Jasmine only issues its powerful scent when it blooms at night, and pickers must select only the ones yet to open.

"We know which one to pick," said Malarkodi, who gave only one name, as she snapped her fingers carefully to pluck the buds, tucking into her hair a few flowers that had already bloomed.

"There is no use of these... but I like the smell," she said.

Jasmine's fragrant flowers have been used for millennia in India to honour the gods, and the scent is a key part of world-famous perfumes.

In the ancient city of Madurai in southern India, jasmine is omnipresent -- attracting buyers from some of the world's most recognisable perfumes, including J'adore by Dior and Mon Guerlain by Guerlain.

"It is one of the most expensive oils in the world," said Raja Palaniswamy, a director of Jasmine Concrete, which squeezes vast quantities of jasmine to create a few precious drops of delicious-smelling essence.

The women picking the buds earn around $1.50 a day per day for about four to five kilograms -- with each kilogram made up of around 4,000 buds.

Once picked, the jasmine is rushed to market, selling for anything between 200 and 2,000 rupees ($2.40-$24) a kilogram on special days.

- 'Expression of love' -

The jasmine of Madurai, an Asian variety with the scientific name Jasminum sambac, was given a "geographical indication" tag from India in 2013, which noted its "deep fragrance".

"It is lush, it is rich, it is vibrant," said Thierry Wasser, perfumer and "nose" at French beauty house Guerlain, speaking to AFP while visiting the jasmine operators.

The jasmine in Madurai has a "smoothness... and something floral which is immutable," Wasser added. Wasser sources the jasmine oil he uses from Palaniswamy's company.

As well as Guerlain, Palaniswamy said his company sells jasmine oil to companies including Bulgari, Dior and Lush.

In Madurai, the bright, white flower can be found in the homes of the city's residents, as strings fastened by women to their hair -- and in the sprawling 14th-century complex of the Hindu goddess Meenakshi, considered the guardian of the city.

Meenakshi is depicted holding a parrot, a bird associated with love.

Every night, people surround a shrine of the goddess with fragrant jasmine flowers as she retires with her husband Shiva in a grand, symbolic ceremony.

"When you understand that the purpose of this flower is the celebration of love and brotherhood and family and friendship; when you smell it, it takes another dimension," Wasser said.

"And to me this flower is the expression of love. Period."

-'Real fragrance' -

The process to extract the oil requires long hours of labour.

The women who pluck the jasmine -- be it for their deity, weddings, funerals or expensive perfumes -– have no time to romance its appeal.

In a jasmine field on the outskirts of the ancient city, women tenderly move the branches of the bush, looking for the perfect bud.

The processing factory runs around the clock in harvest season, with workers raking out fresh-picked flowers and waiting for the oblong-shaped buds to bloom.

"The minute it starts blooming, it starts emitting its fragrance," Palaniswamy said.

Late in the night, as the jasmine's sweet scent fills the air, workers collect the blooms and load them into extractors.

The freshly picked jasmine is immersed in a solvent to absorb the fragrance molecules to give a waxy extract called concrete.

The concrete is further processed with alcohol to remove the waxes carefully, which then results in a potent absolute. This absolute becomes the ingredient in perfumes.

Around 700 kilograms of fresh jasmine is reduced to just one kilogram of oil, selling for around $4,200, Palaniswamy said.

But Amsavalli Karuppuswamy, who runs a stall outside the flower market where she threads flowers into garlands, said the fresh jasmine will always outweigh any oil.

"I will continue to do this job till I die... women like jasmine, so that is why we are doing this," she said.

"The scents are not worth as much as the original jasmine flowers -- nothing can match the real fragrance of the jasmine."

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AFP Sport picks out some of the highlights with two rounds of matches spread over six days.

A new coach for Italy

Reigning European champions Italy have a new coach after Roberto Mancini's resignation, with Luciano Spalletti hired as his replacement.

Mancini resigned in mid-August, saying his decision had "nothing to do" with a possible move to Saudi Arabia. Two weeks later he was named as the new Saudi coach on a four-year deal.

Spalletti, who left Napoli after leading them to the Serie A title last season, takes over a team that is third in qualifying Group C, with three points from two games.

