auction

The $10 mn bag: Original Birkin smashes records at Paris auction

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby's website showed.
  • The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag. 
  • The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby's website showed.
The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at a Sotheby's auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag. 
The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby's website showed.
"After weeks of anticipation, the bidding opened at 1 million euros — prompting a gasp from the room," Sotheby's said in a statement. 
The final buyer, who eclipsed eight other rivals, was a "private collector from Japan", the auction house added, without giving further details. 
The previous record price for a handbag at auction was set by a diamond-encrusted crocodile skin Hermes Kelly 28, which fetched $513,000 in 2021 at Christie's in Hong Kong.
Sotheby's had advised that the Birkin prototype was expected to beat that level during its sale. 
But the staggering price tag for a well-worn item is in keeping with the fashion world's recent flashy aesthetics.
After years of so-called "quiet luxury" dominating catwalks, designers have embraced more ostentatious looks in recent seasons that have been dubbed "boom boom" by some trend forecasters.
Modern-day Birkin bags are offered by Hermes to loyal clients, with prices starting at around $10,000.

'Nostalgic'

The original Birkin has changed hands twice since being put up for sale by Birkin at an auction in 1994 where the proceeds went to an AIDS charity, according to Sotheby's.
Thursday's sale represents an extraordinary pay day for owner Catherine Benier, who has a boutique in the upmarket 6th district in Left Bank Paris.
She said she was "astonished at the result" in a statement sent by Sotheby's. 
"I’m already very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but extremely happy it has found a new loving home," she added. 
She told The New York Times before the sale that the bag, which she bought at auction 25 years ago, was the "jewel in my collection".
The bag is now the second-most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said.
The record was established by a pair of ruby red slippers worn by actor Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

'Many years of use'

The birth of the Birkin bag has become a modern fashion legend. 
During a Paris-London flight, the singer and film star -- who died in 2023 -- complained to fellow traveller Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermes, about not being able to find a bag suited to her needs as a young mother.
The result of their conversation was a spacious tote with room for baby bottles, created in 1984 and named the Birkin.
The protoype, which Birkin regularly carried with her and customised with stickers, is engraved with the initials J.B. and has several unique features, including closed metal rings, a non-detachable shoulder strap and a built-in nail clipper.
Its condition "reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer", Sotheby's said beforehand. 
A slightly differently sized version of the original has become the flagship product of the immensely profitable family-owned Hermes ever since. 
Produced in very limited numbers, the bag has maintained an aura of exclusivity and is beloved by celebrities from the Kardashians, Jennifer Lopez to Victoria Beckham.
Frustrated fashionistas in America even sued Hermes in a class-action suit in California last year after they were refused access to the bags.
Birkin had a sometimes strained relationship with Hermes, once threatening to take her name off the bags because of the group's treatment of crocodiles whose skins are used for its products.
The former wife of French singing legend Serge Gainsbourg championed a host of causes, including animal rights.
adp/sbk

gender

Europe court says S.African Semenya's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair

BY PAULINE FROISSART WITH ALICE HACKMAN IN PARIS

  • The ECHR said the Swiss court did not give the case a "rigorous judicial review that was commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue", and had therefore breached Semenya's right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.
  • A top European court ruled Thursday that the Swiss judiciary did not give double Olympic champion Caster Semenya a fair trial when she contested a rule forcing her to lower her testosterone levels to be able to compete as a woman.
  • The ECHR said the Swiss court did not give the case a "rigorous judicial review that was commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue", and had therefore breached Semenya's right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.
A top European court ruled Thursday that the Swiss judiciary did not give double Olympic champion Caster Semenya a fair trial when she contested a rule forcing her to lower her testosterone levels to be able to compete as a woman.
However, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said it could not determine whether or not the South African runner had suffered discrimination.
The verdict came after a row over the gender of an Algerian boxing champion engulfed the 2024 Paris Olympics, and as the International Olympic Committee mulls reintroducing contested gender testing.
Semenya, 34, is classed as having "differences in sexual development", but has always been legally identified as female.
She has been unable to compete in her favoured 800m since 2018, after she refused to take drugs to reduce testosterone levels under rules from World Athletics, the  track and field governing body.
Semenya told journalists the ECHR decision was a "positive outcome".
"We need to respect athletes, we need to put their rights first," said the athlete, who was Olympic 800m champion in 2012 and 2016 and world champion in 2009, 2011 and 2017.
It was a reminder to leaders that "priorities lie in the protection of athletes," she added.
Semenya has pursued a legal marathon to contest the World Athletics rule.
The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against her in 2019 and the decision was validated by the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne in 2020.
It judged that a testosterone level comparable to that of men gave female athletes "an insurmountable advantage".
The ECHR said the Swiss court did not give the case a "rigorous judicial review that was commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue", and had therefore breached Semenya's right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.
It ordered Switzerland to pay her 80,000 euros ($93,000) for expenses.
South Africa's sport minister Gayton McKenzie said "Semenya has become the face of defiance against injustice in global sport, and this victory in court is a victory for every African child."
He vowed to continue supporting Semenya in the "fight for your bodily rights".

'Not far enough'

An ECHR lower chamber in 2023 ruled that Semenya was the victim of discrimination by the Court of Arbitration for Sport -- though it did not tackle the World Athletics rule, nor allow Semenya to return to competition without taking medication.
Swiss authorities, supported by World Athletics, appealed to the European court's 17-member Grand Chamber, leading to Thursday's final ruling.
The Grand Chamber, however, said it could not rule on any discrimination as the alleged offence did not fall under Switzerland's jurisdiction.
Seema Patel, a sports law expert, said "the Grand Chamber didn't go far enough to recognise all violations in this case".
"But there is at least an alert to sport that convention rights must be respected," she said.
Antoine Duval, another legal scholar, said the ECHR had implied the World Athletics rule was disproportionate.
Its judgement "encourages intersex athletes affected by these rules to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and relaunch the debate," he said.
There are many types of "differences in sexual development", a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs.
Formerly known as intersexuality, they occur in approximately one in 1,000 to 4,500 births.
Semenya was born with the "46 XY" chromosome, rather than the XX chromosome most women have.
Before the 2009 world championships, where Semenya won the 800m aged 18, she was forced to undergo gender testing. She was then put on medication to reduce testosterone levels.
Semenya said she felt like a "human guinea pig" and vowed to reject future treatment.
Testosterone is produced by men and women but men produce 20 times more of the sex hormone.
But how much the hormone boosts performance remains a matter of debate.

'Degrading'

The International Olympic Committee is weighing reintroducing gender testing.
World Athletics and World Boxing have already adopted chromosomal testing -- generally a cheek swab to check for the Y chromosome. World Aquatics in 2023 adopted a policy that foresees such testing.
Supporters say screening simplifies access to women's competition, and UN rapporteur Reem Alsalem has said such tests are "reliable and non-invasive".
But Madeleine Pape, a sociologist of gender in sport, says there is a lack of research proving DSD athletes gain a "disproportionate advantage" over XX competitors.
Human Rights Watch has called the World Athletics rule "degrading and invasive".
The gender debate reignited in June around Paris Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif. 
US President Donald Trump and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling were among figures who stoked a row over the Algerian's gender.
burs-pau-ah/tw

