat? A higher sex drive?" asks one ad.
Costly treatments could be the answer.
The trend is now affecting the state-funded National Health Service, since many seek free treatment there.
The number of men referred to NHS specialists after being diagnosed privately "has really exploded", said Channa Jayasena, a professor of endocrinology at Imperial College.
"It's a huge problem for us, which is impacting our ability to treat other patients."
TRT is needed by those with true deficiency, known as hypogonadism, including men who never went through puberty or had testicular cancer. 
But some clinics prescribe it to men with normal levels and risking side-effects including infertility and thickened blood that carries cardiovascular risks, doctors warn.
While private clinics are not obliged to disclose numbers, Jayasena estimated "hundreds of thousands" of men in the UK have accessed costly TRT privately. 
And most "just don't need it at all", he said.

Manosphere

Isobelle Smith, an endocrinologist in New South Wales, Australia, has made Instagram videos debunking TRT claims.
"I've seen the advertising that up to one in four or one in five men before the age of 40 have testosterone deficiency -- that is just absolutely not true," she told AFP.
"These companies are saying that essentially normal levels are low," she said.
"Really, it's performance-enhancing drugs."
Some link the TRT craze to the "manosphere" culture with its fixation on bulging muscles and longevity.
Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate claims to have "high T" and berates men with "low T". US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently extolled President Donald Trump's high levels.
Data on private clinics is not available, but prescriptions for testosterone by family doctors rose 13 percent in 2024 in England, according to the Care Quality Commission regulator.
The NHS in England spent over £30 million ($40.1 million) in 2024 on testosterone jabs and gels, according to the OpenPrescribing website. Some were used for gender change and women's health.
Studies in the United States and Europe have shown testosterone levels declining for decades, which scientists link to lifestyle and environmental factors.
Despite the scepticism from medical professionals, men told AFP they had felt the positive effects of TRT.
Gavin McNamee, a 41-year-old personal trainer from northeast England, said he had had poor mental health and low energy. But after five months of treatment, he said: "I just feel so much better".
"I feel like a different person," agreed Carl Graham, a 38-year-old legal administrator from Liverpool on TRT for over six months.
Neither man consulted NHS doctors, and both inject testosterone prescribed privately, paying £100 to £200 a month.

'Take a test'

Heavily-muscled influencers promote clinics offering TRT via gels, pills or injections.
Jayasena said images of "men with six-packs even in their 50s and 60s", such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had great sway.
Advertising testosterone, like any prescription-only medicine, is illegal in the UK. 
But private clinics circumvent this by advertising blood tests.
"Feeling tired, unfocused, or taking longer to recover after workouts? It could be time to check your testosterone levels," reads one ad for Harley Street TRT provider.
"If you don't feel like you're firing on all cylinders, take a test," ex-commando and television personality Jason Fox says in a video promoted by online provider Voy.
The ads appear to target young men, and Harley Street TRT has a "25 plus" setting on its Meta ads, offering personal trainers £50 per referral. 
Each patient generates an "average £1,500 ($2,000) profit per year," it says.
am/jkb/phz

technology

Artist chains up thrashing robot dog to expose AI fears

BY KATIE FORSTER

  • Like the metal leash, "we are protected by an unreliable, thin chain of ethics.
  • The agile robot dog springs up on all fours, takes a step forward and charges at the tense crowd at a Tokyo exhibit, held back by a simple yet strong metal chain.
  • Like the metal leash, "we are protected by an unreliable, thin chain of ethics.
The agile robot dog springs up on all fours, takes a step forward and charges at the tense crowd at a Tokyo exhibit, held back by a simple yet strong metal chain.
The silver mechanical creature then starts thrashing around violently, to gasps and exclamations from spectators at the installation, designed to probe humanity's relationship with increasingly realistic machines.
The Japanese media artist behind it told AFP he hoped the audience would consider the dangers posed by artificial intelligence but also feel "pity" for the struggling robot.
"Our future is going to be stressful, because people treat robots as objects, but we feel empathetic stress with these movements and reactions," said Takayuki Todo, 40.
Global tech giants are investing vast sums into humanoid and other lifelike robots, with grand plans for factory automation, home help and other futuristic "physical AI" services.
But so far actual use cases remain scarce and fully automated robots are still a rare sight, with most impressive displays -- including Todo's -- relying on remote operators to control the robot's movements.
For the artist, the point of the three-day installation at the Tokyo Prototype festival is to provoke thought.
Like the metal leash, "we are protected by an unreliable, thin chain of ethics. And if it's cut off, we will be killed by this technology," said Todo.

