X

French prosecutors suspect Musk encouraged deepfakes row to inflate X value

BY CLARA WRIGHT

  • French authorities are already investigating X over allegations that its algorithm was used to interfere in French politics, as well as Grok's dissemination of Holocaust denials and the sexualised deepfakes.
  • French prosecutors said Saturday they had alerted US authorities to a suspicion that tech tycoon Elon Musk had encouraged controversy over sexualised deepfakes on X to "artificially" increase the value of his company.
  • French authorities are already investigating X over allegations that its algorithm was used to interfere in French politics, as well as Grok's dissemination of Holocaust denials and the sexualised deepfakes.
French prosecutors said Saturday they had alerted US authorities to a suspicion that tech tycoon Elon Musk had encouraged controversy over sexualised deepfakes on X to "artificially" increase the value of his company.
The social media network's Grok AI chatbot stirred outrage earlier this year over it generating images of naked women and girls without their consent.
"The controversy sparked by sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok (X's AI) may have been deliberately generated in order to artificially boost the value of companies X and xAI," the Paris prosecutor's office said, confirming a report in Le Monde newspaper on Friday.
This could have been done towards "the planned June 2026 stock market listing of the new entity created by the merger" between SpaceX and xAI, it added.
The prosecutor's office said it had on Tuesday reached out to the US Department of Justice, as well as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a financial market regulation body, to share its concerns.
X's lawyer in France was not immediately available for comment.
Replying on X in French to a link to AFP's coverage of the story, Musk slammed French prosecutors as "mentally retarded."
French authorities are already investigating X over allegations that its algorithm was used to interfere in French politics, as well as Grok's dissemination of Holocaust denials and the sexualised deepfakes.
AI chatbot Grok has its own account on the X social network allowing users to interact with it.
For a period, users could tag the bot in posts to request image generation and editing, receiving the image in a reply from Grok. Many sent Grok photos of women or tagged the bot in replies to women's photo posts, giving it prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes".

'Incitements'

It generated an estimated three million sexualised images -- mostly of women, though also 23,000 that appeared to depict children -- in 11 days, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog, said in late January.
Le Monde pointed to "several posts by Musk, published at the height of the controversy, which prosecutors interpret as incitements to generate non-consensual images". 
"The billionaire posted several messages in which he expressed delight, using numerous emojis, about his AI engine's 'undressing' capabilities, even sharing an image of himself in which his chatbot depicted him wearing a bikini," Le Monde reported.
Daily average app downloads for Grok worldwide soared by 72 percent from January 1 to January 19 compared to the same period in December, the Washington Post has cited market intelligence firm Sensor Tower as saying.
French authorities last month summoned Musk to a "voluntary interview" and searched the local offices of his social media network, in what Musk called a "political attack".
Both Britain and the European Union have also opened investigations into the creation of the sexualised deepfakes.
bur-arp/acb

Israel

Jerusalem's Muslims despair as war shuts Al-Aqsa Mosque for Eid

BY HERVé BAR

  • Since Israel and the United States started the war with Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have closed access to Jerusalem's world-renowned holy sites over security concerns -- Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Western Wall for Jews. 
  • Hundreds of Muslim worshippers held Eid prayers at the gates of Jerusalem's Old City Friday, with Israel closing access to the Al-Aqsa mosque and other holy sites over the war with Iran.
  • Since Israel and the United States started the war with Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have closed access to Jerusalem's world-renowned holy sites over security concerns -- Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Western Wall for Jews. 
Hundreds of Muslim worshippers held Eid prayers at the gates of Jerusalem's Old City Friday, with Israel closing access to the Al-Aqsa mosque and other holy sites over the war with Iran.
"Today, Al-Aqsa has been taken from us. It's a sad and painful Ramadan," Wajdi Mohammed Shweiki, a silver-haired Palestinian man in his 60s, told AFP. 
"It's a catastrophic situation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for Palestinians in general and for all Muslims across the globe."
Since Israel and the United States started the war with Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have closed access to Jerusalem's world-renowned holy sites over security concerns -- Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Western Wall for Jews. 
As Iranian missile barrages head towards Israel, the authorities have banned gatherings of more than 50 people nationwide to limit potential casualties. In a sign of the risks, police said this week that shrapnel fragments had fallen on the Old City. 
Researchers say this is the first time the Al-Aqsa Mosque -- the third holiest site in Islam -- has been closed during the last 10 days of Ramadan and for Eid al-Fitr since Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem in 1967. 
As the holiday marked the end of the Muslim holy month, worshippers denied access to the site arrived with prayer mats under their arms at dawn under the watchful supervision of Israeli police. 
Shouting "Allahu akbar" ("God is the greatest") or chanting the shahada (the Muslim declaration of faith), the crowd tried to push through the city gates.
But the few dozen police officers repelled them, occasionally with kicks or slaps to the head and at least twice with tear gas.
Eventually the worshippers managed to take up a position next to Herod's Gate as the police relented for a few minutes and allowed the street prayers to take place.
An imam standing on a plastic stool delivered a short sermon. 
"Pray, invoke Almighty God and hope that your prayers will be answered," he told the worshippers. "O God, grant victory to the oppressed."
The Israeli police then pushed back the worshippers, who dispersed without resistance into the narrow streets, buying still-warm bread from street stalls as they went.

'Broken heart'

The gathering of just a few hundred worshippers was a far cry from the typical way Eid is usually marked in Jerusalem, when some 100,000 people flock to Al-Aqsa. 
The Israeli police said that "despite the high-alert status, police allowed prayers to be conducted on the street outside the Old City of Jerusalem without intervention".
"However, officers were required to enforce... life-saving guidelines when crowds later exceeded authorised capacity and seemingly attempted to breach security perimeters into the Old City," they said. 
But while Israeli authorities insist the closure of Al-Aqsa is for safety reasons, there is fear among some Palestinians that it could be part of efforts to rewrite the strict rules governing access to Jerusalem's holy sites. 
"The occupier, under the pretext of security and for its own interests, has closed the mosque," cleric Ayman Abu Najm, who had come from Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, said.
"In the history of the occupation, this is the longest period during which the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been closed."
Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
While politics and faith are always closely tied in this flashpoint city, for some Muslims the inability to access Al-Aqsa this year was felt as a deep personal loss.
"Ramadan without the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a very sad feeling, a feeling of having a broken heart," said worshipper Zeyad Mona.
hba/del/sbk

US

'War has aged us': Lebanon's kids aren't alright

BY NADER DURGHAM

  • I lost two cousins and two friends in a massacre in Shehabiyeh," he added, referring to a deadly Israeli strike in his town that killed at least seven people on March 11.
  • Forced by yet another war in Lebanon to flee his home for the second time in just two years, and mourning lost relatives and friends, Hassan Kiki said he feels much older than 16.
  • I lost two cousins and two friends in a massacre in Shehabiyeh," he added, referring to a deadly Israeli strike in his town that killed at least seven people on March 11.
Forced by yet another war in Lebanon to flee his home for the second time in just two years, and mourning lost relatives and friends, Hassan Kiki said he feels much older than 16.
"War has aged us... We have lived through what no one else has," the tall teen from south Lebanon told AFP in Beirut.
"I miss my school, my friends... I lost two cousins and two friends in a massacre in Shehabiyeh," he added, referring to a deadly Israeli strike in his town that killed at least seven people on March 11.
Kiki is among more than a million people Lebanese authorities have registered as displaced since the country was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2.
On that day, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel, which never stopped bombing Lebanon despite a 2024 truce that sought to end the last war with Hezbollah, responded with widespread strikes, ground operations along the border, and an evacuation warning for swathes of the country.
For many young Lebanese caught in the crossfire, their formative years have been jeopardised by repeated conflicts and crises.
"My childhood is gone," said Kiki.
"Material losses can be made up for, but people do not come back."
Since 2019, Lebanese have been battling a financial crisis that has locked them out of their bank deposits, while the Covid pandemic made life even harder for everyone.
Beirut's port exploded the following year in one of the world's largest non-nuclear blasts, destroying swathes of the Lebanese capital, and killing more than 220 people.