auto

Fatigued Afghan taxi drivers take novel approach to AC

  • "Many cars weren't equipped with air conditioning anyway, which is why we're installing these," he told AFP in his small shop in central Kandahar. 
  • Broken air conditioning?
  • "Many cars weren't equipped with air conditioning anyway, which is why we're installing these," he told AFP in his small shop in central Kandahar. 
Broken air conditioning? Afghan taxi drivers have cobbled together a creative solution to spare them and their passengers from the sweltering heat. 
In Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan where temperatures easily exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), blue taxis can be spotted with an air conditioning unit strapped to the roof with an exhaust hose delivering the cool air through the passenger window.
"It started getting extremely hot three or four years ago. These cars' AC systems didn't work, and repairs were too expensive. So I went to a technician, (and) had a custom cooler made," said driver Gul Mohammad.
The 32-year-old spent 3,000 Afghanis ($43) for the system, which he connects to his taxi's battery and regularly refills with water. 
"This works better than (built-in) AC. ACs only cool the front — this cooler spreads air throughout," said fellow driver Abdul Bari.
Other devices are connected to solar panels, also mounted on the taxi's roof. 
Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, is also one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 
It is particularly affected by heat waves and is suffering from increased drought. 
Murtaza, a 21-year-old technician, said that demand from taxi drivers has been growing over the past two or three years. 
"Many cars weren't equipped with air conditioning anyway, which is why we're installing these," he told AFP in his small shop in central Kandahar. 
Afghan cities are often saturated with ageing vehicles, which are enjoying a last-ditch life after being transferred from neighbouring countries. 
"When there's no cooler, it becomes very difficult," said Norullah, a 19-year-old passenger who did not provide a last name, his face inches from the blast of cold air.
"These drivers are helping solve the problem, and that's great."
str-cgo/ecl/lb

internet

Hippo birthday: Thai internet sensation Moo Deng turns one

BY MONTIRA RUNGJIRAJITTRANON AND SALLY JENSEN

  • A small crowd of fans gathered outside her enclosure on Thursday morning -- fewer than the hordes she commanded at the height of her fame, but still animated with adoration.
  • Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame.
  • A small crowd of fans gathered outside her enclosure on Thursday morning -- fewer than the hordes she commanded at the height of her fame, but still animated with adoration.
Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, drawing crowds of diehard fans even as she left behind the cute animal infancy that earned her worldwide internet fame.
Big crowds are expected at a four-day festival at Khao Kheow Open Zoo where Moo Deng -- meaning "Bouncy Pork" in Thai -- frolicked to stardom and amassed five million social media followers.
The first day of the extravaganza fell on a Thai public holiday with an agenda including a lecture on "Moo Deng's cheekiness", while a skincare beautician paid $3,000 to sponsor her "birthday cake" made of an edible plant arrangement.
A small crowd of fans gathered outside her enclosure on Thursday morning -- fewer than the hordes she commanded at the height of her fame, but still animated with adoration.
Visitor Jennifer Tang took a week off her work in Malaysia to make the pilgrimage, telling AFP she was "a little bit obsessed" with the calf she described as a "chaos rage potato".
"She's really special to me, she makes me happy," she said. Tang insisted Moo Deng is "still really sassy and funny" despite approaching maturity.
"Take a look at the crowd today -- she's still a legend," she told AFP.

'Sassy diva'

Moo Deng has swollen from five kilograms (11 pounds) at birth to 93 kilograms today. 
She spent her birthday plodding in her enclosure and submerged in a pond -- a stark contrast to her energetic yet clumsy antics as a pint-sized pachyderm.
"Moo Deng used to be very naughty and jumped around all the time," said Attaphol Nundee, one of her six handlers. "Now, she only eats and sleeps."
"Her popularity has slowed," admitted the 32-year-old. "But some old fans have returned, and there are new ones too."
Despite her waning fame, "her eyes light up when people take photos of her", he said.
Moo Deng took only a few demure bites of her "birthday cake" made of watermelon, corn, dragon fruit and tomato before her mother Joana devoured it almost in its entirety.
"She was kind of hesitant at first with the cake, so I was like, 'Oh my gosh, come on diva!'," said Molly Swindall, a TikTok influencer from the United States.
Hundreds of spectators queued for their allotted five-minute audience with Moo Deng at the Chonburi province zoo, a two-hour drive from Bangkok.
One eager fan took home Moo Deng's bathtub, which was auctioned off for around $3,000 to raise funds for the zoo.  

'Cute doesn't last long'

Moo Deng's blubbery rose-blushed face launched a thousand memes and a plethora of merchandise, including piggy banks, party shirts and popsicles -- prompting her owners to trademark her likeness.
At one point, her popularity quadrupled ticket sales for the zoo where she resides in a sparse, stone, five square metre (54 square feet) public enclosure, once livestreamed 24/7.
There were hopes her stardom would spotlight the plight of the endangered pygmy hippo, native to West Africa with only around 2,500 left alive according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
But social media and search engine metrics suggest Moo Deng's popularity peaked around late September before dramatically declining. 
"Moo Deng went viral very quickly when she was born," said Joshua Paul Dale, an academic who teaches courses on the phenomenon of "cuteness" at Japan's Chuo University.
"Maybe part of our appreciation of cuteness is knowing that it's something that doesn't last very long," he told AFP.
Moo Deng is part of a pantheon of captive animals who have enjoyed flash-in-the-pan popularity online, including Australia's Pesto the penguin and China's Hua Hua the panda.
Pygmy hippos have a lifespan of between 30 and 50 years.
"Moo Deng won't be the most popular forever," admitted her handler Attaphol. "One day there will be a new generation of Moo Deng."
bur-sjc/jts/lb

enterprises

China heatwaves boost ice factory sales

BY JING XUAN TENG

  • Last week, authorities warned of heat-related health risks across large swathes of eastern China, including Zhejiang province where Hangzhou is located.
  • In a high-ceilinged room on the outskirts of eastern China's Hangzhou, workers use tongs to slide large blocks of frosty white ice along a metal track into a refrigerated truck.
  • Last week, authorities warned of heat-related health risks across large swathes of eastern China, including Zhejiang province where Hangzhou is located.
In a high-ceilinged room on the outskirts of eastern China's Hangzhou, workers use tongs to slide large blocks of frosty white ice along a metal track into a refrigerated truck.
Sales have picked up in recent weeks, boosted by heatwaves sweeping the whole country as summer sets in, the owner of Feichao ice factory, Sun Chao, told AFP.
Globally, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense because of climate change, experts say, and China is no exception -- 2024 was the country's hottest on record, and this year is also set to be a scorcher. 
Last week, authorities warned of heat-related health risks across large swathes of eastern China, including Zhejiang province where Hangzhou is located.
"In the spring, autumn, and winter, a higher temperature of two to three degrees doesn't have a big impact on our sales," Sun said. 
"But in the summer, when temperatures are slightly higher, it has a big impact."
Feichao is a relatively small facility that sells ice to markets, produce transporters, and event organisers.
As the mercury soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in multiple cities across China recently, ice from businesses like Sun's was used to cool down huge outdoor venues.
In neighbouring Jiangsu province, organisers of a football match attended by over 60,000 people placed more than 10,000 large blocks of ice around the stadium, according to the state-owned Global Times.

Extreme summers

As AFP watched lorries being loaded with Feichao's ice on Wednesday, an employee from a nearby seafood shop came on foot to purchase two ice blocks -- each selling for around $3.50 -- hauling them off in a large plastic bag.
"In May and June, I can sell around 100 tonnes a day. In July, that number grows, and I can sell around 300 to 400 tonnes," Sun told AFP. 
China has endured a string of extreme summers in recent years.
In June, authorities issued heat warnings in Beijing as temperatures in the capital rose to nearly 40 degrees Celsius, while state media said 102 weather stations across the country logged their hottest-ever June day. 
The same month, six people were killed and more than 80,000 evacuated due to floods in southern Guizhou province.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists generally agree are driving climate change and making extreme weather more intense and frequent.
It is also a global leader in renewable energy, adding capacity at a faster rate than any other country.
tjx/reb/fox

leisure

Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday

  • "We are living very close to nature here.
  • Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives.
  • "We are living very close to nature here.
Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives.
Petri Stenberg is enjoying a "shepherd week" together with his wife Oona and their two children Fia, age 2, and Hugo, 4, on an old farm on an island in the Isojarvi national park in central Finland.
The popular holiday scheme, organised by the Metsahallitus company that manages and protects state-owned land and water areas, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation.
"We are living very close to nature here. We feed the sheep a couple of times a day, we have been to the sauna, swam and gone fishing," Oona Stenberg, who works as a physiotherapist, told AFP.
"Not once have I seen any news here. There's no TV here, we haven't browsed our phones. So in a way, my mind has somehow calmed down and I'm just concentrating on being here," she added.
Accessible only by rowboat or on foot through the forest and across a bridge, the old farm is one of around a dozen remote sites across Finland to which Finns can apply for a week-long holiday taking care of sheep.
Historically, grazing sheep and other animals have played a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and habitats for flora and fauna at the various locations.
But changed forestry and agricultural practices, including a "dramatic" decline in the number of small farms in Finland, have seen these traditional biotopes of so-called semi-natural grasslands and wooded pastures become an endangered part of Finland's nature, explained Metsahallitus expert Leena Hiltunen. 
"The main purpose of the shepherd weeks is to increase people's knowledge about these traditional biotopes," Hiltunen said. 
The vegetation on the Isojarvi island was traditionally kept light and lush as grazing sheep prevented overgrowth, providing the necessary ecosystem for now-endangered plant and insect species. 
Compared to the 1950s, less than one percent of Finland's traditional biotopes and landscapes remain, according to Metsahallitus, with most of them now located in protected areas.
"Appreciation and protection of nature is so important... So it is really important for all of us to learn about it and for children to learn to appreciate it," said Oona Stenberg.
 