Italy go to Skopje on Saturday to face North Macedonia, the team that knocked them out in a World Cup qualifying play-off last year. They then host Ukraine in Milan in a potentially vital encounter.

Pressure on Spain coach

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will hope to turn the focus back to football after he faced criticism for applauding a controversial speech by the country's federation president Luis Rubiales last month.

Rubiales sparked worldwide outrage when he forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso after Spain beat England in the Women's World Cup final in Sydney on August 20.

He provoked further ire with a defiant speech at an emergency meeting in which he refused to resign despite mounting pressure and instead railed against "false feminism", as De la Fuente applauded.

De la Fuente was an eyebrow-raising appointment when he replaced Luis Enrique after the World Cup. La Roja began Euro qualifying in stuttering fashion and lost to Scotland in March. However, they won the UEFA Nations League in June, beating Croatia on penalties in the final.

They will now be expected to beat Georgia in Tbilisi and Cyprus in Granada, and De la Fuente could hand a debut to 16-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal.

Strong Saudi-based contingent

Moving to the Saudi Pro League does not appear to have jeopardised the international prospects of European stars, not yet anyway.

Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be called up by Portugal at the age of 38 and having joined Al-Nassr in January. He has been joined in Roberto Martinez's latest Portuguese squad by two new arrivals to the Saudi league in Ruben Neves and Otavio.

"We will see what state the players coming from the Saudi league are in," Martinez told Portuguese media.

"It is a different situation, but that doesn't mean it has to be negative. We need to adapt to these new circumstances in football without making a big deal out of it."

Jordan Henderson is in the England squad despite joining Al-Ettifaq, while there are plenty of other examples, including Al-Nassr's Aymeric Laporte featuring for Spain.

France coach Didier Deschamps opted not to call up N'Golo Kante, now playing for Al-Ittihad, but did insist he was "available" for selection.

Portugal flying

Portugal are one of four teams with a maximum 12 points from four games, along with Scotland, France and England. But the Euro 2016 winners are the only ones among that quartet to have two qualifying matches this month and they can close in on securing a spot at the finals in Germany.

Roberto Martinez's team face Slovakia in Bratislava and Luxembourg in Faro in Group J. Two wins would leave them on the brink of qualification given that the top two progress from a group also containing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Could Kazakhstan qualify?

Expanding the Euros to 24 teams offers a greater chance for some of the continent's lesser lights to qualify and Kazakhstan have emerged as surprise contenders to do just that.

The vast nation of 19 million people is situated mainly in Central Asia but joined UEFA in 2002. They have never qualified for a Euro or World Cup, and have never really come close -- they failed to win a game in qualifying for last year's World Cup.

However, three straight wins in Group H, including at home to Denmark and away to Northern Ireland, have propelled them up to second place. They are behind only Finland, who they host on Thursday in Astana before then hosting Northern Ireland.

Two more victories and the dream really will be alive for a team ranked 104th in the world and whose players are almost all based domestically.

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One corner is peeling back and flaps uncertainly in the breeze but it doesn't change the message.

"Doesn't matter who you have in the front of you," it reads in Romanian. "It matters who you have next to you."

Togetherness, unity is the name of the game here as rugby attempts to rediscover the strength it held in Romania in the 1980s.

Back then, Romania was the sixth best side in Europe, ahead of Italy, and clocked up notable wins over Wales, Scotland and France, the country that nurtured the sport there in the early 20th century.

The 1989 revolution changed everything.

Florian Murariu, who had played in the inaugural World Cup two years earlier, became an emblem for the lost game when he was shot dead at a roadblock and the state money that propped up the game disappeared.

It has been a long and painful road back -- a 134-0 defeat by England in 2001 was ugly for all who watched -- but for youngsters like Cristina Stan, rugby represents a clear and positive future.

"I first started playing with the boys rugby team before CSM decided to found a girls' team," the 16-year-old centre told AFP.

"I would like to have a career in rugby, to reach a certain performance level, to play for the Romanian national team."

Cristina is on a mission. She trains three times a week at the stadium, which involves a two-hour round-trip from her village Ciorogarla, and every day at home, based on a personal plan developed by her coach.