'Dreams on hold'

The first time Zahraa Fares experienced war was in 2024, when she was just 14.
"We were still discovering what we like to do, what activities we enjoy, how we like to spend our days, then we were displaced... and could not do anything", said the now-16-year-old, who escaped the southern city of Nabatiyeh.
Fares, who said she now feels "mentally crushed", found relief in an acting workshop in Beirut's Lebanese National Theatre intended to support war-affected youth like herself.
Wassim al-Halabi, a 20-year-old Syrian who fled the war in his country nine years ago and is still living in Lebanon, has found himself stuck in another conflict.
Working in a restaurant since the 2024 war forced him out of university, Halabi said he was "starting from zero to be able to stand on my two feet again, but war started again".
"Our dreams are now on hold until the war ends."
Lebanese authorities on Thursday said Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people since March 2.
The toll includes 118 children.
"Cumulative trauma, cumulative adverse experiences and ongoing instability and unpredictability certainly put these children at higher risk... of developing psychiatric disorders and negative mental health outcomes," Evelyne Baroud, a child and adolescent psychiatrist told AFP.
"Witnessing violence, physical assaults, killings, forced displacement, losing one's home, loss of a parent, all of these carry a very high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder."

Generational trauma

Lebanon has been mired in conflicts and crises for decades, the worst of which was the 15-year civil war that erupted in 1975 and which divided the country into warring sectarian fiefdoms.
For many years since the end of that war, which killed 150,000 people and left 17,000 more missing, bitter political divisions continued to plague Lebanon.
The war also saw an Israeli invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000.
While young Lebanese grew up hearing stories of war from their parents, they never expected to have to live through one themselves.
"My mother used to tell us about how they would be displaced, hear airstrikes, but I was not able to properly imagine it," Fares said.
"I used to ask myself 'how could they shelter in a school?' but now I see it with my own eyes."
At a gathering in Beirut to express solidarity for victims of the war, 18-year-old Laura al-Hajj wondered: "Why do I have so many concerns at my age?"
"We carried burdens that are much bigger than us, and beyond our age... I now just worry about being alive tomorrow."
Hajj said she feels like "from generation to generation, we are all living through wars".
"No child should have to go through what we went through."
nad/ser

music

Behind the BTS comeback, the dark side of K-pop

BY KANG JIN-KYU

  • But industry bosses argue that the competitive structure is what keeps K-pop so successful. 
  • K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side -- sometimes with tragic results.
  • But industry bosses argue that the competitive structure is what keeps K-pop so successful. 
K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side -- sometimes with tragic results.
Ahead of BTS's comeback concert on Saturday, AFP looks at the intense competition, the gruelling training, the tight control over stars' lives and the sometimes obsessive fan behaviour in the industry.

300 groups

South Korean record labels launch dozens of new groups every year in the hope they will become the next BTS or Blackpink, but with some 300 outfits already out there, the big time is elusive.
The tiny minority of the thousands of young hopefuls who make it past the audition phase can then face 15-hour days of gym sessions, singing lessons, promotional shoots and dance practice.
They sometimes sleep not at home but in bunk beds in shared houses, with tight control over the lives, including what they eat, their weight and their looks.
In a 2020 interview with AFP, former Nine Muses member Ryu Sera likened it to a "factory-like mass-production system", with people treated like "replaceable products".
But industry bosses argue that the competitive structure is what keeps K-pop so successful. 
"We can't help those who were given an opportunity for self-improvement but couldn't keep up with the others," Blitzers manager Oh Chang-seok told AFP in 2021.
The balance of power between labels and K-pop stars was once heavily skewed, with "slave contracts" mandating unequal profit-sharing and binding artists for well over a decade. 
After a legal battle involving idol group TVXQ, the fair trade commission revised standard contracts, with changes introduced in 2009 that cap initial deals at seven years.

No dating

Fans can become obsessive, and anger over rumours that their beloved stars may be romantically involved has become a hallmark of the industry.
When Jung Kook of BTS was rumoured to be dating Aespa member Winter, fans sent a truck carrying a billboard to the headquarters of BTS label HYBE accusing him of "deceit".
Karina of Aespa faced similar trouble when she acknowledged her relationship with an actor in 2024, drawing the ire of fans who also dispatched a truck.
"Do you not receive enough love from your fans?" it read.
Karina delivered her "sincere apologies" in a handwritten letter, vowing she would "not disappoint" her fans again. Shortly afterwards, the couple broke up.
Others have taken things to dangerous extremes.
In 2024, Sunwoo from The Boyz was assaulted when a fan hid in an emergency stairwell to confront him. The group's label said it had also detected a tracking device on their vehicle.
This month, a Brazilian woman was indicted on charges of stalking BTS's Jung Kook. She allegedly rang his doorbell and left a letter 23 times in one month -- "out of love".
Kim Seong-sheen, a professor of creative convergence education at Hanyang University in Seoul, blames the way the industry has structured the relationship between groups and fans.
"Fans have come to occupy the role not of simple consumers but of participants who invest their emotions and time," Kim told AFP. 
"The industry has long operated on the premise of controlling idols' private lives and sustaining an illusion of intimacy to maintain that engagement."

Cyberbullying

The industry has seen a number of suspected suicides, most recently in 2023 when Moonbin, 25, from boy band ASTRO, was found dead at his home.
While mental health professionals caution it is rare that there is only one trigger factor, some performers have been subjected to intense cyberbullying and harsh scrutiny of their personal lives, both by fans and their management.
Bang Si-hyuk, creator of BTS and chairman of HYBE, questioned in a 2023 CNN interview whether such criticism was "justifiable", suggesting conditions were no better in Western pop.
Cultural commentator Kim Do-hoon said a deeper problem lies in the industry's hierarchical structure between management and singers.
Unlike many groups elsewhere, K-pop bands are assembled by agencies that invest time and capital to train them in a top-down system. 
BTS was created in the same manner.
"This is a very hierarchical system that, at its core, has not changed over the years," he said.
kjk/stu/lga

US

Displacement, bombs and air raid sirens weigh on Mideast Eid celebrations

BY CELIA LEBUR WITH WITH AFP'S MIDDLE EAST BUREAUS

  • The small, run-down apartment where Ahmad, 49, lives with her husband and three sons is currently home to 12 people.
  • Aziza Ahmad hasn't planned anything -- no family meal, no gifts for the children.
  • The small, run-down apartment where Ahmad, 49, lives with her husband and three sons is currently home to 12 people.
Aziza Ahmad hasn't planned anything -- no family meal, no gifts for the children. In Lebanon, between the war and soaring prices, she said "there's nothing to celebrate" this Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan.
From Beirut to Dubai, Manama to Jerusalem, the holy month of fasting is ending on a bitter note for millions of Muslims unsettled by the Middle East war.
The small, run-down apartment where Ahmad, 49, lives with her husband and three sons is currently home to 12 people.
"Maybe it's different for the rich, but the joy of Eid is missing here... We have no money, and the displaced people can't even go back home".
In Lebanon, years into an economic crisis even before the war broke out, prices for some products have risen sharply in local markets.
On the eve of Eid, Ahmad has set up a small pastry stall in front of her home to supplement her husband's salary as a car washer.
"We won't eat a single one; everything is for sale," she told AFP. 
Kneading dough and crushing pistachios, the whole family was busy in the building's entryway.
"We won't even go out to play. Everyone is scared, Israel is striking, so we stay home," said Yasmine, 11, a big pink ribbon in her hair.
In the Gulf, fear of bombings has also dampened the mood.
Long seen as the region's safe havens, these countries have been the target of Tehran's retaliatory strikes following US-Israeli attacks on Iran from February 28. 
Nearly 30 people have been killed in Gulf states since the war broke out.
In Kuwait, authorities have temporarily banned plays, concerts and weddings during Eid al-Fitr to limit large gatherings.
Ali Ibrahim, a 41-year-old Egyptian working in Kuwait, said fewer customers than usual have turned up at stores to buy new clothes ahead of Eid. 
Qatar also suspended all public events until further notice from the start of the conflict.

