Featured
Last news

NSYNC to release first new song in decades for 'Trolls' movie
American boy band NSYNC has reunited for their first new song in over 20 years, which will be featured in the upcoming movie "Trolls Band Together."

Rarely seen works by abstract master Nicolas De Stael open in Paris
An unprecedented collection of paintings by 20th century abstract master Nicolas de Stael have been gathered for a show that opened in Paris on Friday -- including several even his own children have never seen.

Serge Gainsbourg's home finally opens with Charlotte as guide
As the home of France's beloved troubadour Serge Gainsbourg finally opens to the public, it is his daughter Charlotte who acts as a very intimate guide.

London Fashion Week throws spotlight on young designers
After New York, the fashion world descends on London from Friday, showcasing big names such as Burberry but also the work of young designers who could become household names of the future.

Italian police find stolen treasures at Australian museum
Italian art detectives have found stolen ancient treasures at a leading Australian university, including an artefact likely smuggled out of the country under piles of pasta, the institution said Friday.

Venice avoids UNESCO world heritage downgrade
The UN's cultural organisation said on Thursday it had stopped short of placing Venice, one of the world's top tourist destinations, on its world heritage in danger list.

Meet the UK influencer who wants curves on the catwalk
Felicity Hayward will not miss a single show at London Fashion Week, which starts on Friday, watching each model and counting the number of plus-size women on the catwalks.

New performing arts center opens at Manhattan 9/11 site
Days after New York marked the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 attacks, it opened a new arts center Wednesday in the last area of Ground Zero that had not yet been redeveloped.

London's V&A hosts new Chanel exhibition
A major retrospective opens in London this weekend into "Coco" Chanel, exploring her 60-year career that transformed women's wardrobes, and with new revelations about her troubled wartime past.

At Toronto film festival, prestige TV also makes its mark
When Ron Leshem, executive producer of the Emmy-winning television series "Euphoria," was deciding where to premiere his new project, gritty Israeli juvenile prison drama "Bad Boy," he set his sights on the Toronto film festival.

Stolen Van Gogh returned in IKEA bag 'damaged but restorable'
The precious Vincent Van Gogh painting stolen then sensationally returned to a Dutch art sleuth in an Ikea bag has been scratched but should be reparable, its museum director told AFP Wednesday.

Billionaire US collectors to return ancient artefacts to Cambodia
A billionaire family in the United States will return more than 30 looted ancient artefacts to Cambodia after agreeing it "wrongfully possessed" the treasures, the Cambodian government said Wednesday.

TikTok opposes mooted Indonesia social media transaction ban
TikTok on Wednesday criticised calls by Indonesia to ban social media transactions, as Jakarta rails against what it says are monopolistic practices by major companies with e-commerce platforms such as the Chinese-owned firm.

Ukraine in focus at Toronto film festival
More than 18 months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, documentary filmmakers who screened their latest work on the conflict at the Toronto film festival say it is more important than ever to keep the crisis in the public consciousness.

US news outlet posts job ad for Taylor Swift reporter
Many music reporters pass their days immersed in the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, but one US news outlet said Tuesday it's hiring a journalist dedicated solely to the pop titan.

Apple bows to EU and unveils iPhone with USB-C charger
Apple unveiled its new iPhone lineup on Tuesday, with its Lightning charger ports replaced on the newest models by a universal charger after a tussle with the European Union.

UNESCO removes Uganda tombs from endangered heritage list
UN cultural agency UNESCO announced Tuesday it was removing the fire-damaged tombs of royal leaders in Uganda from its endangered heritage list, saying it was satisfied with restoration efforts.

Van Gogh paintings snatched then found
Following the recovery of a Vincent van Gogh painting snatched from a Dutch museum during the Covid-19 lockdown, AFP looks back at some other heists involving works by the Dutch master:

Theatre director Bob Wilson among laureates of 'Nobel of the Arts'
Three American artists, including avant-garde theatre legend Robert Wilson, are among this year's laureates of the Praemium Imperiale, known as the "Nobel of the Arts", announced on Tuesday.