Popular holiday

 
Metsahallitus received 12,764 applications from 2,236 applicants -- many applying for more than one site -- for this year's summer season.
A total of 158 shepherd weeks are selected through a lottery.
"There has been a great deal of interest," Hiltunen said.
The Stenberg family, who lives in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki, applied a few times until they finally got lucky this year.
A week typically costs between 400 and 670 euros ($470-$780) at most locations.
The housing is spartan and simple, in huts or cottages often lacking running water and sometimes even electricity.
"Some people have asked us why we wanted to pay to herd sheep and do some yard work," laughed Oona Stenberg.
"But it is really an experience for us, and the kids are loving it," she added, sipping from her coffee cup outside the family's yellow cottage, surrounded by old wooden outhouses and a sauna overlooking the lake. 
In Finland, many people spend their summers in rustic countryside cottages.
Hiltunen said only Finns could apply for the shepherd weeks because it was crucial to know "how to manage the modest lifestyle" in nature on one's own.
"We don't have enough resources to advertise it internationally, or have someone there nearby advising how things work," she said.
 

'Break from everyday life'

 
On the lakeland island, a sense of complete serenity hung in the air, the grey sky suggesting rain was on its way.
The family had been instructed to count the dozen sheep every day "and make sure their overall health is good, that they are eating enough and checking that the fencing is intact," said Petri Stenberg, who drives excavators for a living.
The small farm was a working farm until 1989 and was bought by Metsahallitus in the 1990s. 
Flipping through the pages of a notebook inside the house, Petri Stenberg showed writings and a few sketches of sheep from previous visitors who documented their daily life and observations.
"This is a real break from everyday life," he said.
ank/po/djt

Bedouin

Israel's Bedouin communities use solar energy to stake claim to land

BY RUTH EGLASH

  • For the solar panels to be built, the land must be registered as part of the Bedouin village, strengthening their claim over it.
  • At the end of a dusty road in southern Israel, beyond a Bedouin village of unfinished houses and the shiny dome of a mosque, a field of solar panels gleams in the hot desert sun.
  • For the solar panels to be built, the land must be registered as part of the Bedouin village, strengthening their claim over it.
At the end of a dusty road in southern Israel, beyond a Bedouin village of unfinished houses and the shiny dome of a mosque, a field of solar panels gleams in the hot desert sun.
Tirabin al-Sana in Israel's Negev desert is the home of the Tirabin (also spelled Tarabin) Bedouin tribe, who signed a contract with an Israeli solar energy company to build the installation.
The deal has helped provide jobs for the community as well as promote cleaner, cheaper energy for the country, as the power produced is pumped into the national grid.
Earlier this month, the Al-Ghanami family in the town of Abu Krinat a little further south inaugurated a similar field of solar panels.  
Bedouin families have for years tried and failed to hold on to their lands, coming up against right-wing groups and hardline government officials.
Demolition orders issued by Israeli authorities plague Bedouin villages, threatening the traditionally semi-nomadic communities with forced eviction. 
But Yosef Abramowitz, co-chair of the non-profit organisation Shamsuna, said solar field projects help them to stake a more definitive claim.
"It secures their land rights forever," he told AFP.
"It's the only way to settle the Bedouin land issue and secure 100 percent renewable energy," he added, calling it a "win, win".
For the solar panels to be built, the land must be registered as part of the Bedouin village, strengthening their claim over it.

Land recognition

Roughly 300,000 Bedouins live in the Negev desert, half of them in places such as Tirabin al-Sana, including some 110,000 who reside in villages not officially recognised by the government. 
Villages that are not formally recognised are fighting the biggest battle to stay on the land.
Far-right groups, some backed by the current government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have stepped up efforts in the past two years to drive these families away.
A sharp increase in home demolitions has left the communities vulnerable and whole families without a roof over their heads.
"Since 2023, more than 8,500 buildings have been demolished in these unrecognised villages," Marwan Abu Frieh, from the legal aid organisation Adalah, told AFP at a recent protest in Beersheva, the largest city in the Negev.
"Within these villages, thousands of families are now living out in the open, an escalation the Negev has not witnessed in perhaps the last two decades."
Tribes just want to "live in peace and dignity", following their distinct customs and traditions, he said.
Gil Yasur, who also works with Shamsuna developing critical infrastructure in Bedouin villages, said land claims issues were common among Bedouins across the Negev.
Families who include a solar project on their land, however, stand a better chance of securing it, he added.
"Then everyone will benefit -- the landowners, the country, the Negev," he said. "This is the best way to move forward to a green economy."

Positive energy

In Um Batin, a recognised village, residents are using solar energy in a different way –- to power a local kindergarten all year round.
Until last year, the village relied on power from a diesel generator that polluted the air and the ground where the children played.
Now, a hulking solar panel shields the children from the sun as its surface sucks up the powerful rays, keeping the kindergarten in full working order.
"It was not clean or comfortable here before," said Nama Abu Kaf, who works in the kindergarten.
"Now we have air conditioning and a projector so the children can watch television."   
Hani al-Hawashleh, who oversees the project on behalf of Shamsuna, said the solar energy initiative for schools and kindergartens was "very positive".
"Without power you can't use all kinds of equipment such as projectors, lights in the classrooms and, on the other hand, it saves costs and uses clean energy," he said.
The projects are part of a pilot scheme run by Shamsuna. 
Asked if there was interest in expanding to other educational institutions that rely on polluting generators, he said there were challenges and bureaucracy but he hoped to see more.
"We need people to collaborate with us to move this forward," he said, adding that he would "love to see a solar energy system in every village".
reg/phz/jsa

migration

Greece to halt asylum hearings for migrants on boats from Africa

BY JOHN HADOULIS

  • "The road to Greece is closing... any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament.
  • Greece will suspend all asylum hearings for migrants arriving on boats from North Africa for three months, the prime minister said Wednesday following a rise in migrant arrivals from Libya.
  • "The road to Greece is closing... any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament.
Greece will suspend all asylum hearings for migrants arriving on boats from North Africa for three months, the prime minister said Wednesday following a rise in migrant arrivals from Libya.
The move came after more than 2,000 migrants landed on Crete in recent days, sparking anger among local authorities and tourism operators. Crete is one of Greece's top travel destinations, and premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis' home island.
Greece had hoped to stem the arrivals by reaching out to the authorities in Benghazi, eastern Libya, and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli -- but that failed.
"The road to Greece is closing... any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament.
The conservative leader said legislation would be put to a vote in the chamber on Thursday, and that Athens was keeping the EU informed on the issue.
The measure was a "necessary temporary reaction" and a message "to smugglers and their potential clients", said Mitsotakis.
Greece took similar steps in 2020 during a migration surge at its land border with Turkey, which Athens accused Ankara of facilitating.
Another group of some 520 people were rescued near Crete early Wednesday, and will be rerouted to the Athens port of Lavrio, the coastguard said.
"The flows are very high," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told Action 24 channel late Tuesday, adding that the wave was "growing and ongoing".