'Intimate celebrations'

In the United Arab Emirates, outdoor prayers are banned for Eid and must be held inside mosques for security reasons. 
Juhi Yasmeen Khan, a 53-year-old social worker from India who has lived in Dubai for nearly three decades, said "it doesn't feel right to have a grand celebration" this year. 
"Given the current situation, many of us are opting for intimate celebrations at home," she said, adding that she would celebrate with her mother, sister and son.
"Together, we will keep the Eid spirit alive."
For Palestinians in occupied east Jerusalem, Ramadan is incomplete this year after Israel shut Al-Aqsa Mosque, among other holy sites, over the ongoing war. 
"There is a pain in our hearts because we are deprived of Al-Aqsa Mosque", said Ihab, a 30-year-old who declined to share his last name.
This year, the lights and lanterns featuring Islamic designs, such as crescent moons, are absent in the streets. 
The narrow passages of the usually bustling Old City emptied at the start of the conflict. 
In Bahrain, people have been living to the sound of sirens ringing several times a day to warn of potential missile and drone threats.
At a beauty salon in the capital Manama, five-year-old Sarah waited to have her hands painted with henna ahead of Eid celebrations.
Her mother Maryam Abdullah said the war will not stop her family "from buying our Eid necessities and preparing for the holiday as we always have".
"This will surely pass, and it won't prevent us from enjoying the Eid atmosphere, even if it's limited to visiting family at home," she said.
Hessa Ahmed, a Bahraini employee in her thirties, was also intent on celebrating. 
"I went shopping with my friend. We bought clothes and accessories and will prepare to celebrate Eid with family, relatives, and friends."
burs-ha-cl/ris/rh

prisoners

Salvadoran anti-corruption lawyer jailed to 'silence her', husband says

BY MARíA ISABEL SáNCHEZ

  • A: Ruth symbolizes what she herself expressed: decency.
  • Jailed Salvadoran lawyer Ruth Lopez symbolizes the "decency" and "credible voice" that President Nayib Bukele's government only managed to silence with imprisonment, her husband Louis Benavides told AFP in an interview.
  • A: Ruth symbolizes what she herself expressed: decency.
Jailed Salvadoran lawyer Ruth Lopez symbolizes the "decency" and "credible voice" that President Nayib Bukele's government only managed to silence with imprisonment, her husband Louis Benavides told AFP in an interview.
Lopez, 48, who headed the anti-corruption unit at the NGO Cristosal, was arrested in her pajamas on May 18, 2025, accused by the Bukele-allied Attorney General's Office of illicit enrichment during her time working at the electoral tribunal a decade ago.
"Have some decency. This will end one day," Lopez said after being arrested, in cell phone video that went viral at the time.
Her case has been declared sealed. Her family has not seen Lopez since July 3, when she was ordered into pretrial detention.
A close ally of US President Donald Trump, Bukele calls himself the "world's coolest dictator" and rules under a state of emergency that has seen crime rates plummet, but has prompted wide-ranging claims of rights abuses.
Last week, Cristosal released a report that Bukele's government is holding dozens of political prisoners, including Lopez.
Benavides, also a lawyer, spoke with AFP on Sunday, before delivering medicine for Lopez at the Izalco prison farm, 60 kilometers from San Salvador. The interview has been edited for brevity.
QUESTION: What stage is the process at?
ANSWER: In the investigation phase, gathering evidence. Even the lawyers sometimes have trouble finding out about the progress. The judge overseeing the probe should decide if the evidence gathered is sufficient to go to trial. It is very likely that they will uphold her pretrial detention. We are in a backwards system. There is no presumption of innocence. And one has to prove that one is not guilty. 
Q: Why was she arrested? 
A: Because the authorities didn't like the free expression she exercised...She had a very strong and credible voice. She has been extremely active in denouncing corruption, illegalities, arbitrary actions by the authorities, and human rights violations. Her illegal detention was the only alternative left for the government to stop her from continuing to make accusations. Ruth's voice is so uncomfortable that it's the only way they can silence her.
Q: How do the precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights help?
A: They serve as pressure for the State to guarantee her certain minimum conditions, for example, regarding her health. She has high blood pressure, and I'm going to give her medication regularly.
Q: How do you think she's coping with prison? 
A: Ruth is very strong. I think she must be doing well emotionally, of course, considering the circumstances. But she's a woman who seeks purpose, and she's surely found it even in there. The last time we saw her, she was giving us strength. Not the other way around, that's how strong she is.
Q: Do you have hope of seeing her free soon? 
A: I'm a very religious man. I haven't lost hope in God. Now, realistically, a quick release does seem really difficult. It's truly an uphill battle. 
Q: What does Ruth Lopez mean for El Salvador? 
A: Ruth symbolizes what she herself expressed: decency. I think she symbolizes resilience, honesty, dignity. Things we lose with the polarization in our society. They arrested her because she represents the voice of those who were afraid to raise theirs. Decency means being humble enough to acknowledge your own imperfections. These people don't even want to accept that. They think they're infallible.
mis/axm/nn/mel/mjf/des

labor

California to rename Cesar Chavez Day after sex abuse claims

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • "To honor the movement's rich California history and the steadfast dedication behind it, we are putting forward legislation to designate the following 2026 state holiday in California: Farmworkers Day," the statement added, referring to the March 31 celebration.
  • Lawmakers in California said Thursday they will rename the Cesar Chavez Day state holiday in the wake of disturbing allegations of sexual abuse by the late labor rights icon.
  • "To honor the movement's rich California history and the steadfast dedication behind it, we are putting forward legislation to designate the following 2026 state holiday in California: Farmworkers Day," the statement added, referring to the March 31 celebration.
Lawmakers in California said Thursday they will rename the Cesar Chavez Day state holiday in the wake of disturbing allegations of sexual abuse by the late labor rights icon.
The development comes as the workers movement Chavez founded reels from a bombshell New York Times investigation detailing child abuse, harassment and rape, including cases that resulted in the birth of children.
"California's farmworker rights movement never has been about one individual. To the survivors who have found the courage to come forward, uplifting the movement's values of dignity and justice, and demanding accountability, our hearts are with you always," said a statement issued by senior legislators.
"To honor the movement's rich California history and the steadfast dedication behind it, we are putting forward legislation to designate the following 2026 state holiday in California: Farmworkers Day," the statement added, referring to the March 31 celebration.
The New York Times catalogued lengthy accounts of grooming of underage girls that resulted in the sexual abuse of one named Ana Murguia from the age of 12 and the rape of another, Debra Rojas, at 15.
Dolores Huerta, a fellow founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, said her longtime comrade-in-arms forced her into sex that resulted in two pregnancies.
Chavez, who died in 1993, rallied California's largely Latino farmworkers starting in the 1950s to win improvements in working conditions.
He led huge marches and national boycotts that brought about lasting change, and became a figure revered throughout the labor movement.
Former president Bill Clinton posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Joe Biden had a bust of Chavez installed in the Oval Office.
Chavez's name or face adorn schools, auditoriums, streets and public squares throughout California, where he has long been a deeply beloved figure, especially among the large Latino population.
Footage on Thursday showed statues being covered up as communities began to grapple with Chavez's sudden fall from grace.
Governor Gavin Newsom welcomed the move by California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón to introduce urgent legislation that would remove Chavez's name from the state holiday.
"The farmworkers' movement was always bigger than just one man or one person. Given the horrendous allegations that were made public for the first time yesterday, this is a welcomed change," he wrote on social media.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she would be looking at renaming city landmarks.
"I am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power," she said.
"The sickening reality is that what Dolores, Ana, and Debra endured is not isolated, nor is it of the past. 
"Dolores and leaders like her inspired so many of us to activism. Mr. Chavez's crimes do not diminish the courage of farm workers and workers everywhere who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos, and a stronger nation for everyone."
hg/dw

