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Russian opposition activist Khelga Pirogova defied the odds by winning election to a local council on behalf of late Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny's political movement in 2020.

As ever the Berlin Film Festival is offering viewers a window into stories from across the world -- but what to do when filmmakers face obstacles in working in the countries that their stories come from?

Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who became a symbol in the global fight against sexual violence, told AFP why she wants to visit her ex-husband in jail and her joy at finding love again.

From perfectly spelled phishing emails to fake videos of government officials, artificial intelligence is changing the game for Interpol's cat-and-mouse fight against cybercrime at its high-tech war rooms in Singapore.

The introduction of advertisements and sponsored content in chatbots has spawned privacy concerns for AI users as brands scramble to stay relevant in a fast-changing online environment.

The Japanese priest and his parishioners gathered before dawn, hoping that climate change had not robbed them of the chance to experience an increasingly rare communion with the sacred.

American athletics prodigy Cooper Lutkenhaus broke the world junior indoor 800-meters record on Saturday with a victory in 1min 44.03secs at the Sound Running meet in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Five years after becoming Africa's first Covid-era debt defaulter, Zambia is seeing a dramatic turnaround in fortunes as major powers vie for access to its vast reserves of copper.

Larry the cat, the UK's most famous feline, marks 15 years on Sunday as the country's chief mouser patrolling the corridors of power around number 10 Downing Street.

As India races to narrow the artificial intelligence gap with the United States and China, it is planning a vast new "data city" to power digital growth on a staggering scale, the man spearheading the project says.

Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, a five-time Olympic champion, competed in her first race since June 2024 in Saturday's Camperdown Classic at Kingston, Jamaica.

Taylor Fritz blasted 22 aces in advancing to the ATP Dallas Open final on Saturday by defeating Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3).

As a first-year computer science student in Hanoi, Hoang Le started trading crypto from his university dorm room, egged on by his gamer friends who were making a killing.

For Oscar winner Juliette Binoche, the head of last year's jury at the Cannes film festival, it's not hard to understand why the movies that succeeded on the Croisette go on to win accolades in Hollywood.

In rural Virginia, dozens of young cows belonging to Chris Stem graze by a frozen pond. He is living his childhood dream of being a farmer -- but reality is starting to bite.

After 20 years as a makeup artist for TV and cinema, Noel Jacoboni sees few other options than to leave New York City, where she has been "priced out" by the soaring cost of living.

Damian Lillard, out all season while recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, matched a record by winning his third career NBA Three-Point Contest on Saturday.

NBA teams are increasingly losing games on purpose to improve their draft prospects and basketball must consider every possible remedy to stamp out deliberate "tanking," the league's chief said Saturday.

The USA men's ice hockey team had to fight before overcoming Denmark 6-3 on Saturday as they kept their bid for a first Olympic gold since 1980 on track.

The NBA's ploy to inject intensity into this weekend's All-Star Game with a new US-versus-the-world format has divided basketball's biggest superstars before a single slam dunk has been scored.

Taylor Fritz blasted 22 aces in advancing to the ATP Dallas Open final on Saturday by defeating Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3).

China's freeski superstar Eileen Gu stayed on course to defend her Olympic big air crown on Saturday despite a worrying crash, keeping alive her captivating duel with Mathilde Gremaud at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men's giant slalom in Bormio on Saturday to take South America's first ever gold at a Winter Olympics, while Chinese freeski superstar Eileen Gu survived a scare to stay on track for her first title of these Games.

Lens reclaimed the lead atop Ligue 1 on Saturday with a Wesley Said-inspired 5-0 romp over Paris FC, while a late penalty condemned Marseille to a draw with Strasbourg.

Poland midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored a 90th minute winner as Inter Milan edged Juventus 3-2 on Saturday to move eight points clear in Serie A.

Vinicius Junior won and converted two penalties as Real Madrid thumped Real Sociedad 4-1 on Saturday to move provisionally top of La Liga.

Mohamed Salah struck as Liverpool cruised into the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, while Marc Guehi scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 victory over fourth-tier Salford.

Four astronauts docked at the International Space Station on Saturday for a months-long research mission, replacing a crew forced to return to Earth early over a medical issue.

Freestyle skier Jakara Anthony said she hoped Australia would "reach new heights at every Games" after her gold medal in the dual moguls helped the country to its best-ever showing at a Winter Olympics.

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said he had become a fan again after a barnstorming 31-20 Calcutta Cup win at Murrayfield on Saturday ended England's 12-game winning streak.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged calm and restraint after the fatal beating of a 23-year-old French youth aligned with the far-right on the sidelines of a conference by a hard-left lawmaker in the southeastern city of Lyon.

China's freeski superstar Eileen Gu stayed on course to defend her Olympic big air crown on Saturday despite a worrying crash, keeping alive her captivating duel with Mathilde Gremaud at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Pop superstar Charli XCX said Saturday she was "honoured" to be at this year's Berlin Film Festival and hailed the event's tradition of scheduling politically aware films.

Relatives of political prisoners in Venezuela launched a hunger strike Saturday outside a prison in Caracas, as talks drag on over the adoption of a promised amnesty law.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday she believed US President Donald Trump still desires to own Greenland despite dialling back his recent threats to seize it by force.

European leaders, worried about threats from a nuclear-armed Russia and doubts about the future of US security commitments, are increasingly debating whether to bolster nuclear arsenals on the continent.

Newcastle beat 10-man Aston Villa 3-1 thanks to a double from Sandro Tonali to reach the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as Marc Guehi scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2-0 victory over fourth-tier Salford.

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime produced a dominant display of attacking tennis on Saturday to power past Alexander Bublik into the Rotterdam Open final with a 6-1, 6-2 win in just 54 minutes.

The Paris prosecutor's office on Saturday announced it was setting up a special team of magistrates to analyse evidence that could implicate French nationals in the crimes of the convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.