'Invasion'

On Sunday, the Greek coastguard rescued more than 600 asylum seekers in various operations in the area.
AFP pictures showed some of them landing near Agia Galini beach on the south of Crete, where many tourists were bathing.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris -- a former member of Greek far-right party Laos -- posted on X that the country was taking "immediate actions to counter the invasion from North Africa."
"Clear message: Stay where you are, we do not accept you," he wrote.
According to the coastguard, 7,300 asylum seekers have reached Crete and the nearby island of Gavdos this year, up from fewer than 5,000 last year.
More than 2,500 arrivals have been recorded since June alone.
To manage the influx, the government could reopen camps built in the mainland after the 2015 migration crisis, Marinakis said.
Mitsotakis told parliament that a camp would also be built on Crete, with a second one also possible.

Diplomatic row

Greece had hoped arrivals could be reduced with the help of the authorities in eastern Libya in Benghazi, and the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.
But a visit Tuesday by the EU's migration commissioner and the migration ministers of Greece, Italy and Malta was unsuccessful.
Accusing the bloc's delegation of a "flagrant breach of diplomatic norms", the authorities who hold sway over eastern Libya said they had cancelled the visit and told the EU officials to "leave Libyan territory immediately".
The diplomatic breakdown has sparked concern in Greece of thousands of additional migrant arrivals from Libya.
"The other side is not cooperating," Marinakis said, referring to the authorities in Benghazi.
Mitsotakis on Wednesday said Greece's navy and coastguard were willing to work with Libyan authorities to keep migrant boats from leaving the country's territorial waters, or to turn them back before entering Greek waters.
Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.
Greece had reached out to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar before the botched EU visit, sending Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Sunday.
Gerapetritis is also scheduled to hold talks with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli on July 15.
jph-yap/jj

fashion

Syrian designer Rami Al Ali to make history at Paris Couture Week

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • - Creative freedom - Beyond the catwalks and glitz of the fashion world, Al Ali also attempted to support Syrian artists through the country's nearly 14-year civil war via a charity initiative called Ard Dyar.
  • As well as being optimistic about the future of his war-ravaged country, Rami Al Ali has other reasons to be upbeat: he is about to become the first Syrian fashion designer to show his work at Paris Haute Couture Week. 
  • - Creative freedom - Beyond the catwalks and glitz of the fashion world, Al Ali also attempted to support Syrian artists through the country's nearly 14-year civil war via a charity initiative called Ard Dyar.
As well as being optimistic about the future of his war-ravaged country, Rami Al Ali has other reasons to be upbeat: he is about to become the first Syrian fashion designer to show his work at Paris Haute Couture Week. 
The invitation to appear on the world's most prestigious fashion stage is a huge endorsement for the 53-year-old from the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor who turned to design after a childhood admiring his architect father's drawings.
Now, following years of dressing A-listers from Oscar winner Helen Mirren to Beyonce as well as Middle Eastern royals, Ali is rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in the industry.
"Nervous, excited, tired, happy," he told AFP when asked how he felt as he prepared models for his debut Paris Couture show on Thursday. "It's a mix of very overwhelming feelings."
After studying in Damascus, Al Ali left for Dubai as a young man in search of opportunities in the fashion industry, working initially for two regional brands. 
He branched out on his own in 2001, building a regional fanbase for his eponymous brand from the United Arab Emirates before creating a following in Europe, including via shows in Paris outside the official Fashion Week calendar from 2012. 
The invitation this year from France's prestigious Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode places him in a new elite category that is increasingly diverse.

Syrian traditions

"It's a definitely big credit... to be acknowledged, to be authenticated, to be endorsed," he explained. 
Other non-Western designers such as Imane Ayissi, the sole sub-Saharan African at Couture Week, have hailed the French federation's openness.
"It shows that things are changing, that things are moving forward," former model Ayissi told AFP this week.
Al Ali's new collection of couture dresses -- he also produces two lines of ready-to-wear per year -- has been inspired like most of his work by his Syrian heritage and includes input from the country's Craft Council.
"I built from my heritage, from my background, from where I was based, also in the Middle East, in Dubai, all of those combined together created the form and the DNA of the brand," he explained. 
Given an appreciation of tradition from his historian mother, Al Ali draws on the design aesthetics of Damascus, Aleppo and Palmyra in particular.
"You don't see them anywhere else, and those are the ones that I'm trying as much as I can every time to bring back to life," he added.
One of his dresses in Thursday's collection features elaborate sculptural patterns made from rolled off-white crepe fabric that has been stitched by hand in a process that took an estimated 300 hours of work.

Creative freedom

Beyond the catwalks and glitz of the fashion world, Al Ali also attempted to support Syrian artists through the country's nearly 14-year civil war via a charity initiative called Ard Dyar.
The fall of former president Bashar al-Assad in December, which led to the rise of rebel-turned-transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has given Ali cause for optimism about his homeland's future.
Several Western governments have lifted sanctions on Syria as Sharaa, a formerly Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist, attempts to fully pacify the country and rebuild. 
"We called the collection the 'Guardian of Light', and it came also at a time that is very hopeful, very promising," Al Ali told AFP. "I think many great things will come to light very soon."
After decades of Syria being a byword for violence and political oppression, Ali hopes that artists will now help highlight the country's rich history and design culture. 
"I think now we have much more freedom in expressing ourselves in all different aspects, political, humanitarian, creative. We have a lot to say, and definitely we are bolder, braver in the way we express it," he said.
adp/tw

celebrity

Demna bows out at Balenciaga with star-studded Paris catwalk show

BY MARINE DO-VALE AND ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • Demna has won fans among millennials and Gen-Z stars with his streetwear-inspired style including Kardashian, a personal friend who wore one of his black shrouds to the Met Gala in 2021, as well as British pop sensation Charli XCX. Fellow designer Franck Sorbier, who presented his own collection inspired by Inca culture on Wednesday, praised Demna's impact on Balenciaga in an interview with AFP. "It's a brand that has managed to find its footing again, that forged its own path and succeeded in returning to the forefront of fashion —- which was far from guaranteed, given that there were many attempts along the way, and not all of them worked," Sorbier said backstage.
  • Maverick Georgian fashion designer Demna bowed out after 10 years at Balenciaga on Wednesday with a star-studded Paris show featuring Kim Kardashian and veteran supermodel Naomi Campbell on the catwalk.
  • Demna has won fans among millennials and Gen-Z stars with his streetwear-inspired style including Kardashian, a personal friend who wore one of his black shrouds to the Met Gala in 2021, as well as British pop sensation Charli XCX. Fellow designer Franck Sorbier, who presented his own collection inspired by Inca culture on Wednesday, praised Demna's impact on Balenciaga in an interview with AFP. "It's a brand that has managed to find its footing again, that forged its own path and succeeded in returning to the forefront of fashion —- which was far from guaranteed, given that there were many attempts along the way, and not all of them worked," Sorbier said backstage.
Maverick Georgian fashion designer Demna bowed out after 10 years at Balenciaga on Wednesday with a star-studded Paris show featuring Kim Kardashian and veteran supermodel Naomi Campbell on the catwalk.
The final collection from the 44-year-old -- who is switching to fellow Kering-owned brand Gucci -- was watched by celebrities from Nicole Kidman to Katy Perry.
The austere Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2025 collection featured female models in mostly black and white with exaggerated shoulders and padded hips, while men wore oversize jackets and trousers so long they gathered on the floor.
Other models included veteran French actress Isabelle Huppert and 1990s supermodel Eva Herzigova.
The designer from the war-torn region of Abkhazia in Georgia, who is known by a single name, made headlines at the Paris-based Spanish heritage brand during his decade in charge with his $2,000 "Ikea" bag and a $1,800 so-called "trash pouch".
He was also behind a much-criticised 2023 advertising campaign that appeared to reference child abuse, leading to a rebuke from billionaire Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, who watched Wednesday's show with his actress wife Salma Hayek.
Demna has won fans among millennials and Gen-Z stars with his streetwear-inspired style including Kardashian, a personal friend who wore one of his black shrouds to the Met Gala in 2021, as well as British pop sensation Charli XCX.
Fellow designer Franck Sorbier, who presented his own collection inspired by Inca culture on Wednesday, praised Demna's impact on Balenciaga in an interview with AFP.
"It's a brand that has managed to find its footing again, that forged its own path and succeeded in returning to the forefront of fashion —- which was far from guaranteed, given that there were many attempts along the way, and not all of them worked," Sorbier said backstage.
Demna appeared at the end of his presentation on Wednesday to acknowledge applause wearing a black hoodie and cap, paired with combat trousers.