film

Labubu creators hope for monster film hit in Sony co-production

  • "The collaboration between Pop Mart and Sony Pictures marks a significant milestone," Pop Mart said, which promises "a unique cinematic experience with creative storytelling, artistic vision and enduring global appeal".
  • China's snaggle-toothed Labubu dolls will soon come alive on the big screen after flying off the toy shelves, with maker Pop Mart announcing a collaboration with Sony Pictures.
  • "The collaboration between Pop Mart and Sony Pictures marks a significant milestone," Pop Mart said, which promises "a unique cinematic experience with creative storytelling, artistic vision and enduring global appeal".
China's snaggle-toothed Labubu dolls will soon come alive on the big screen after flying off the toy shelves, with maker Pop Mart announcing a collaboration with Sony Pictures.
The movie, which is still in early development, will feature the fanged plushie monsters in a "live-action and CGI hybrid", Beijing-based Pop Mart said on Thursday.
Created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, Labubus sparked a craze nine years later, with the "ugly-cute" charms adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa and sparking massive queues at Pop Mart stores around the world.
Vivian Jia, a Canadian tourist visiting Pop Mart's flagship Shanghai flagship store, said she was looking forward to watching the Labubu movie with her children.
"I think they're so cute, especially the ones with the eyes that move... my friends' kids all like (Labubus) too," she told AFP.
Jia said she spent more than 400 yuan ($58) on a Labubu figure, which she said she planned to display in her living room in Vancouver.
The new film project, unveiled by Lung and director Paul King ("Wonka" and "Paddington") in Paris on Thursday, will seek to capitalise on the dolls' viral fame by bringing "Labubu's whimsical world to the big screen", Pop Mart said.

'Cool' China

The collectable dolls, which typically sell for around $40, are released in limited quantities and sold in "blind boxes", meaning buyers do not know the exact model they will receive.
Some of the less common Labubu figures can fetch thousands of dollars.
Pop Mart sold more than 100 million Labubu dolls worldwide last year, with Chinese officials hailing the toothy characters' popularity as evidence of China's growing cultural and soft power.
They have become furry ambassadors for a "cool" China, even in places such as Europe and North America, where public opinion towards Beijing has not always been positive.
Camilla Pinheiro, a Brazilian Pop Mart fan who bought several dolls at the Shanghai store, said she would prefer a movie franchise about some of Pop Mart's less well-known toy lines, such as the punk-inspired Peach Riot figures.
"The whole (Labubu) fever, it was kind of intense... by the time they finish the movie, it will be so saturated," Pinheiro said.
King will share scriptwriting duties with Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson.
"The collaboration between Pop Mart and Sony Pictures marks a significant milestone," Pop Mart said, which promises "a unique cinematic experience with creative storytelling, artistic vision and enduring global appeal".
The company now has more than 600 stores in over 30 countries and regions.
A release date for the film has not yet been announced.
sam-tjx/pbt/cms

Global Edition

Ahead of election, Danish city mirrors country's challenges

BY CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT

  • Meanwhile, the city's mayor attributed the concerns of Kolding people to broader geopolitical issues, such as the Ukraine war and US President Donald Trump's demand to take over Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland.
  • In the Danish city of Kolding, voters are worried about rising prices, the welfare state and immigration ahead of the country's general election, reflecting nationwide concerns reinforced by worries about Greenland and global uncertainty.
  • Meanwhile, the city's mayor attributed the concerns of Kolding people to broader geopolitical issues, such as the Ukraine war and US President Donald Trump's demand to take over Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland.
In the Danish city of Kolding, voters are worried about rising prices, the welfare state and immigration ahead of the country's general election, reflecting nationwide concerns reinforced by worries about Greenland and global uncertainty.
Kolding -- Denmark's eighth biggest city with 64,000 inhabitants -- lies at the intersection of the main road and rail routes linking Jutland, the continental part of Denmark, to the eastern islands where Copenhagen is located.
Campaign posters line the port city's almost-empty streets, dotted with shuttered shops, but the debate is the same as in many towns in the country of six million people that will vote on Tuesday.
Denmark is one of the world's wealthiest countries in per capita terms. But in Kolding "there are a lot of empty stores," lamented Per Hansen, a 54-year-old florist. 
"People don't dare to start something because it's expensive, and a lot of banks are reluctant to loan money to set up a proper business," he said.
Hansen, who opened his store in 2001, hopes the next government will help small businesses, squeezed by online shopping and large shopping centres on the one hand and rising prices on the other.
"Prices are increasing, and sometimes consumers don't understand that the price of flowers is going up," he said. 
"The Middle East war is also pushing up the price of oil and fuel, so it costs more for the Dutch truck to bring the flowers to Denmark, and prices will inevitably go up."
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats, in power since 2019 and currently leading a left-right coalition, top public opinion polls with around 21 percent of votes, though that is six points lower than their 2022 election score.
Negotiations after the election will determine the shape of the next government.

'We're doing okay'

In Kolding, 42-year-old Afghan Wahida Abdul Mutaleb admitted she's struggling to make ends meet. 
"We have to cut back on everything to live." 
"But despite everything, we're doing okay," said the mother of four children aged 13 to 20, who makes a point of being involved in the community where the family has lived for 12 years. 
In the beginning, she went to the Volunteers' House to learn Danish and get help finding her way in the Scandinavian country. 
She now works as a volunteer there herself.
Nearly 400,000 people in the population were born outside the European Union, according to EU figures, but Denmark is known for its tightening of immigration policies in recent decades.  
As a Muslim woman in Denmark. Mutaleb said she has "never had any bad experiences".
"When I started taking language classes and I tried to learn a bit of Danish, I was always welcomed with smiles and a lot of patience."
Kolding mayor Jakob Ville, of the liberal Venstre party, told AFP that in national politics, "some parties take very hard lines on refugees and immigrants".
"Those same parties sit here on the municipal council, and in the eight or nine years I've been a member I've never heard a single one of them talk about refugees." 
"I think it's because when it comes to (the national) parliament, they speak to people's emotions."

