AFP UK

Paris (France) (AFP) – Prized for a minimalist aesthetic and significantly lower costs than institutional venues, “raw” spaces are establishing themselves as a new playground for Parisian fashion shows. Rod Reynolds found the first floor of a building under construction in southern Paris for the presentation of Belgian label Dries Van Noten’s autumn-winter menswear collection. “These are surprising, new venues, not the usual event spaces we’re used to seeing,” says the venue hunter who heads the Records Collection agency.

Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – European Council President Antonio Costa says the bloc “will continue to stand up for its interests” and defend itself “against any form of coercion” following US President Donald Trump’s climbdown on Greenland. Costa was speaking after an EU leaders summit in Brussels.

Sarajevo (AFP) – Sarajevo suffers from the worst air quality of any major city in the world for a second day straight, data shows, as Bosnian authorities issue an alert for the choked capital. Pollution spikes are common in the city, especially during thermal inversions when a layer of warm air sits above a layer of cold air, trapping smog over the city.

Karachi (AFP) – “We saw everything end in just one day, right in front of our eyes,” one shop owner tells AFP as he watches machinery clean debris from the charred remains of a shopping mall in Karachi. The death toll from the fire in Pakistan’s biggest city has risen to at least 67 people, an unnamed spokesperson from the local government said.

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – At his first-ever appearance at the World Economic forum in Davos, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he sees his humanoid robots hitting the market next year. In front of a packed conference hall, Musk says to the audience: “Who wouldn’t want a robot to watch over your kids, take care of your pet?” He also predicts that “five years from now, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively.”

Copenhagen (AFP) – “There is now a wish to negotiate a solution” from the American side on Greenland, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen says. “It should be possible to find a solution,” he adds, “but this requires that calm now be restored to this process.” The comments come a day after US President Trump backed off from his threats to seize Greenland.

Kajuru (Nigeria) (AFP) – Residents of northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state say kidnappers surrounded their village, beating up people, as more than 170 Christian worshippers were abducted from churches during Sunday services. The kidnapping by gangs known as “bandits” marks the latest in a wave of mass abductions targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. “They took them from church on Sunday around 10am in the morning,” says the mother of a kidnapped victim.

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – Robots parade and dance through the streets of Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum conference and ahead of the Davos Tech Summit, a technology event scheduled to take place for the first time in early July.

Chequers (United Kingdom) (AFP) – “It has been quite a difficult time for us”, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen tells her British counterpart Keir Starmer at his country residence, Chequers. The pair meet after US President Donald Trump announced a framework for a permanent deal over Greenland, backing off from his threat to seize the territory from Denmark.

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump declares that Hamas has “to give up their weapons” under the Gaza ceasefire deal or “it’s going to be the end of them,” as he addresses his newly created Board of Peace. “Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk,” he adds at the World Economic Forum in Davos, citing the US’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025.

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Trucks unload waste in a landfill in the centre of Gaza City, where tons of rubbish are piling up, seeping into a camp for displaced people nearby. “This waste now constitutes a ticking bomb for the population, leading to a rapid and widespread outbreak of disease,” says a Gaza municipality spokesperson, stating that the accumulation of waste is due to the fact that the main landfill is situated outside the Yellow Line.

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – Talks to end the war in Ukraine have made “a lot of progress” and are “down to one issue” between Kyiv and Moscow, says US special envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of a trip to Russia. “We have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable. So if both sides want to solve this, we’re going to get it solved,” Witkoff says at a Ukrainian event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.