Gucci challenge

Having multiplied sales at Balenciaga and made it edgy and mainstream, his next task of reviving the flagging fortunes of under-performing Gucci is seen as a huge challenge.
"His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs," Pinault said at the time.
Shares in luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns Balenciaga and Gucci, fell around 12 percent on the day of the announcement of his promotion in March and have sunk further since.
Some analysts have questioned whether Demna's recipe for success at Balenciaga -- which leant heavily on provocation and showmanship -- can be replicated at the more classic Italian house.
"He is iconoclast and ironic, which is good to attract attention toward a small brand like Balenciaga," Luca Solca, a luxury analyst at the Bernstein brokerage, wrote in March. 
"However, we are not sure the strategy would work as well for a bigger brand," he added.
After Demna's farewell, Belgian designer Glenn Martens will find himself in the spotlight when he unveils his first collection for Maison Margiela, following his appointment in January to succeed British designer John Galliano.
Martens has big shoes to fill, with the house's last couture show under eccentric showman Galliano in January 2024 considered a huge success by critics.
The day will also see new collections unveiled by the Dutch duo Viktor & Rolf, Hong Kong's Robert Wun, French designer Franck Sorbier, Japan's Yuima Nakazato and the Lebanese designers Zuhair Murad and Elie Saab.
Tuesday saw a final show by Chanel under its in-house design studio, the fifth since former chief creative Virginie Viard's sudden departure in June 2024.
The collection featured a play-it-safe reinterpretation of its classic tweed looks in front of A-listers from Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz and Kirsten Dunst to singers Lorde and Gracie Abrams.
Newly installed chief creative Matthieu Blazy, a highly respected Franco-Belgian designer, will showcase his first ready-to-wear collection for Chanel in October in what will be one of the biggest events of the fashion calendar this year.
Haute Couture Week is dedicated to handcrafted, one-of-a-kind creations bought by celebrities and VIPs for red carpets, galas and other high-profile events.
mdv-adp/rl/djt

toys

Mattel launches Barbie doll with diabetes

  • The new Barbie has been designed in partnership with the global type 1 diabetes not-for-profit Breakthrough T1D. "Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation," said Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls. 
  • Mattel has launched its first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes in a bid to foster a greater sense of inclusion and empathy among children, a company vice-president said Tuesday.
  • The new Barbie has been designed in partnership with the global type 1 diabetes not-for-profit Breakthrough T1D. "Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation," said Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls. 
Mattel has launched its first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes in a bid to foster a greater sense of inclusion and empathy among children, a company vice-president said Tuesday.
The new Barbie has been designed in partnership with the global type 1 diabetes not-for-profit Breakthrough T1D.
"Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation," said Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls. 
"Barbie helps shape children's early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love."
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. 
It is often diagnosed in childhood, and patients have to monitor their glucose levels and take insulin every day.
The new doll wears a CGM -- a small device that continuously measures a person's blood sugar -- on her arm to help manage her condition.
To keep her CGM in place, she uses a pink heart-shaped medical tape along with a phone that displays an app to help track her blood sugar levels throughout the day.
She also has an insulin pump, a small, wearable medical device that allows for automated insulin dosing as needed, attached to her waist.
The doll is wearing a blue polka dot top and matching skirt inspired by global diabetes awareness symbols.
Alongside the new model, the company also launched a bespoke Lila Moss doll, complete with the CGM paraphernalia.
Moss, daughter of supermodel Kate Moss, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 12 years old.
For several years Mattel has aimed to diversify its models, particularly those of the iconic doll Barbie, after having offered for decades -- barring a few exceptions -- a young, lithe blonde white woman with high heels.
Since 2016 the California company notably launched "curvy," "petite" and "tall" versions of Barbie.
In 2019, the company unveiled a line of "gender-inclusive" dolls as well as those with physical disabilities.
abh/fox

dissent

Exiled Chinese lawyers grieve loss of civil society decade after crackdown

BY ISABEL KUA

  • Li told AFP he had once believed that China could gradually move away from its authoritarian system through promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights. 
  • Ten years ago, human rights lawyer Li Fangping was enjoying a peaceful evening in his hometown in central China with his young son when he heard a knock on the door.
  • Li told AFP he had once believed that China could gradually move away from its authoritarian system through promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights. 
Ten years ago, human rights lawyer Li Fangping was enjoying a peaceful evening in his hometown in central China with his young son when he heard a knock on the door.
When he opened it, more than a dozen officers burst into his living room and ordered him to follow them to the police station, where he was interrogated and threatened.
"They said... if I didn't cooperate, I wouldn't be allowed to leave," Li, now in exile, told AFP, describing his July 2015 detention.
He was one of the hundreds of lawyers and rights activists rounded up under a sweeping mass arrest campaign often referred to as the "709 crackdown".
Beijing has intensified its hold on civil society since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012, tightening its grip on freedom of speech and stamping all forms of dissent.
Ultra-nationalists often troll public intellectuals who express liberal opinions online, while those with strident pro-government views are boosted by the state.
"The Chinese government under Xi Jinping has sought to eradicate the influence of lawyers who defend people's rights," said Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch.
Li told AFP he had once believed that China could gradually move away from its authoritarian system through promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights. 
But the 709 crackdown made it clear to him the Communist Party's autocracy "is unchangeable".
"As long as someone is seen as challenging their authority, they believe that person must be crushed."

'More systematic'

The civil rights scene has "fundamentally changed" under Xi, said Wang Ying, a lawyer to one of the country's most prominent rights activists, Xu Zhiyong -- now in prison serving a 14 year sentence.
"The rights defence movement had gradually begun to exhibit stronger organisation, persistence, and influence," Wang, now based in the United States, told AFP.
"As a result, the repression became faster, more thorough and more systematic."
Lawyer Teng Biao said his community had already encountered suppression -- including disbarment, arbitrary detention, torture and imprisonment -- before Xi took office.
Teng and Li said they were both kidnapped, detained and tortured in 2011 during the country's "Jasmine Revolution", when the Arab Spring inspired calls for pro-democracy demonstrations.
"I was forced to sit down on the ground (from 6:00 am to midnight) facing the wall with my back straight, and if I moved a little bit, they would beat me," Teng, who moved to the United States in 2014, told AFP.
Before his detention, he had publicly criticised the Communist Party and top leaders.
Teng said authorities wanted to "punish me and silence me".
During the same period, Li was stopped on the streets of Beijing, pushed into a car by a group of strangers, forced to wear a black hood and driven to a detention centre in the mountains hours away.
For the next five days, he was interrogated for 30 hours straight, wore handcuffs attached to a chair when he slept, and was beaten and slapped for not obeying strict rules, Li said.
– 'Destroyed' -
While Wang, 37, was not arrested during the crackdown, she hopes to embody the "spirit of resistance" shown by the lawyers who were.
Since taking on Xu's case in 2023, Wang said she had been surveilled, harassed, and threatened by Chinese authorities.
Before leaving China, she said she was approached by "secret police" who asked her to be an informant.
"I provided no information after leaving the country but this non-cooperation puts me at risk if I return," Wang told AFP.
She now fears she would be barred from leaving the country, arbitrarily detained, unfairly tried, or tortured on returning to China.
The human rights movement has almost been "completely destroyed" in the wake of the crackdown, Teng said.
Activists and lawyers still in the country, he said, were facing a difficult time with much higher risks.
"But if there's any hope -- they are the hope of China's future and civil society."
isk/oho/mtp