Pragmatists

Ville said Kolding residents were pragmatic.
"What's important is that when my mother and father go into a nursing home, they will be able to get the services they need. And I don't care, and my mother and father don't care, whether it's someone who speaks Danish," he said.
But in national politics, parties keep trying to outdo each other: the Social Democrats want to facilitate returns and expulsions, while the far-right Danish People's Party is pushing for what it calls "re-migration", especially of Muslims.
The head of the Volunteers' House, Margit Vestbjerg, said some migrants, in particular Syrians, "feel increasingly insecure".
"Their right to stay here is being called into question," she noted.
"There is constant talk of temporary residence. And there are also more and more politicians who openly talk about sending them back home," she added.
Michael Jensen, who said he was a lifelong Social Democratic voter, believes Denmark's integration policy has failed.
"It's certainly not gotten any better. It's actually gotten much worse," he grumbled.
Meanwhile, the city's mayor attributed the concerns of Kolding people to broader geopolitical issues, such as the Ukraine war and US President Donald Trump's demand to take over Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland.
"There is a kind of anxiety in our society at the moment," he said.
"During the campaign for the municipal elections in November, many people started asking: 'Where are our shelters? Where could we go?' I had never heard that question before."
cbw/po/jfx

film

Director plans to put Val Kilmer back on screen thanks to AI

  • Kilmer, who played in big-budget successes and indie films throughout his career, was one of the late actors praised during the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars ceremony on Sunday. pr/js/md
  • The late American film star Val Kilmer could soon be "acting" on the big screen again after allowing a director to use AI tools to produce his likeness for an upcoming film, media reports said Wednesday.
  • Kilmer, who played in big-budget successes and indie films throughout his career, was one of the late actors praised during the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars ceremony on Sunday. pr/js/md
The late American film star Val Kilmer could soon be "acting" on the big screen again after allowing a director to use AI tools to produce his likeness for an upcoming film, media reports said Wednesday.
Coerte Voorhees had tapped Kilmer, who died of pneumonia last year after years of battling throat cancer, for "As Deep as the Grave," about the pioneering archaeologist Ann Morris, a co-discoverer of the Anasazi civilization.
Kilmer was to play a Catholic priest named Fintan.
"He was the actor I wanted to play this role," Voorhees told industry magazine Variety. "It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest."
He said Kilmer signed on to the project but later became too ill to begin filming. 
"I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot," Voorhees said. "He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn't do it."
He said Kilmer's family had provided video images of Kilmer, who was known for keeping a vast archive of footage from various moments of his life, that would be used to build the AI actor.
The project will likely get a wary welcome from many in Hollywood, where actors, writers and others are worried that AI could replace an array of jobs.
AI was already used with Kilmer so he could again play one of his most iconic roles, the cocky pilot Iceman, in the 2022 sequel to the era-defining 1980s hit "Top Gun."
Kilmer, who played in big-budget successes and indie films throughout his career, was one of the late actors praised during the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars ceremony on Sunday.
pr/js/md

internet

Social media addiction trial jury deliberations continue

  • The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of luring young users to become addicted to their content and potentially suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
  • Jurors will return to court here on Thursday to continue deliberations in a civil trial accusing Meta and YouTube of harmfully hooking young internet users.
  • The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of luring young users to become addicted to their content and potentially suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
Jurors will return to court here on Thursday to continue deliberations in a civil trial accusing Meta and YouTube of harmfully hooking young internet users.
Since jury deliberations began on March 13, the jury sent questions to the judge related to the plaintiff's family troubles as well as how much she actually used Meta-owned Instagram as a child.
The verdict could turn on the question of whether family and other real world trauma, or YouTube and Meta apps such as Instagram, were to blame for mental woes of the woman who filed the suit.
A 20-year-old California woman identified as Kaley G.M. testified at trial that YouTube and Instagram fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts as a child, telling jurors that she became obsessed with social media, starting with YouTube videos, when she was six.
Under cross examination, however, Kaley also talked about feeling neglected, berated and picked on by family members.
A jury form given to jurors asks the panel to decide whether Meta or YouTube should have known their services posed a danger to children or if they were negligent in design.
If so, jurors are to decide if Meta or YouTube were "substantial factors" in causing Kaley's woes and how much they should pay in damages. 
The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of luring young users to become addicted to their content and potentially suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
Internet titans have long shielded themselves with Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which frees them of responsibility for what social media users post.
However, this case argues that the firms are responsible for defective products, with business models designed to hold people's attention and to promote content that can harm their mental health.
The outcome of the Los Angeles trial is expected to establish a precedent for resolving other lawsuits that blame social media for fueling an epidemic of mental and emotional trauma.
gc-rfo/js

rights

Cesar Chavez, icon of US labor movement, accused of serial sex abuse: report

BY PAULA RAMON

  • Two women The New York Times spoke to, who were the daughters of fellow members of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union Chavez co-founded in 1962, said Chavez abused them as minors in the 1970s.
  • US civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, whose decades of campaigning brought lasting changes to workers' rights, is accused of being a serial rapist who abused children and harassed women in the movement he led, a bombshell New York Times investigation said Wednesday.
  • Two women The New York Times spoke to, who were the daughters of fellow members of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union Chavez co-founded in 1962, said Chavez abused them as minors in the 1970s.
US civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, whose decades of campaigning brought lasting changes to workers' rights, is accused of being a serial rapist who abused children and harassed women in the movement he led, a bombshell New York Times investigation said Wednesday.
Over the years in which the charismatic Chavez galvanised farmworkers, winning reforms for a marginalised group and global recognition for himself, he was also molesting youngsters and coercing women into sexual relationships, the report said.
Among his accusers is Dolores Huerta, a prominent leader of the movement, who said her longtime comrade-in-arms forced her into sex that resulted in two pregnancies.
Two women The New York Times spoke to, who were the daughters of fellow members of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union Chavez co-founded in 1962, said Chavez abused them as minors in the 1970s.
Ana Murguia said Chavez began touching her inappropriately when she was 12 years old and he was over 40. 
Debra Rojas claimed that her abuse began when she was 13, and that she had sexual intercourse with Chavez at age 15 -- an act that constitutes rape under California law.
Dozens of other associates and victims concealed alleged abuses that he perpetrated for decades, The New York Times said.
Chávez, who died in 1993, rallied California's largely Latino farmworkers starting in the 1950s to win improvements in working conditions.
He led huge marches and national boycotts that transformed him into a figure revered throughout the labor movement.
Former president Bill Clinton posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Joe Biden had a bust of Chavez installed in the Oval Office.
California designated his birthday, March 31, a state holiday, and his face and name adorn schools, auditoriums, streets and public squares throughout the state.
In a statement Wednesday, Huerta said Chavez had manipulated and pressured her into having sex on two occasions in the 1960s, both of which resulted in pregnancies.
"The first time... I didn't feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to," she said.
"The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped."
Huerta said she had concealed the resulting pregnancies and placed the children with other families when they were born.
"Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now close to my other children, their siblings," she said. 
"But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago."
The New York Times reported that Chavez, who had eight children with his wife, Helen, fathered at least four others, including those with Huerta.
The UFW said it was cancelling participation in Cesar Chavez Day celebrations, though union bosses said they had not received "any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations."
pr/hg/js

media

Foreign press group slams Israeli police for breaking journalist's wrist

  • "During the assault, one Israeli officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer," the FPA said in a statement. 
  • An international media association on Wednesday criticised an "unprovoked assault" by Israeli police on journalists in Jerusalem, which it said left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.
  • "During the assault, one Israeli officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer," the FPA said in a statement. 
An international media association on Wednesday criticised an "unprovoked assault" by Israeli police on journalists in Jerusalem, which it said left a CNN producer with a fractured wrist.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) said police officers on Tuesday night "unnecessarily and aggressively repelled a group of journalists who were doing their jobs, documenting individuals who were praying outside the walls of the Old City".
It said police detained several journalists, damaging photographic equipment and confiscating memory cards.
"During the assault, one Israeli officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer," the FPA said in a statement. 
"None of this is acceptable," added the association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
An AFP photographer at the scene said a small group of journalists had been documenting Muslims trying to perform the evening Taraweeh prayers outside the Old City walls, when a group of police suddenly arrived and "violently attacked the worshippers and journalists covering the event."
A foreign journalist told AFP that police "beat the CNN producer and some other journalists with batons," adding that "at least one Palestinian was detained".
AFP has asked Israeli police for comment on the incident.
Israeli authorities have closed holy sites in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem's Old City for security reasons since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28.
The FPA called on the police to "immediately take action against the officers involved in this unprovoked assault and to act in the future to safeguard press freedoms, rather than trample upon them."
In an X post, the Union of Journalists in Israel said it was "appalled" by the police conduct and urged the police commissioner to "immediately suspend the officers involved".
An AFP journalist sits on the FPA board.
acc/jd/dc