'Robot abuser'

For his installation, titled "Dynamics of a Dog on a Leash" and first shown last year, Todo purchased three robot canines made by Chinese startup Unitree, costing thousands of dollars each.
One is already broken and repairs are needed for another, as the dogs often get tangled in the chain and end up crashing onto the floor.
Todo, who said he had been attacked online "as a robot abuser", visited Unitree in China last year to excuse himself for the unconventional treatment of their device.
The short hourly display, on show through Saturday in a business district skyscraper, is drawing large crowds, with many spectators including children curious to see a robot of this kind for the first time.
"It gave me the chills," said 34-year-old student and food service worker Kimie Furuta.
"Imagining it actually attacking like that... it could be terrifying to face."
On the brighter side, robots and AI could one day help ease staff shortages, including in the catering sector, she said.
Anatol Ward, a Tokyo resident in his 50s, said the robot reminded him of a guard dog.
"In some sense it was scary. But also it was fascinating -- like, what the robot was capable of."
Todo said that "of course" he was afraid of military uses for such robots, but noted it is not just a future concern.
"Robots and drones are killing soldiers in Ukraine or Palestine," he said.
"We feel it's a distant place, but as an artist we have to imagine it's in front of us."
kaf/ami

gold

Heavy metal: soaring gold price a crushing weight in Vietnam

BY TRAN THI MINH HA

  • "This crazy high cost for gold worries me sick," Thang said.
  • From his newly built three-storey home outside Hanoi, Trinh Tat Thang has watched the surging global gold price with mounting dread.
  • "This crazy high cost for gold worries me sick," Thang said.
From his newly built three-storey home outside Hanoi, Trinh Tat Thang has watched the surging global gold price with mounting dread.
The Vietnamese have a long tradition of holding their wealth in gold, and a parallel practice of borrowing the asset from relatives to build homes, rather than cash from a bank.
But the debt must be repaid in gold.
Family members loaned Thang four glittering one-luong bars -- a standard Vietnamese unit equivalent to 1.2 troy ounces -- to break ground on his house in 2022.
At the time, they were worth around $10,000 on the local market. Prices have nearly tripled since then and he now owes the equivalent of more than $29,000.
"I truly don't know when and how I can settle the debts," said the 44-year-old, who earns less than $700 a month from his job in pharmaceutical marketing.
"This crazy high cost for gold worries me sick," Thang said.
The extraordinary run-up in gold prices -- which topped $5,000 an ounce for the first time on Sunday -- has brought unexpected windfalls to millions of Vietnamese holding hallmarked bars and rings seen as symbols of luck.
But it has also touched off a wave of speculation, made traditional wedding gifts unaffordable for many, and all but ended the informal gold mortgage system.
"There probably aren't many people left in this country who would borrow gold these days," said Thang.
"I have a good house, but also a huge debt on my shoulders. It wasn't worth it."

 'Suddenly rich'

Despite a recent boom in real estate and cryptocurrency investment, many Vietnamese families still see physical gold as the safest place to park their savings.
Gold bars, rings and necklaces can be handed down to the next generation as wedding gifts or inheritance bequests. They also offer a hedge against inflation.
Vietnamese savers have socked away around 400 tonnes of the precious metal at home, according to government auditors.
Among them is 74-year-old Tran Thi Lan, who has amassed a treasure trove of gold rings, bracelets and bars over decades.
She has given much of it away to her children and grandchildren, but keeps the rest hidden away in her wardrobes "for future needs".
"I have suddenly become very rich. I am a billionaire now," said the retired shop owner, counting in Vietnamese dong.
"My kids always made fun of me for my obsession with gold. But now they admit that my traditional saving style was efficient."
- 'Queuing for gold' –
Vietnam does not have a national gold exchange, and domestic banks do not offer individuals access to online trading platforms for precious metals.
Bars and rings trade at a premium to the world price at gold and jewellery shops across the country, where bullion emblazoned with dragons is sold alongside ornate goldware inlaid with pearls and rubies.
Demand has soared along with the market price, and eager buyers queue up every day for the chance to buy what they hope will be an appreciating asset.
Many jewellers in the Vietnamese capital say they regularly run out of stock, and some buyers are willing to pay cash now for gold that will not be delivered for weeks.
For the last year, office worker Huong has taken half a day off every month to stand in line to buy gold on Hanoi's Tran Nhan Tong street.
"My efforts have paid off," she said, adding she would "earn quite an amount" if she sold her holdings now.
Still, she wishes she had heeded earlier the advice of her mother and grandmother who "always reminded me that gold is the safest haven".
But for the many not looking to cash in on the gold rally, the run-up has turned traditional rites such as weddings into financial hardships.
When her best friend got married seven years ago, Tran Tu Linh gave her a gold ring weighing just over 0.1 ounces.
But the 29-year-old would not expect her friend to return the favour if she were to marry now, saying the cost would be a "burden".
She added: "Life will be easier without being obsessed with the gold price."
tmh/tym/slb/abs/mjw