security

US scraps shoe removal at airport screening

  • Passengers at US airports have been required to take off shoes during screenings since 2006, five years after the arrest of "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid, who had explosives hidden in his footwear onboard.
  • Passengers at US airports will no longer have to remove their shoes to pass through security under a new policy unveiled Tuesday, 20 years after the requirement was introduced.
  • Passengers at US airports have been required to take off shoes during screenings since 2006, five years after the arrest of "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid, who had explosives hidden in his footwear onboard.
Passengers at US airports will no longer have to remove their shoes to pass through security under a new policy unveiled Tuesday, 20 years after the requirement was introduced.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the change to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules at a news conference at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Passengers at US airports have been required to take off shoes during screenings since 2006, five years after the arrest of "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid, who had explosives hidden in his footwear onboard.
"In those 20 years since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It's evolved. TSA has changed. We have a multi-layered whole of government approach now to security," Noem said.
"We are very confident that we can continue to provide hospitality to folks and for American travelers and for those visiting our country, while maintaining the same standard of security for passengers and for our homeland," she added.
Reid, a member of Al-Qaeda, was overpowered by other passengers as he tried to light a fuse on his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.
Reid pleaded guilty to terrorism and other charges and is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado.
TSA said in a statement on the shoe policy change that other security measures will remain in place.
"Other aspects of TSA's layered security approach will still apply during the TSA checkpoint process. For example, passengers subject must still clear identity verification, Secure Flight vetting, and other processes," it said.
Past attacks -- both successful and thwarted -- have led to a raft of new airport security measures in recent decades, especially following the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers in New York as well as the Pentagon.
In 2006, British authorities announced they had foiled a terror plot that aimed to blow up several planes in mid-air simultaneously with liquid explosives. Since then, tough restrictions have applied to liquids and gels, such as toothpaste.
And electronics have also come in for additional screening in a bid to head off attacks, with passengers required to remove laptops from bags, for instance.
cl-wd/md

witchcraft

Indian villagers beat five to death for 'witchcraft'

  • "After beating the victims to death, the perpetrators loaded the bodies onto a tractor and dumped them in a pond," police said.
  • Indian villagers beat a family of five to death and dumped their corpses in a lake， accusing them of "practising witchcraft" after the death of a boy, police said Tuesday.
  • "After beating the victims to death, the perpetrators loaded the bodies onto a tractor and dumped them in a pond," police said.
Indian villagers beat a family of five to death and dumped their corpses in a lake， accusing them of "practising witchcraft" after the death of a boy, police said Tuesday.
Three people have been arrested and have confessed to the crime, police in the northern state of Bihar said in a statement.
Three women -- including a 75-year-old -- were among those murdered.
The main accused believed that his son's recent death was caused by one of those killed, and blamed "him and his family of practising witchcraft", the statement said.
"After beating the victims to death, the perpetrators loaded the bodies onto a tractor and dumped them in a pond," police said.
The murderers and victims all belonged to India's Oraon tribe in Bihar, India's poorest state and a mainly Hindu region of at least 130 million people.
Despite campaigns against superstition, belief in witchcraft remains widespread in rural areas across India, especially in isolated tribal communities.
Some states, including Bihar, have introduced laws to try to curb crimes against people accused of witchcraft and superstition.
Women have often been branded witches and targeted, but the killing of the family of five stands out as a particularly heinous recent example.
More than 1,500 people -- the overwhelming majority of them women -- were killed in India on suspicion of witchcraft between 2010 and 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Some believe in the occult, but attackers also sometimes have other motives including usurping their rights over land and property. 
sai/pjm/dhw

mitres

Mitre by mitre: N. Macedonian nuns craft priceless holy headwear

BY DARKO DURIDANSKI

  • It was gifted to Francis by a North Macedonia state delegation to the Vatican in 2016. 
  • In total silence, Sister Elisaveta stitched the sacred headwear for which her monastery in North Macedonia is renowned throughout the Orthodox world. 
  • It was gifted to Francis by a North Macedonia state delegation to the Vatican in 2016. 
In total silence, Sister Elisaveta stitched the sacred headwear for which her monastery in North Macedonia is renowned throughout the Orthodox world. 
In her careful hands, the mitre glimmered as if spun from gold. 
The bulbous silk crown, now repaired, was again fit for a bishop. 
Nestled between mountains and overlooking a placid lake about 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Skopje, Saint George the Victorious monastery produces unique headdresses worn by patriarchs around the world. 
"We are the only one in the world that works with this type of mitre," Sister Efimija told AFP, referring to her workshop of 10 nuns. 
- Sewing secrets - 
The sisters work as a team, helped by two novices, each nun perfecting a particular part of the technique.  
"Each of the sisters has her own assignment in the process," Efimija said, as she watched a colleague make the final touches to her repair work. 
Some elements of the handmade production are so secret they are known to only a small number of nuns, the 44-year-old said.
Originally a home to monks, the monastery was shut by the communist government after World War II and turned into stables. 
But since it reopened as a convent in 2001, its Christian Orthodox nuns have fashioned 1,700 incredibly detailed mitres, Efimija said. 
Although mitres are worn by the Catholic pope, and by bishops and some abbots from several Christian denominations, those made at Saint George are reserved for higher-ranking priests in the Christian Orthodox Church. 
Exceptionally, the nuns crafted a special headdress for the late pope Francis, which took five months to finish. 
It was gifted to Francis by a North Macedonia state delegation to the Vatican in 2016. 
He was "pleasantly surprised", Efimija said with pride. 
- 'Priceless' - 
Decorated with vibrant colours, gold embroidery and jewels, every mitre weighs between one and two kilograms (2.2 and 4.4 pounds). 
They take at least four weeks to produce. Some need six months to complete. 
According to Sister Efimija, the Saint George mitres follow the lavish style of the late Byzantine Empire.  
But her workshop, with its secret techniques, adds a unique flair. 
Despite its opulence, the mitre symbolises the crown of thorns that Christians believe was placed on Christ's head during the crucifixion and Sister Efimija said she hoped each would bring humility to its wearer. 
"If the bishop wears such a priceless object on his head and does not feel the burden of torments borne by contemporary man, then he wears the mitre in vain", she said. 
dd/al/gil 

children

Now 48, man becomes 140th 'stolen grandchild' tracked in Argentina

  • "Thanks to perseverance and constant work... they (stolen grandchildren) will continue to appear, but the search cannot be done alone," she said at the "Space for Memory," a former torture center converted into a memorial site in the capital.
  • Nearly five decades after he was born in a dictatorship-era detention center and snatched from his mother, a Buenos Aires man has become the 140th person identified as one of Argentina's hundreds of "stolen grandchildren."
  • "Thanks to perseverance and constant work... they (stolen grandchildren) will continue to appear, but the search cannot be done alone," she said at the "Space for Memory," a former torture center converted into a memorial site in the capital.
Nearly five decades after he was born in a dictatorship-era detention center and snatched from his mother, a Buenos Aires man has become the 140th person identified as one of Argentina's hundreds of "stolen grandchildren."
DNA tests confirmed the birth identity of the 48-year-old introduced by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo activist group Monday simply as "Grandchild No. 140."
The group has worked for decades to trace the whereabouts of young activist women who were arrested and "disappeared" by Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship, and the now-adult babies they bore in captivity.
Nearly 500 infants are believed to have been taken, many given to childless people close to a dictatorship keen to have them raised as regime loyalists.
The identity of "Grandchild No. 140" was not revealed at a press conference held by the Grandmothers to announce the happy breakthrough.
But among those present was his older sister, Adriana Metz Romero, who works with the Grandmothers and tearfully told reporters she could not wait to meet her sibling in person.
"Now I know where my brother is!" she said, sitting with a black-and-white photo of their parents: Graciela Alicia Romero and Raul Eugenio Metz, left-wing activists snatched by authorities in December 1976.
Romero was 24 years old, mother to a one-year-old daughter, and five months pregnant at the time, according to the Grandmothers.
She gave birth to a son on April 17, 1977 while held at a clandestine detention center known as "La Escuelita" in the port city of Bahia Blanca. 
She was tortured there, according to witness testimony. Neither Romero nor Metz was heard from again.
The Grandmothers said Romero's long-lost son was finally found thanks to an anonymous tip.
"We decided to call him to find out if he would agree to a DNA test. He agreed, and it was confirmed that he is my brother," said Metz Romero, who has had initial contact with him via video call.
She was herself raised by her grandparents.