US

Troubled waters: Thai fishermen marooned by rising fuel costs

BY SéBASTIEN DUVAL

  • His boss, Kwanchai Phatisena, has reluctantly decided to leave his boat moored for at least two weeks at the Sriracha jetty, north of the Thai resort city of Pattaya, where egrets and stray cats compete for fish that have fallen from plastic tubs.
  • With his belongings stuffed into a plastic bag, Thai fisherman Narongsak Kongsuk heads home, far from the sea.
  • His boss, Kwanchai Phatisena, has reluctantly decided to leave his boat moored for at least two weeks at the Sriracha jetty, north of the Thai resort city of Pattaya, where egrets and stray cats compete for fish that have fallen from plastic tubs.
With his belongings stuffed into a plastic bag, Thai fisherman Narongsak Kongsuk heads home, far from the sea.
Like hundreds of other fishers in Thailand, his boat is stuck at the dock because of surging diesel prices, as the war in the Middle East disrupts global supply.
The 27-year-old father normally earns up to 20,000 baht ($615) a month, but locked on land, Narongsak fears he will no longer be able to provide for his family.
"There's the cost of my child's milk, various other expenses and car payments," he told AFP on Wednesday.
"I'll have to find part-time jobs."
His boss, Kwanchai Phatisena, has reluctantly decided to leave his boat moored for at least two weeks at the Sriracha jetty, north of the Thai resort city of Pattaya, where egrets and stray cats compete for fish that have fallen from plastic tubs.
"I've been doing this for about 50 years and I've never encountered a situation like this before," said Kwanchai, who is in his sixties.
The boat owner said he was no longer covering his costs due to the rise in the price of diesel, his main expense.
– Tax-exempt diesel –
Fishers in Thailand benefit from tax-exempt diesel, known as "green oil", which cost less than 20 baht per litre before the war in the Middle East broke out on February 28. It now costs 35 baht and is increasingly hard to find.
"There's no profit. It's straight-up losses," said Kwanchai, who has been forced to send his employees home while waiting for prices to fall.
As the sun began to rise behind the buildings lining the beach on Wednesday, several boats made their way back from a night of fishing.
"Those still going out are using the cheaper 'green oil' left over in the tanks. Once this batch is gone, everyone will probably dock because we can't handle the costs," Kwanchai predicted.
The National Fisheries Association of Thailand estimated more than 1,000 boats have already been forced to stay in port, and half the fleet of around 9,000 vessels could soon be idled if the situation drags on.
The association's leaders met with the government in the capital Bangkok on Wednesday to ask in particular that the price of the diesel reserved for fishers be capped, as it is for the general public at the pump.
In neighbouring Cambodia's coastal Preah Sihanouk province, around a third of approximately 1,000 fishing boats have also stopped going to sea due to higher fuel prices, according to Em Phea, director of the provincial fisheries administration.
"They cannot make a profit," he said, adding that some fishermen were still working thanks to fuel stockpiles.
"For now we still have enough seafood, but we don't know yet what will happen in the near future."
And in Vietnam's Quang Tri province, fisherman Nguyen Tri said he was still deciding whether "to sail or not" -- considering the price of diesel for a fishing trip had risen from around $2,300 to $3,800, and it was uncertain whether he could earn enough to cover costs.
– Chain reaction –
Back in Sriracha, another Thai boat owner, 61-year-old Jariya Charuenpunson, fears a chain reaction across the industry if fishers are forced to remain in port for an extended period.
"Every related profession will lose their jobs, leading to even more widespread unemployment," she said.
At the dimly lit town market, a few hundred metres from the jetty, the stalls are still well stocked with fish, shrimp and blue crabs.
But the number of customers have yet to return to pre-Covid numbers, and the current uncertainty adds to the gloomy mood among shopkeepers.
Deboning a small yellowstripe scad, 67-year-old vendor Malida Chaiyakul said supply chains were at risk.
"If all the boats stop, then there's obviously no product to sell." 
burs-wjt-sdu/sco/mjw

crime

Seven-year term sought for Norway princess's son for alleged rapes

BY PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES

  • Hoiby, the princess's 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial on 40 counts that carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
  • Prosecutors in Norway called Wednesday for the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Marius Borg Hoiby, to serve seven years and seven months in prison for offences including the alleged rape of four women.
  • Hoiby, the princess's 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial on 40 counts that carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
Prosecutors in Norway called Wednesday for the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Marius Borg Hoiby, to serve seven years and seven months in prison for offences including the alleged rape of four women.
Hoiby, the princess's 29-year-old son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, is on trial on 40 counts that carry a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
"Rape can leave lasting scars and destroy lives," prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo argued on the second-to-last day of the trial that has made headlines worldwide.
"It can be something the victim carries with them for their entire life."
Dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt that revealed his arm tattoos, Hoiby, who does not formally belong to the royal household, did not react to the sentence called for by the prosecutor in the Oslo court.
He has pleaded guilty to several relatively minor offences but denied the alleged rapes, which the prosecution said took place while the women were asleep or passed out.
Central to the case has been whether or not the women were in a condition to consent to having sex.

Alcohol and drugs

The scandal -- which has seriously damaged the Norwegian monarchy's image -- erupted on August 4, 2024, when police arrested Hoiby on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend the night before.
The investigation into that incident uncovered a slew of other suspected offences, as video footage and pictures on his phone and laptop depicted what police believed could be rapes.
Until they were called in for questioning by police, the four alleged victims said they had been unaware of what had happened to them or that the actions could -- according to the prosecution -- be considered criminal.
The alleged rapes all took place after nights of partying, during which Hoiby had consumed alcohol and drugs, and following consensual sex.
One of them allegedly took place in the the basement of the residence of the crown prince couple, while they were home. 
In his closing arguments, Henriksbo painted a picture of the accused as a person "who thinks he can do whatever he wants" and who cared little about checking with his sex partners "when they were asleep and he wanted more".
Throughout the trial -- in which Hoiby testified he had repeated blackouts about the nights in question -- the accused insisted that all of the sex had been consensual and that he was not in the habit of having sex with people who were asleep.

