AFP

AFP

'Raped, jailed, tortured, left to die': the hell of being gay in Turkmenistan

AFP|Published

Two men who escaped one of the world's most secretive and repressive states have told how they were tortured, beaten and raped in Turkmenistan for the "crime" of ...

Family sagas top 2025 Booker Prize shortlist

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Three authors writing about love and loss have made the Booker Prize shortlist for the first time, among the six chosen as contenders for this year's prestigious ...

Latinos, ex-military, retirees among ICE hopefuls

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There is a mixed crowd lining up outside the ICE recruitment fair in Utah, where hundreds of people are eager to join US President Donald Trump's vast deportation ...

Botox under burqas: Cosmetic surgery in vogue in Afghanistan

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Decked out with fake crystal chandeliers and velvet sofas, cosmetic surgery clinics in Afghanistan's capital are a world away from the austerity of Taliban rule, ...

Most complete dome-head dinosaur found

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Paleontologists have identified the most complete and oldest known pachycephalosaur, a discovery that pushes back the origin of dome-headed dinosaurs by at least ...

Why Ethiopians are jumping to switch to electric vehicles

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In a world first, the government last year banned the import of petrol and diesel vehicles, partly for green reasons but also to help wean the country off increasingly ...

Huge pot of Nigerian jollof rice sets Guinness record

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Guinness World Records on Monday gave official recognition to Nigerian chef Hilda Baci in recognising her rice jollof, concocted in Lagos last Friday, as the world's ...

Lab-grown diamonds robbing southern Africa of riches

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Botswana and southern African peers that built much of their prosperity on diamonds are scrambling for alternatives as cheaper, lab-grown stones threaten their economies. ...

For theatre legend John Kani, art must 'speak truth to power'

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At 82 years old and after a six-decade career as a performer and playwright, the South African star had several stories to recount

Harrowing docu-drama gives 'voice' to Gaza victims

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"The Voice of Hind Rajab" shook audiences in its first press screenings in Venice on Wednesday, leaving some critics in tears over the dramatic portrayal of real ...

Bangladesh eyes end to treasure trove bank vault mystery

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For more than a century, the fate of the dazzling Darya-e-Noor diamond has been sealed inside a bank vault - a mystery that haunts Khawaja Naim Murad, great-grandson ...

Child's viral fame draws tourists to boat race

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The annual Pacu Jalur race on Sumatra island ended Sunday, with officials estimating as many as 100 000 more spectators this year because of 11-year-old Rayyan Arkan ...

Ethiopia's last king: autocrat or moderniser?

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The legacy of Ethiopia's last emperor Haile Selassie remains contested in his increasingly polarised country half a century after his death

SA photographer reclaims her identity

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It was a priority for Zanele Muholi to get back to South Africa for last week's Black Women in Photography Conference, at the school in downtown Johannesburg where ...

'Curly is beautiful': Tunisian women embrace natural hair

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Tunisian mother Mouna Jebali had long used a flat iron to straighten her thick hair, but with women everywhere challenging the stigma around natural looks, she has ...

'Old things work': Giving new life to e-waste

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Need a new gaming console? Just make one yourself with an old ventilator. Got an old payment terminal? Turn it into a camera.

Urban nest boxes will help save endangered cockatoos

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Nestled among its sprawling boughs is a nest box designed for the yellow-crested cockatoo, of which only 1,200 to 2,000 remain in the world.

Nairobi slum pageant gives platform to voiceless

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The annual "Mr and Ms Kibera" pageant in Nairobi, gleefully attended by hundreds, is about more than just the contestants' looks -- it provides a much-needed platform ...

Trump tariffs a stone in the shoe of 'made in USA' cowboy boots

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Texas's most renowned makers of the southern US fashion staple source the ostrich leather they require exclusively from Oudtshoorn.

Swiss 'Mountain Tinder' sparks high-altitude attraction

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Cathy and Patrick relish describing how they found each other: through a message left on a Swiss mountaintop. "It was just a beautiful way to meet. "

World first three Michelin stars for Indian cuisine

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An Indian restaurant in Dubai was awarded the maximum three Michelin stars last weekend - the first time the prestigious honour has been given to Indian cuisine ...

Lesotho's jockeys saddle up for mountain horse racing

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Swathed in vibrant woollen blankets against the biting winter chill, jockeys - some no more than boys - thundered down a dusty track carved between the undulating ...

Tunisian dog lovers push to save age-old desert hound

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Nemcha, Zina and Zouina, three North African Sloughi hounds, play on the beach in Tunisia where their ancestors have long roamed desert plains, seemingly unaware ...

Dogs on the trail of South Africa's endangered tortoises

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Snout pressed to the ground, a border collie named Delta zigzagged through the shrubs on a private nature reserve near Cape Town, frantically sniffing for critically ...

Musk's AI chatbot under fire for posts praising Hitler

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Billionaire Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok came under fire Wednesday for anti-Semitic comments, praising Adolf Hitler and insulting Islam in separate ...