New York Fashion Week: on holiday with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra
A holiday air with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra, and Tory Burch asserting herself in a spectacular setting: New York Fashion Week expressed its diversity on Monday, the fourth day of the spring-summer 2024 shows.

Alexander Payne brings Oscars hopeful 'The Holdovers' to Toronto
Director Alexander Payne has entered the Oscars hunt with his new film "The Holdovers," a poignant 1970s-set dramedy about a cantankerous prep school teacher and a troubled student that screened Monday at the Toronto film festival.

Met Opera commissions new work about abducted Ukrainian children
New York's Metropolitan Opera on Monday announced it had commissioned a new work on Russia's abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Musk biography describes troubled tycoon driven by demons
A hotly anticipated biography of Elon Musk describes the turbulent tycoon as a man driven by childhood demons, obsessed with bringing human life to Mars and who demands that staff be "hardcore."

Waititi, Keaton go behind lens at Toronto film fest
Every day at the Toronto International Film Festival features a jam-packed schedule with screenings from morning to midnight at multiple venues, making it a challenge to keep up with all the world premieres on offer.

Lil Nas X thrills Toronto fans as film fest looks at music
Lil Nas X brought his megawatt smile and star power to Toronto for the world premiere of a documentary tracking his meteoric rise -- one of several movies spotlighting the music industry at North America's biggest film festival.

Denzel hangs in but 'Nun' better in N.American theaters
Warner Bros.' new horror movie "The Nun II" floated to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of $32.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

France's Ladj Ly back with new film on life in Paris suburbs
Four years after he lit up the Croisette in Cannes with his debut feature film "Les Miserables," Ladj Ly is back with a new searing and very personal take on life in the gritty Paris suburbs.

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's 'Poor Things' wins Venice top prize
The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Poor Things' wins top prize at Venice
The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Greece's 'wizard of weird' Yorgos Lanthimos wins Venice top prize
With a catalogue of strange, dark and provocative films, Yorgos Lanthimos has established himself as one of the world's most imaginative directors, capped by his Golden Lion in Venice for a feminist reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things".

Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'
Cailee Spaeny won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, at the age of just 25, for her portrayal of Elvis Presley's wife in "Priscilla".

The Rolling Stones in dates
As legendary English rock band The Rolling Stones launch their first album in nearly two decades, AFP looks back at standout moments in more than 60 years together.

New Rolling Stones album out next month
The Rolling Stones will release their first album of new music in 18 years next month, lead singer Mick Jagger announced on Wednesday.

Early humans deliberately made mysterious stone 'spheroids'
The early ancestors of humans deliberately made stones into spheres 1.4 million years ago, a study said on Wednesday, though what prehistoric people used the balls for remains a mystery.

French actor Kassovitz sends message to fans from hospital bed
French actor Mathieu Kassovitz, director of the 1995 film "La Haine", on Wednesday thanked fans for their support following his serious motorbike accident which left him with a broken femur and ankle.

Thousands of Freddie Mercury's personal items to go on sale
Thousands of items belonging to the charismatic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, from manuscripts of his band's biggest hits to furniture, paintings and knick-knacks are on auction in London from Wednesday.

In inflation-hit Buenos Aires, tango enthusiasts sway the blues away
Argentina's biting economic crisis cannot keep tango enthusiasts from seeking out the haunting tunes of piano and concertina music at a dwindling number of dance halls in the capital.

Venice to trial ticketing system from spring 2024
Venice will trial a ticketing system from spring next year, officials said Tuesday, with day-trippers charged five euros to enter the historic Italian city in a "trailblazing" bid to cut tourist numbers.

AFP Fact Check: Fukushima wastewater release spawns misinformation
Japan's release of wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has unleashed a wave of misinformation, with AFP debunking false claims of a radioactive Pacific Ocean that have been viewed millions of times.