'Not a monster'

Hoiby was also accused of physically abusing ex-girlfriends.
The prosecutor described him as a man "prone to fits of anger, jealous, and, especially when under the influence, capable of losing control".
"He can lose it, 'blow a fuse', scream, throw phones, even knives, kick walls. And we even heard (testimony) about strangling, hitting and spitting," Henriksbo said.
"Marius Borg Hoiby is not a monster. None of us are. We're all human beings, with good and bad sides. He should not be judged for who he is, but for what he's done," the prosecutor said.
On Friday, the princess's son broke down in tears when he spoke of the "media pressure" that, in his view, has "erased him as a person".
"I'm no longer Marius, I'm a monster. I've become the hate target of all of Norway," he told the court.
Hoiby is also accused of making threats, violating restraining orders, property damage, traffic offences and transporting 3.5 kilos (nearly eight pounds) of marijuana, without financial gain, according to him.
The tall blond man with the beginnings of a goatee, wearing rings and earrings, spent much of the trial slouched over the defendant's table, drawing and chewing gum or using moist snuff. 
After the prosecution's closing arguments, lawyers for the alleged victims were to address the court, following which Hoiby's defence lawyers were to present their final arguments on Thursday.
The court is expected to hand down its verdict in several weeks' or possibly months' time.
phy/po/rmb

health

Greenland's teenage boxers throwing punches to survive

BY FLORENT VERGNES

  • It was also a way to honour their mother, a former Greenland martial arts champion. 
  • When the bell rang, William let out a cry drowned out by the crowd: that night, the Greenlandic teen was boxing for his mother, who killed herself two years ago.
  • It was also a way to honour their mother, a former Greenland martial arts champion. 
When the bell rang, William let out a cry drowned out by the crowd: that night, the Greenlandic teen was boxing for his mother, who killed herself two years ago.
Suicide is one of Greenland's leading causes of premature death and the autonomous Danish territory has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
An "epidemic", some Greenlanders call it, striking above all teenagers and young adults.
"Come on, crush him!" the crowd shouted, the smell of sweat heavy beneath the Arctic island's flag hanging above the ring.
William, 15, ducked the blows of his Danish opponent before he was hit with a straight punch and collapsed in the arms of the referee.
"I was devastated," he told AFP a few days later from his home in the capital Nuuk. 
"The morning of the match, I woke up crying, thinking of her. I promised her I would win," he said.
William's gaze occasionally drifted to a photograph of his smiling mother, Mette, hung on the wall. 
The former Danish colony faces numerous social challenges, including drug and alcohol addiction and social inequality.
When Denmark launched a major urbanisation drive in the 1970s, hundreds of the island's indigenous Inuit families were moved from their villages and pressed into apartment blocks in larger towns. 
Inuit culture is deeply rooted in the land and tight-knit community life, so leaving behind traditional hunting and fishing livelihoods triggered a sense of dislocation and loss of identity, experts say. 
According to medical journal The Lancet, the displacement left deep trauma and sent suicide rates soaring in the 1980s.
Young Greenlanders still feel the effects of traumas experienced by previous generations, a concept known as intergenerational transmission, another study in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health showed.
And access to mental health support remains limited. 

'Relief'

After his mother's suicide, William turned first to alcohol and drugs. 
His brother Kian, now 19, chose a different form of adrenaline: he pulled on boxing gloves "to clear my head". 
For the pair, boxing became an escape, where they could meet "positive people".
It was also a way to honour their mother, a former Greenland martial arts champion. 
Originally from northern Greenland, Mette had been placed in an orphanage in the capital Nuuk as her parents were unable to care for her.
A pile of her gold medals lay jumbled on the coffee table.
"When we were younger, we used to use her medals as trophies. We lost a couple of them," said William. "I feel like I owe her medals."
In 2023, suicide accounted for 7.4 percent of deaths in Greenland, according to the same study in The Lancet. 
"We all know at least one or two family members or friends who have killed themselves," said Kian. "Or many more."
"Not so long ago, two of my friends committed suicide," added William.
At a gym in Nuuk, a group of youths grunted through push-ups ordered by their coach, 27-year-old former boxer Philippe Andersen.
"Discipline is key," he told AFP. "A couple of months before the fight, no drinking, no smoking, nothing. Nothing fun."
Some may have been bullied, lost loved ones or face social problems "but we try not to think about it while we're boxing".  
"They often have something they're angry about," he said, adding boxing offered them "relief from their daily lives". 
When night falls and the gym empties, Nuuk's streets fill with teenagers. Along the coast, it's not unusual to see a lone teenager staring at the sea. 
Behind them, rows of Soviet-style apartment blocks tower over the cliff, remnants of Denmark's urbanisation drive in the 1970s.
On the crumbling facade of Block T, a light installation paid tribute to the victims of suicide.

Limited help

Despite a pressing need for psychological support, isolation in small settlements, coupled with a shortage of Kalaallisut-speaking staff, severely limits access to care. 
Most consultations take place online. 
But in recent years authorities have strengthened helplines and begun decentralising the training of mental health professionals to improve access to care.
Originally from Qaqortoq in the island's south, the brothers' family moved to the capital 10 years ago in search of a better life. 
This summer, William will leave for Denmark to continue his studies, far from his friends and older brother.
"It's very hard," he said. 
Spurred by his coaches, Kian said he hoped to join him and try out for Denmark's national boxing team -- a way for him "to move on".
fv/cbw/po/rh/giv/jhb

children

Brazil starts to restrict minors' access to social media

  • Digital platforms are required to demand "reliable" age verification to prevent minors under the age of 18 from accessing prohibited or inappropriate content, such as pornographic or violent material.
  • Brazil began implementing new measures on Tuesday to restrict minors' access to social media and prevent them from viewing violent or illegal content.
  • Digital platforms are required to demand "reliable" age verification to prevent minors under the age of 18 from accessing prohibited or inappropriate content, such as pornographic or violent material.
Brazil began implementing new measures on Tuesday to restrict minors' access to social media and prevent them from viewing violent or illegal content.
A law regulating children's use of social media was approved last year after a scandal involving the alleged sexual exploitation of minors on Instagram, and comes into effect this week.
The hyper-connected nation of 212 million people joins several other countries seeking to protect children from addictive social media algorithms.
Some, like Australia, have outright banned access, while others require stronger age verification measures or parental consent.
In Brazil, adolescents up to 16 years of age must now have their accounts linked to that of a legal guardian. 
Digital platforms are required to demand "reliable" age verification to prevent minors under the age of 18 from accessing prohibited or inappropriate content, such as pornographic or violent material.
"What our legislation did was ban self-declaration" as an age verification mechanism, as "that method is ineffective," said Iage Miola, Director of the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), the government body tasked with implementing the law. 
Details on how the mechanism will work have not yet been released.
From Tuesday, a "transition period"  will start, during which the ANPD will outline the technical aspects of the law.
Miola said he had met with representatives from technology companies to review their proposals.
He said the preferred verification method was, for the time being, users uploading an identity document and providing biometric photo verification.
The law also requires digital platforms to remove content that appears to depict sexual exploitation or abuse, and notify Brazilian authorities. 
Companies that fail to comply with the new regulations face punishment ranging from fines of up to 50 million reais (approximately 9 million dollars) and account suspensions, to an outright "ban" in cases of repeated non-compliance. 
The law bans advertising aimed at children and adolescents, as well as so-called "loot boxes" --items within video games which users pay for to receive a surprise reward. 
"Unlike other countries, Brazil opted for a law that is not limited to regulating social media for children, but rather covers the entire internet," Renata Tomaz, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.
jss/app/fb/sms