music

Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga face off at Grammys

BY PAULA RAMON

  • A win on Sunday would give Bad Bunny another mention in the history books.
  • Superstars Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga are primed to make history on Sunday in Los Angeles at the 68th Grammy Awards, honoring the best in music.
  • A win on Sunday would give Bad Bunny another mention in the history books.
Superstars Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga are primed to make history on Sunday in Los Angeles at the 68th Grammy Awards, honoring the best in music.
All three are angling to add to their trophy cabinets by taking home the gala's most coveted award, Album of the Year, for the first time.
Lamar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper who won five gramophones last year, has nine nominations this time around -- the most of any artist -- including for Record and Song of the year.
Pop chameleon Lady Gaga and Puerto Rico's Bad Bunny also are competing in all three categories.
Also nominated for the top album prize are: pop princess Sabrina Carpenter; R&B singer-songwriter Leon Thomas; Tyler, the Creator; hip-hop duo Clipse (Pusha T and Malice); and pop superstar Justin Bieber -- with his first studio effort in four years.
Lamar is nominated this year for his album "GNX," which includes the single "Luther" featuring R&B artist SZA. The 38-year-old has won 22 Grammys during his career.
Lady Gaga, Bieber and Carpenter are set to perform, with more acts expected to be confirmed before Sunday.

Bad Bunny's hot streak

Standing in Lamar's way for Album of the Year is Bad Bunny, who is currently on a world tour in support of his album "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos" (I Should Have Taken More Photos).
"It was a very exciting album," musicologist Lauron Kehrer told AFP.
"It touched on so much in terms of thematic material and musical material," Kehrer said, pointing to the allusions to decolonization and use of traditional Puerto Rican rhythms.
The 31-year-old Latin megastar, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, will headline the Super Bowl halftime show a week after the Grammys, where he is up for six awards.
Last year, he completed a three-month residency in his native Puerto Rico and hosted the season opener of "Saturday Night Live."
His "Un verano sin ti" (2022) was the first Spanish-language album nominated for Album of the Year honors. A win on Sunday would give Bad Bunny another mention in the history books.
Lady Gaga, 39, made a splashy comeback to touring with "Mayhem," her collection of pop bangers with a dark edge that embraces her dramatic side. She has seven nominations.
She has 14 Grammys to her name, but a win for Album of the Year would complete her hat trick of top awards. 
She took Record and Song of the Year honors seven years ago for the soundtrack hit "Shallow," from "A Star is Born" -- which also earned her an Oscar.
This time around, Song of the Year -- which honors songwriting -- is a crowded category that includes Carpenter's "Manchild" and "Golden" from the Netflix animated smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters."
Many pundits believe the energetic K-pop hit will triumph.
Up for best new artist are Alex Warren, girl group Katseye, Britain's Olivia Dean, TikTok dancer-turned-singer Addison Rae, The Marias, sombr, Lola Young and Thomas -- who was already a Grammy winner two years ago for producing a song by SZA.

'Reactionary'

For musicologist Kehrer, the infusion of rap, reggaeton and K-pop in the top Grammy categories reflects changes in the composition of the Recording Academy's voting group.
More than 3,800 new members have been admitted. Half of those new members are age 39 or younger, and 58 percent of them are people of color, the academy says.
Invitations were also offered to all members of the Latin Recording Academy.
"The Grammys are more reactionary than anything else," said Kehrer.
"These artists winning those major awards is more of an indication of climate, rather than trying to move or change the climate."
The Grammy Awards will once again be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah. 
The main broadcast begins at 5:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday), but many of the 95 awards will be handed out at a pre-gala event.
pr/sst/ksb