"Next year I see myself in the national team," adds the ambitious teenager.

The women have yet to play at a full World Cup -- they are focussed on Sevens -- but the Stejarii (The Oaks) will be in France for this year's men's global showpiece which starts on September 8.

Up against Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland and defending champions South Africa, not to mention a hungry Scotland, Romania are unlikely to get close to the knockout phase.

They will, however, eye up their final match against Tonga in Lille as a chance to climb another rung on the ladder back towards the higher branches of the game.

++ Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France, Agence France-Presse asked 20 aspiring photographers from each country qualified for the competition to show one aspect of the rugby union culture in their homeland, with the help of Canon cameras who are sponsoring the tournament. From Namibia to Fiji via Georgia and Scotland this photo essay gives us a glimpse of the core values of rugby on five continents.

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Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the biggest names to make the move:

The stars

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in January to play for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr is what first drew global attention to ongoing efforts to boost the Saudi Pro League.

He was followed by his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner who signed a three-year contract with Al-Ittihad in June.

Just a few days later, fellow Frenchman N'Golo Kante joined the same Jeddah-based club, also on a three-year deal.

The veteran and member of France's victorious 2018 World Cup squad will form a partnership with Brazilian Fabinho, arriving from Liverpool, in midfield.

Still buzzing from his historic FA Cup semi-final hat-trick for Manchester City in April, Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez has signed for four years with Jeddah-based Al-Ahli, a transfer estimated at 35 million euros.

The latest coup for the Saudis is Sadio Mane, the Sengalese star who signed with Ronaldo's Al-Nassr for a reported annual salary of 40 million euros plus 10 million euros in results-based bonuses.

- Past their prime -

Along with top-tier stars, several other big names in the sport are starting new chapters in Saudi Arabia.

Marcelo Brozovic, who captained Inter Milan in last season's Champions League final, has signed a three-year deal with Al-Nassr, who reportedly paid a transfer fee of 18 million euros.

Ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has joined Al-Ettifaq until 2026, drawing heavy criticism given his past support for the LGBTQ community and the fact that Saudi Arabia outlaws homosexuality.

Another former Liverpool star, Brazilian international Roberto Firmino, left the team after eight seasons for Al-Ahli, who have also landed Edouard Mendy of Senegal.

Kalidou Koulibaly, for his part, bade farewell to Stamford Bridge for Al-Hilal for a reported transfer fee of 23 million euros.

- Rising talent -

It is not just fading stars who are making the trip to the Gulf.

The 28-year-old Ivorian midfielder Seko Fofana has also joined Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, leaving French outfit Lens as they prepare to return to the Champions League.

After eight years with Lazio, Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, also 28, has inked a three-year deal with Al-Hilal.

He will be joined by 26-year-old Ruben Neves, the Portuguese star who was previously tipped for a move to Barcelona.

Another 26-year-old, Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin, has joined Al-Ahli from Newcastle, which is 80-percent owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

- The coaches -

The Saudi Pro League has also drawn renowned coaches.

Dismissed by Aston Villa in October, iconic former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard signed with Al-Ettifaq until 2025, and a clip of him introducing himself in halting Arabic has gone viral on social media.

Former Croatia and West Ham boss Slaven Bilic will join the Al-Fateh bench.

After leaving Fenerbahce in June, former Benfica coach Jorge Jesus has returned to Al-Hilal, where he worked in 2018-2019.

And in late July, Al-Ahli named 35-year-old German Matthias Jaissle, regarded as one of the most promising managers of his generation, as their new coach.

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At the plantation in a desert near Eilat, a coastal holiday resort on Israel's southern tip, the mineral-rich water passes through a plastic tube, nourishing the dates high above.

"All of Eilat's sewage is treated," said Arik Ashkenazi, chief engineer of Ein Netafim, Eilat's water and sewage utility, during a tour of the facility that sees wastewater cleared of solids and biological hazards.

"The treated wastewater is transferred, to the last drop, to farmers" who mix it with groundwater and use it on the trees, he said.

Eliat is hemmed in between the desert and Red Sea, isolated from the rest of Israel with no natural freshwater. Its drinking water is a combination of desalinated groundwater and seawater.