conflict

'We will wait for each one': Ukrainians greet POWs with tears and cheers

BY DARIA ANDRIIEVSKA

  • Gladka and the others stood with tears in their eyes, waving their hands and gripping giant Ukrainian flags.
  • Larysa Gladka was among hundreds of Ukrainians lining the road stretching towards the northern border, holding flags as they anxiously fixed their gaze at the horizon.
  • Gladka and the others stood with tears in their eyes, waving their hands and gripping giant Ukrainian flags.
Larysa Gladka was among hundreds of Ukrainians lining the road stretching towards the northern border, holding flags as they anxiously fixed their gaze at the horizon.
Their northern region of Chernigiv was occupied when Russian forces invaded four years ago. Now liberated, it is the gateway for freed Ukrainian prisoners of war heading home.
The 50-year-old Gladka, whose husband was killed fighting Russian troops and whose son is serving in the army, took a place at the roadside with her neighbours to be the first to welcome a convoy of Ukrainians freed from gruelling Russian captivity earlier this month.
"You rejoice and cry, and you tremble inside from the emotion -- seeing those eyes that are both sad and joyful and filled with tears," she told AFP during a recent prisoner exchange.
She had parked her car over on a hill overlooking the road for a better view into the distance.
Others scanned the horizon with binoculars.
After an agonising wait, the column of vehicles came into view. Ambulance sirens blared and bus horns wailed.
From the windows, out peered the emaciated faces of the newly freed Ukrainian prisoners, heads shaved and wounds visible.
Gladka and the others stood with tears in their eyes, waving their hands and gripping giant Ukrainian flags.

'Our duty'

Prisoner swaps -- and the exchange of remains of dead soldiers retrieved from the battlefield -- are one of the only areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv.
Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Kyiv says more than 8,000 POWs have been returned, as well as the bodies of more than 17,000 dead soldiers.
The locals' tradition of heralding home the returnees, many of whom were detained for years, started with a small group of five or six people.
It has since grown into a network stretching the roads from the border with Belarus, where the swaps take place, with dedicated social media groups set up to track the buses, alerting the next town to get ready.
"It's a sign of gratitude, to thank the guys for protecting us, and so that they know that we are waiting for them," said Anna Kondratenko, an employee of a local village council.
"It is not our obligation, but our duty," the 33-year-old, whose brother-in-law was released after more than two years in Russian detention, said.
"These are our children, these are our warriors, they defended us," said Olga, 55, tearing up.
The latest exchange -- 500 Ukrainian for 500 Russian soldiers -- took place over two days in March, agreed as part of US-mediated talks on ending the war.
But with those negotiations now derailed by the war in the Middle East, the timing for the next release is unclear.

'Until the end'

Driver Andriy, 53, is one of the first Ukrainian faces many of the freed soldiers see as they clamber onto his bus.
"The guys are surprised that they are being welcomed like this," he told AFP.
"It's like a second birthday. There are no words. You get goosebumps. It brings tears to your eyes," Yaroslav Rumyantsev, who was released after 39 months in Russian captivity, said.
Many soldiers report ill-treatment or torture while in Russian captivity and are told nobody is waiting for them back home.
Bogdan Okhrimenko, who works with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War that facilitates the swaps, said the organisation was constantly working to bring more Ukrainians home.
"As soon as we have achieved results in the negotiations, we are ready to carry out the next planned exchange," he told AFP. 
The war has displaced millions of Ukrainians, killed thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, with much of eastern and southern Ukraine devastated.
Both sides claim to be capturing dozens more soldiers by the day.
With no end to the fighting in sight, the locals in Chernigiv say they will keep flocking to the roadside for as long as the buses keep coming.
"Until the end -- until everyone is exchanged. We will wait for each one. We will wait for all our guys," Kondratenko said. 
Fifty-year-old Anatoliy Devitsky was more direct.
"Until every last Russkiy is taken out and peace comes."
bur-jbr/jc/tw/lb

Ireland

Leftist New York mayor under pressure on Irish unity question

  • New York hosts the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade, attracting two million spectators.
  • New York's leftist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was facing pressure Tuesday over his position on Irish unification as he helped lead the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.
  • New York hosts the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade, attracting two million spectators.
New York's leftist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was facing pressure Tuesday over his position on Irish unification as he helped lead the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.
Mamdani has been an outspoken supporter of self-determination, particularly for the Palestinian people, a position that has put him at odds with pro-Israeli New Yorkers.
On Monday he declined to answer a question from an audience member about his position on Irish unity, saying "I gotta be honest, I haven't thought enough on that question."
And on Tuesday as Mamdani -- adorned with an Irish tricolor sash and shamrock boutonniere -- prepared to march in the city's parade, he was asked if he'd "had a chance to think more about a united Ireland."
"There's always more to learn, but I can tell you as someone who believes deeply in the principle of self-determination, that I think that should also be extended to the Irish. I think when it comes to the future of Ireland, the best people to listen to are the Irish," he said.
Following his answer Monday, Mary Rambaran-Olm, an academic specializing in medieval literature, said "can someone introduce Zohran Mamdani to the writings by his dad on British imperialism?" 
"Selective anti-imperialism, the family edition. Anyway, the Irish aren't waiting for Mamdani to comment on a united Ireland, so whatev," she posted on social media.
Mamdani's father is Mahmood Mamdani, a political science professor who has written several books about colonialism.
There is heated debate in both parts of Ireland -- the British-administered north, and the republic in the southern part which was declared in 1949 -- about the merits and disadvantages of reunification.
Sinn Fein, which seeks an end to British rule in Northern Ireland and the unification of the whole island of Ireland, currently holds sway in the north having come first in 2022 elections.
Social media users joked that New York's centrist governor, who sits to the right of Mamdani on many issues, had a more progressive position on Irish unity than the mayor.
When asked Tuesday if she supported a united Ireland, Governor Kathy Hochul said "indeed I do."
New York hosts the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade, attracting two million spectators.
The Bay Ridge neighborhood in Brooklyn is known as "Little Ireland" and Irish-Americans make up more than four percent of New York's population, according to official data.
gw/bjt/mlm

conflict

In Ukraine, Sean Penn gifted Oscar made from train carriage hit by Russia

  • "This Oscar was made of the metal of a railway car" damaged in a Russian attack, it said, calling the statuette "a symbol of resilience".
  • US actor Sean Penn, who skipped Sunday's Oscars ceremony to visit Ukraine, has been gifted a symbolic version of the famous statuette made from the damaged metal of a train carriage hit in a Russian strike.
  • "This Oscar was made of the metal of a railway car" damaged in a Russian attack, it said, calling the statuette "a symbol of resilience".
US actor Sean Penn, who skipped Sunday's Oscars ceremony to visit Ukraine, has been gifted a symbolic version of the famous statuette made from the damaged metal of a train carriage hit in a Russian strike.
Penn, a staunch backer of Kyiv, scooped the best supporting actor award at the glitzy Hollywood ceremony for his role in dystopian dramedy "One Battle After Another" but chose to visit Ukraine instead of receiving the award in person.
Penn is a vocal advocate for Ukraine and has visited the country several times since Russia invaded, including to co-direct a documentary about President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he calls a friend.
Ukraine's state rail group said Tuesday it wanted to make sure the star got his hands on the award -- in one form or another -- despite his trip to Kyiv.
"Sean Penn came to Ukraine and missed the Academy Awards -- so Ukrainian railway gave him one of his own," Ukrainian railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) said on X.
The company posted a video of its CEO gifting Penn a silver statue in the shape of an Oscar carved from a flat piece of metal.
"This Oscar was made of the metal of a railway car" damaged in a Russian attack, it said, calling the statuette "a symbol of resilience".
Penn had in 2022 gifted Zelensky one of his real Oscar statues during a visit to Ukraine.
The actor had won two previous awards for his roles in "Mystic River" and "Milk".
Zelensky told AFP in February that Penn's "One Battle After Another" was one of his most recently watched films.
bur-mmp/jc/rmb