immigration

Minnesota Somalis organize house call care amid ICE raid fears

BY GREGORY WALTON

  • "I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
  • Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.
  • "I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.
The paranoia and fear fomented by the sweeping immigration crackdown in the Midwestern state has led many migrants -- both those with legal status and those without -- to shelter at home, campaigners say.
Members of migrant communities have avoided medical treatment, been unable to purchase essentials, lost jobs and even taken their children out of school to avoid venturing outside where they are more vulnerable to immigration checks.
Hafsa, a mental health student, was spurred to act after an acquaintance delayed seeking medical help for their child, meaning the youth's condition deteriorated by the time they sought help. 
"I got a call from a mom that that's a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit," said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.
Somalis have been at the forefront of Donald Trump's aggressive anti-immigrant campaign, with the US president branding the community "garbage," questioning its intelligence and calling for deportations to intensify.
Immigration officers have been seen at hospitals and clinics, waiting for patients and questioning them about their legal status, according to a recent article in the American Journal of Managed Care.
That has led to a surge in "healthcare avoidance" in the Somali and Hispanic communities, it reported.
Beyond connecting people in St. Paul, which along with Minneapolis makes up the Twin Cities, to health care workers willing to make house calls, the volunteers also devote resources to vetting the medical staff themselves.
"It is a lot of work because you want to make sure that whoever you're sending to that person's house is somebody who doesn't have any ill intentions. So you're making a lot of calls," said Hafsa, 25.
Care is taken to ensure the travelling health workers are not followed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they drive to migrants' homes.
The small, informal team of volunteers spends upwards of 12 hours daily answering calls, matching community members to care, and onboarding the professionals.
"You get their skills, and then... there might be an intake form where they can list all that and their availability," said volunteer Cass, 43, a compliance officer in health care. 
"It's project management 101," she added.

'Word of mouth'

Beyond the slick, computerized tools, the volunteers rely on community contacts to raise awareness and receive referrals.
"It's just word of mouth," said Musab, 34, an entrepreneur. 
He pointed to one of the women supporting the service and said she was "locked in with every single community member."
"We're a very collective community, so we know about each other's statuses. So somebody would just call and say 'Hey, this person is sick or whatever'."
Hafsa likened the community response in the face of the unprecedented immigration crackdown to giving first aid to a wounded patient.
"We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds," she said.
After receiving an urgent call, Musab rose and put on his heavy down coat to fend off the bitterly cold conditions.
"This brother actually works with people in recovery... So I think one of the kids might be sick, so I'm about to just go see kind of what I can help them out with and what they need," he said heading out.
The volunteers' staging space, an events center in St. Paul, has been volunteered by a Somali businesswoman who made sweetened tea for the team.
A room set aside for brides-to-be has been converted into a storeroom for the medical supplies and cold weather gear being donated from across the United States.
Hafsa said the well-wishes that have accompanied the donations arriving in Amazon packages were helping to keep her going.
"I cry from gratitude," she said.
gw/mlm

diplomacy

Britain's Starmer hails 'good progress' after meeting China's Xi

BY ISABEL KUA AND MARIE HEUCLIN

  • "We did have a respectful discussion about that," Starmer said, adding that he and Chinese leaders also talked about the treatment of Uyghurs.
  • Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed "really good progress" on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.
  • "We did have a respectful discussion about that," Starmer said, adding that he and Chinese leaders also talked about the treatment of Uyghurs.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed "really good progress" on issues including visa-free travel and tariffs during talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.
Starmer's visit to China is the first by a British premier since 2018 and follows a slew of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing recently, pivoting from an increasingly unpredictable United States.
Xi and Starmer met at the opulent Great Hall of the People and both stressed the need for closer relations in order to face geopolitical headwinds.
Starmer told Xi that China is a "vital player on the global stage" and that they needed to "build a more sophisticated relationship where we identify opportunities to collaborate".
The Chinese leader also stressed the need for stronger ties with a "long-term view" in the context of what he called a "complex" international situation.
Starmer, who is in China until Saturday, later told reporters that the bilateral relationship was in "a strong place", with progress made on issues such as whisky tariffs.
Downing Street said whisky exported to China would now be subject to a five-percent tariff, down from 10 percent.
The Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the move, saying it "has the potential to re-energise exports" to what it called "a priority growth market".

Visa deal

Starmer signed a series of cooperation agreements after meeting Premier Li Qiang, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British passport holders visiting China for under 30 days.
That brings Britain in line with about 50 other countries allowed visa-free access, including France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and follows a similar agreement made between China and Canada this month.
The agreements also included cooperation on targeting supply chains used by migrant smugglers, as well as on British exports to China, health and strengthening a UK-China trade commission.
The issue of irregular migrants is highly sensitive for Starmer, who has promised to crack down on people smugglers and stem a wave of arrivals that has fuelled rising support for the far right.
Starmer will also travel to economic powerhouse Shanghai on Friday before making a brief stop in Japan to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Beijingers told AFP that Starmer's trip, as well as recent visits by other Western leaders, showed increased desire for economic cooperation with China.
Resident Xie Yu, who lived in London as a graduate student, said European economies have been hit hard by Trump's tariffs and were "struggling".
Xie said he hoped more Chinese would have the chance to study abroad as he did.
"Exchanges between young people can help be a foundation for overall ties between the two countries in the future."