'Right to identity'

Founded in 1977, the Grandmothers group takes its name from the Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires where women defied the dictatorship to hold protests demanding information on the whereabouts of their loved ones. 
Rights groups say about 30,000 people died or disappeared under the brutal rule, though Argentina's current libertarian President Javier Milei has claimed the number was lower.
The Grandmothers have accused Milei of defunding their research in his quest to slash public spending.
In June, the group went to court to demand protections for the National Genetic Data Bank -- which helped in this case but has been left largely "paralyzed" by budget cuts, according to the Grandmothers.
Leader Estela de Carlotto, herself reunited with a lost grandson decades after her pregnant daughter disappeared, made another appeal for support Monday.
"Thanks to perseverance and constant work... they (stolen grandchildren) will continue to appear, but the search cannot be done alone," she said at the "Space for Memory," a former torture center converted into a memorial site in the capital.
"It was the state itself, through state terrorism, that facilitated the abduction of these children, so it must now facilitate the search for them," said the 94-year-old.  
"These 300 people who still need to be found are part of our society and must be able to exercise their right to identity," she added.
sa-pbl/esp/mlr/aks

diplomacy

UN General Assembly condemns 'systematic oppression' of women in Afghanistan

  • The text "expresses its serious concern about the grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban."
  • The United Nations General Assembly on Monday denounced the "systematic oppression" of women and girls in Afghanistan by the country's Taliban authorities.
  • The text "expresses its serious concern about the grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban."
The United Nations General Assembly on Monday denounced the "systematic oppression" of women and girls in Afghanistan by the country's Taliban authorities.
The resolution was adopted by 116 votes in favor versus the United States and Israel against, with 12 abstentions.
The text "expresses its serious concern about the grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban."
It said the Taliban, a strictly conservative Islamist armed group that took control of the country in 2021, "has put in place an institutionalized system of discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity and the exclusion of women and girls."
Since taking power, Taliban authorities, who also ruled the country between 1996 and 2001, have restricted women's education and ability to work, and barred them from participation in many forms of public life. 
Member states called on the Taliban "to swiftly reverse contradictory policies and practices," including laws that "extend the already intolerable restrictions on the human rights of women and girls and on basic personal freedoms for all Afghans."
The resolution welcomed the Doha talks, initiated in 2023 by the UN to coordinate the international community's approach to the Taliban authorities, and called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to appoint a coordinator to facilitate that process.
The United States opposed the resolution and rejected engagement with the Taliban government.
"Nearly four years following the Taliban takeover, we continue the same conversations and engage with the same so-called Taliban officials about improving the situation in Afghanistan without demanding results from them," said US representative Jonathan Shrier.
"The United States will no longer enable their heinous behavior."
The Taliban returned to power after reaching a peace agreement with the United States during President Donald Trump's first term, overthrowing the country's government after foreign forces withdrew under the deal. 
Russia officially became the first country to recognize the Taliban government last week. 
abd-aha/aks

fashion

Celebs light up Schiaparelli to open Paris Haute Couture Week

BY MARINE DO-VALE AND ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • - Absences - One of the highlights of Haute Couture week will be the swansong of Demna, who goes by one name and is known for his daring work as well as controversies during his decade-long stint at Kering-owned Balenciaga.
  • A celeb-heavy show by Schiaparelli kicked off Paris Haute Couture Week on Monday, the first of four packed days that will see Georgian showman Demna bow out from Balenciaga after 10 years at the brand.
  • - Absences - One of the highlights of Haute Couture week will be the swansong of Demna, who goes by one name and is known for his daring work as well as controversies during his decade-long stint at Kering-owned Balenciaga.
A celeb-heavy show by Schiaparelli kicked off Paris Haute Couture Week on Monday, the first of four packed days that will see Georgian showman Demna bow out from Balenciaga after 10 years at the brand.
Schiaparelli designer Daniel Roseberry, hot on the heels of providing one of Lauren Sanchez's outfits for her blockbuster Venice wedding to Jeff Bezos last month, drew a roster of A-listers.
Rapper Cardi B turned up in a traffic-stopping tasselled neckpiece and posed with a black crow perched on her hand in the drizzle outside the Petit Palais exhibition space, where Roseberry's collection, entitled "Back to the Future", was unveiled.
The front row also included singer Dua Lipa, who wore a full-length petalled white bridal outfit, as well as US trans actress Hunter Schafer, known for HBO hit show "Euphoria".
Haute Couture Week is dedicated to handcrafted, one-of-a-kind creations bought by celebrities and VIPs for red carpets, galas and other high-profile events.
Schiaparelli was followed by a show by Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, who said her creations were inspired by the ocean and British documentary maker David Attenborough's heart-rending new film on sea life.
Known for fusing technology and fashion, van Herpen presented body-hugging dresses evoking fish scales or seaweed, the flowing tails and fins of tropical fish, and the curling forms of seahorse tails.
Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi also celebrated the natural world, sending out his models to the sound of birdsong with dresses featuring leaf motifs as well as insect-shaped brooches made from glass beads.
Tuesday will see Chanel present the final collection created by its in-house design studio, the fifth since former chief creative Virginie Viard's sudden departure in June 2024.
Her successor, the discreet and highly respected Franco-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy, was appointed in December and will showcase his first collection for Chanel in October.

Absences

One of the highlights of Haute Couture week will be the swansong of Demna, who goes by one name and is known for his daring work as well as controversies during his decade-long stint at Kering-owned Balenciaga.
The man behind a $2,000 "Ikea" bag and a $1,800 so-called "trash pouch", as well as a much-criticised advertising campaign that appeared to reference child abuse, will present his final collection on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old, acclaimed by millennials and Gen-Z stars from Kim Kardashian to British pop sensation Charli XCX, has been tasked with reviving the flagging fortunes of Gucci by outgoing Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault.
After Demna's farewell on Wednesday, Belgian designer Glenn Martens will find himself in the spotlight when he unveils a first collection for Maison Margiela, following his appointment in January to succeed British designer John Galliano.
Martens has big shoes to fill, with the house's last couture show under Galliano in January 2024 considered a huge success by critics.
In total, 27 brands will unveil their creations during Haute Couture Week, including Elie Saab, Armani Prive, Aelis, Viktor&Rolf, Adeline Andre and Dubai-based Rami Al Ali, who is set to become the first Syrian to join the official Paris calendar.
Following a spate of major changes at fashion houses, some absences will stand out, particularly Dior's.
After a highly anticipated debut during the men's Fashion Week on June 27, newly appointed artistic director Jonathan Anderson is holding back his first haute couture collection for January 2026.
Named in early June to lead Dior's women's and couture lines as well, the 40-year-old Northern Irishman has become the first person since founder Christian Dior himself to oversee all three branches of the house.
American Michael Rider, who succeeded Hedi Slimane as chief designer at Celine, unveiled his first collection for the luxury French brand on Sunday, outside the official calendar.
mdv-adp/jhb

court

The making of Australia's mushroom murders

BY LAURA CHUNG

  • - 'Delicious and beautiful' - Patterson forked out for expensive cuts of fillet steak, slathering the meat in minced mushrooms before coating it in pastry to make individual parcels of baked beef Wellington. 
  • Australian Erin Patterson served a beef Wellington lunch that was "delicious" by all accounts, using eye fillet steak, flakey golden pastry, and the deadliest mushrooms known to man. 
  • - 'Delicious and beautiful' - Patterson forked out for expensive cuts of fillet steak, slathering the meat in minced mushrooms before coating it in pastry to make individual parcels of baked beef Wellington. 
Australian Erin Patterson served a beef Wellington lunch that was "delicious" by all accounts, using eye fillet steak, flakey golden pastry, and the deadliest mushrooms known to man. 
The keen home cook murdered her husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their sumptuous Saturday lunch with death cap mushrooms, a jury found on Monday.   
For more than two months Patterson's trial has been followed around the world, the sense of intrigue fuelled by her choice of dish, method of murder, and the mystery of her motive. 
The courtroom spectacle has been dubbed Australia's "trial of the century". 
Patterson, 50, hosted the intimate family lunch at her tree-shaded home in the farming village of Leongatha on July 29, 2023. 
The mother-of-two planned a menu to match what she said was a "special" occasion, dishing up beef Wellington, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy. 
Joining her that afternoon were Don and Gail Patterson, the elderly parents of her long-estranged husband Simon. 
Simon's maternal aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church, rounded out the group. 
Patterson was disappointed husband Simon refused to come because he felt "uncomfortable". 
Still legally married, their once-cordial relationship was showing signs of strain. 
"I hope you'll change your mind," she texted in reply, to no avail. 