Economic cooperation

Relations between China and the UK deteriorated from 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong and cracked down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.
Nevertheless, China -- the world's second-largest economy -- remains Britain's third-largest trading partner.
Starmer is accompanied by around 60 business leaders as well as cultural representatives, as his centre-left Labour government looks to fulfil its primary goal of boosting UK economic growth.
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced during the visit it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030, hailing the country as "a critical contributor to scientific innovation".
Challenges to the bilateral relationship remain.
Starmer told reporters that he had also discussed with Xi the case of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, 78, who is facing years in prison after being found guilty of collusion charges in December.
"We did have a respectful discussion about that," Starmer said, adding that he and Chinese leaders also talked about the treatment of Uyghurs.
Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017.
Alleged spying and cyber attacks, and China's perceived support for Russia's war in Ukraine, have also strained ties.
Opposition UK politicians have criticised the trip, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch responding to speculation Xi could now visit Britain.
"We should not roll out the red carpet for a state that conducts daily espionage in our country, flouts international trading rules and aids Putin in his senseless war on Ukraine," she said.
The visit by Starmer, who took the helm in 2024, follows finance minister Rachel Reeves's trip to Beijing last year.
Starmer's trip comes as Britain faces a rift with its closest ally, the United States, following Trump's bid to seize Greenland and his brief threat of tariffs against Britain and other NATO allies.
burs-jj/rh

environment

Czechs wind up black coal mining in green energy switch

  • Stefan Pinter, the union head at OKD's CSM mine, blamed "a decline in the use of fossil fuels and coal prices which make mining unprofitable".
  • The Czech Republic will stop mining black coal at the end of January, closing its last mine in a switch to greener energy sources, state mining company OKD said Thursday.
  • Stefan Pinter, the union head at OKD's CSM mine, blamed "a decline in the use of fossil fuels and coal prices which make mining unprofitable".
The Czech Republic will stop mining black coal at the end of January, closing its last mine in a switch to greener energy sources, state mining company OKD said Thursday.
Like other European countries, the Czech Republic -- an EU member of 10.9 million -- is divesting from fossil fuels including black coal, used in heating plants or steelworks, to reduce emissions in line with EU targets.
Black coal mining has a tradition spanning over two centuries in the eastern Czech region of Ostrava, once known as the country's "steel heart".
Stefan Pinter, the union head at OKD's CSM mine, blamed "a decline in the use of fossil fuels and coal prices which make mining unprofitable".
"The European Union's green policy set the rules and all the companies around will adapt," he told AFP.
Nuclear plants accounted for 42 percent of Czech electricity output in 2025, followed by coal-fired plants with 32 percent and with renewable sources still lagging way behind.
But the Ostrava region has seen many mines and steelworks shut down over the past few years.
"There is no one to supply coal to in the Czech Republic," said Barbora Cerna Dvorakova, a spokeswoman for OKD.
The last power station using black coal closed last year, and coal prices are too low to even cover the costs of mining, she told AFP.
OKD with 2,300 employees also lacks staff as schools training miners were abandoned in the 1990s.

Mining job cuts

Brown and black coal mining employed about 100,000 people in the 1980s, when the former Czechoslovakia was ruled by Moscow-steered communists promoting heavy industry. 
But the number has since shrunk to several thousand.
Black coal output has slumped as well, from 35 million tonnes in 1989 to less than 1.2 million tonnes last year.
OKD will now trim its workforce to fewer than 700 staff, which is a cause for concern in the Karvina district where the CSM mine is based and where unemployment reached 9.6 percent last December, twice the Czech rate of 4.8 percent.
"It is definitely a blow, but we have many senior staff who are about to retire," said Pinter. "The rest will have to look for a job."
OKD will now switch to processing purchased coal and producing heat using firedamp -- methane gas produced by coal-mining.
Environmentalists welcomed the shutdown as good news attesting to the country's plan to quit coal mining by 2030, when the last brown coal mine is due to close.
"We can finally see it on the horizon," said Jaroslav Bican, head of the energy campaign at Greenpeace Czech Republic.
"We know that coal miners no longer profit from producing coal which will be phased out sooner than it seemed a few years ago," he told AFP. 
frj/rlp