'Delicious and beautiful'

Patterson forked out for expensive cuts of fillet steak, slathering the meat in minced mushrooms before coating it in pastry to make individual parcels of baked beef Wellington. 
Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity. 
The guests gobbled up so much of the deadly feast they had little appetite for the cake laid out as dessert, the trial heard.
As they ate, Patterson told the group she had cancer and needed help telling her children, Pastor Ian recalled during the trial.
The group prayed and asked for "God's blessing on Erin". 
Heather later raved about the food, telling a friend it was "delicious and beautiful". 
Even as the first waves of sickness wracked her body, she could find no fault with the cooking. 
"I did ask Heather what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious," doctor Christopher Webster told the trial.
But the guests' blood was soon coursing with deadly amatoxin, a potent poison produced by death cap mushrooms to ward off hungry forest critters. 
Don, Gail and Heather died of organ failure within a week. 
Ian was the only guest to survive.

Death cap country

A humble weatherboard building knocked together in 1895, the lives of Patterson and her victims in many ways revolved around the Korumburra Baptist Church. 
Ian was the long-serving pastor, preaching to a small but hardy flock every Sunday. 
Patterson was less devout but still helped livestream the church's services on social media.
A short drive from the neat church yard lies the local cemetery, a plot of land framed by grazing cattle and gently sloping hills. 
Plastic pink and white flowers mark the graves of Don and Gail almost two years since they were buried. 
"Just remember that death is not the end," reads a plaque for the couple. 
It is a swathe of rural Australia well known for its lush woodlands and verdant native forests. 
And it is exactly the sort of damp, fertile place where death cap mushrooms -- or Amanita phalloides -- freely sprout in the wild. 
Blamed for 90 percent of the world's fungus-related fatalities, a single mushroom contains enough poison to send the liver into catastrophic failure.

'Super sleuth'

Described as witty and intelligent, Patterson was a devoted mother, an avid book collector and a cooking enthusiast. 
She was a busy cog in her tight-knit community, volunteering to edit the village newsletter.
Patterson was also a true crime buff, joining a Facebook group to chew over details from infamous Australian murders. 
Friend Christine Hunt told the trial Patterson had a reputation as "a bit of a super sleuth".  
Patterson and husband Simon split in 2015, but did their best to stay on friendly terms. 
By 2022, this once-cordial relationship had soured, marred by arguments over Simon's child support obligations. 
Patterson told a friend her husband was "coercive", the trial heard. 
She was frustrated her parents-in-law had refused to take her side in the dispute.
"I'm sick of this shit I want nothing to do with them," Patterson wrote to a friend on Facebook several months prior to the lunch.

'I loved them'

Almost 100 days passed between the beef-and-pastry feast and Patterson's arrest in early November 2023. 
Patterson seemed to cooperate with the mounting investigation, attending police interviews, speaking with health officials and willingly handing over her phone and computers.
But detectives would soon uncover signs she dished up the meal with murderous intent. 
Patterson lied about having ovarian cancer in a bid to lure the guests to her house, prosecutors told the trial after finding no medical records of the illness. 
She also lied about owning a food dehydrator used to prepare the mushrooms, which police found at a nearby rubbish tip. 
It tested positive for traces of death cap mushrooms. 
Patterson suggested she accidentally bought the death caps at an Asian grocer near Melbourne. 
Food safety officers found no sign of the shop.
Death cap sightings were posted on a nature-lovers' website months before Patterson baked the tainted dish. 
Phone records suggested she may have visited these spots in the lead-up to the meal. 
Before she was taken into custody, Patterson would tearfully speak to a crowd of journalists gathered outside her home.
"I am devastated. I loved them. I cannot believe this has happened and I am so sorry they have lost their lives." 

'I lied'

Patterson's trial was held in the nearby town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet better known for its yearly rose garden festival. 
Crowds of journalists, podcasters, and true crime fans swarmed to catch a glimpse of what would soon be billed Australia's "trial of the century".  
Newspapers from New York to New Delhi picked up every morsel of courtroom drama. 
More than 50 witnesses spoke across eight full weeks of testimony: doctors, nurses, fungi experts, detectives, and Patterson's estranged husband. 
Then, finally, the cook herself took the stand. 
Patterson said she never intended to kill or harm the people she loved. 
She admitted lying to police -- but only because she feared being blamed for a deadly accident. 
"I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible," she told the trial.
The jury took almost a full week of deliberations to judge Patterson guilty. 
She will be sentenced at a later date. 
Ian, the sole lunch survivor, sat through almost every hour of the trial. 
When his time came to testify, he could offer no explanation for what drove Patterson to murder. 
"When we met, things were friendly. We never had arguments or disputes," he said. 
"She just seemed like an ordinary person."
lec-sft/djw/hmn

migration

Nearly 450,000 Afghans left Iran since June 1: IOM

BY SUSANNAH WALDEN

  • In late May, Iran ordered undocumented Afghans to leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people out of the around six million Afghans Tehran says live in the country.
  • Nearly 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since the start of June, the UN's refugee agency said on Monday, after Tehran ordered those without documentation to leave by July 6. 
  • In late May, Iran ordered undocumented Afghans to leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people out of the around six million Afghans Tehran says live in the country.
Nearly 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since the start of June, the UN's refugee agency said on Monday, after Tehran ordered those without documentation to leave by July 6. 
The influx comes as the country is already struggling to integrate streams of Afghans who have returned under pressure from traditional migrant and refugee hosts Pakistan and Iran since 2023.
The country is facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises after decades of war.
This year alone, more than 1.4 million people have "returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan", the United Nations refugees agency UNHCR said. 
In late May, Iran ordered undocumented Afghans to leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people out of the around six million Afghans Tehran says live in the country.
Numbers of people crossing the border surged from mid-June, with some days seeing around 40,000 people crossing, UN agencies have said.
From June 1 to July 5, 449,218 Afghans returned from Iran, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration told AFP on Monday, bringing the total this year to 906,326.
Many people crossing reported pressure from authorities or arrest and deportation, as well as losing already limited finances in the rush to leave quickly.
Massive foreign aid cuts have impacted the response to the crisis, with the UN, international non-governmental groups and Taliban officials calling for more funding to support the returnees.
The UN has warned the influx could destabilise the country already grappling with entrenched poverty, unemployment and climate change-related shocks and urged nations not to forcibly return Afghans.
"Forcing or pressuring Afghans to return risks further instability in the region, and onward movement towards Europe," the UN refugees agency UNHCR said in a statement on Friday.
Taliban officials have repeatedly called for Afghans to be given a "dignified" return.
Iranian media regularly reports mass arrests of "illegal" Afghans in various regions.
Iran's deputy interior minister Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian said on Thursday that while Afghans illegally in the country were "respected neighbours and brothers in faith", Iran's "capacities also have limits".
That the ministry's return process "will be implemented gradually", he said on state TV.
Many Afghans travelled to Iran to look for work, sending crucial funds back to their families in Afghanistan.
"If I can find a job here that covers our daily expenses, I'll stay here," returnee Ahmad Mohammadi told AFP on Saturday, as he waited for support in high winds and dust at the IOM-run reception centre at the Islam Qala border point in western Herat province.
"But if that's not possible, we'll be forced to go to Iran again, or Pakistan, or some other country."
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