After domestic use turns it into sewage, it is treated and then allocated to farmers, enabling the parched region to support agriculture.

While Eilat used to be the exception in Israel's water management, it is now more of a prototype for the country and perhaps the world.

Globally, more than two billion people lack access to safe drinking water, the United Nations says, with floods and droughts triggered by climate change further exacerbating the situation.

Alarming data presented by the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs shows "80 percent of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused".

- 'Foundation for peace' -

Israel began recycling wastewater when it saw that its water sources -- groundwater and water from the northern Sea of Galilee -- were insufficient to meet the needs of a growing population.

"We began to realise that sewage was a water source, reaching almost 100 percent reuse in Israel," said Yossi Yaacoby, vice president of engineering for Mekorot, Israel's national water company, noting that 90 percent of the treated wastewater went to agriculture.

"That wasn't enough either, so we began desalinating seawater," he said, beginning with Eilat in 1997 and then the Mediterranean, with desalinated water now providing 60-80 percent of Israel's drinking water.

Israel has had sole access to the Sea of Galillee, a freshwater lake, since seizing the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

In the 1960s, Israel's construction of its so-called national carrier -- the pipeline transferring water from the Sea of Galilee to drier and more populated parts of the country -- caused tensions and even exchanges of fire with Syria.

"Water was a source of conflict," Yaacoby said.

Nowadays, "Israel understands that water is a foundation for peace", he added, with Israel selling it to some of its neighbours.

"We supply the Jordanians 100 million (cubic metres) from the Sea of Galilee, and a similar quantity to the Palestinians -- mainly in the West Bank with a small amount to Gaza, and it will increase," Yaacoby said.

- 'Not a free good' -

With rising climate instability, growing populations and dwindling resources, it's not only Middle Eastern countries that Israel is helping to tackle their water problems.

"The world is undergoing a huge crisis," Yaacoby said, noting that "states you'd never imagine" like France, Germany and Italy were rethinking the issue.

"Israel understood from its inception that water is a scarce resource," he said, and by now "has a large reservoir of knowledge accumulated over the years pertaining to regulatory matters, managing water sources", he said.

In addition, Israel is "constantly developing technologies" in the field of water, Yaacoby said.

Clive Lipchin, an expert on water management at the Arava Institute in southern Israel, said the rising unpredictability due to climate change should make "everybody around the world" consider desalination and treating wastewater.

But beyond the technologies being expensive and high on energy consumption, a comprehensive solution would demand people changing their attitude on the use of water.

"It's a basic right, but it cannot be a free good. People have to pay," Lipchin said.

"Most people around the world do not pay. So that's a huge barrier" and a challenge to governments whose citizens have been paying nothing for decades, he said.

Yaacoby too said that the main challenge for the future of water use was not in the realm of engineering, but rather the mindset of people who were in no rush to preserve water they received for free.

Such a change required "courageous political decisions", he said.

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"Abstract painting is a term that we've been trying to define for over 100 years and there is no consensus," curator Gary Garrels told AFP on Thursday at the opening of the show, which runs until August 25.

"For me, abstract painting is painting that is having an internal conversation where the issues of the painting itself -- colour, surface, texture, materials, scale -- are the primary parts of the conversation that's not referring to something outside the painting, that's somehow descriptive."

Garrels spent 18 months visiting the studios of "three generations" of artists to bring together 41 recent paintings for the exhibition -- "To Bend the Ear of the Outer World"

Some are from well-known artists, others are by virtual unknowns.

The overall aim is to take the pulse of a movement that has sometimes been seen as a dying art form.

But Garrels insisted: "It's far from being dead. It's very much alive. We have another good century ahead of us. Incredible range, richness and diversity."

To demonstrate that abstract art is very much alive, the show opens with contrasting paintings by two European artists of the same age.

One -- "It's not yesterday anymore" (2022) -- is by British painter Cecily Brown's explosion of harsh brushstrokes and colours.

The other -- "Emko" (2023) -- by Germany's Tomma Abts, is small, precise, monochromatic and geometrical.

Each painting is displayed on its own, on a large white wall, to highlight each artist's individuality.

- 'No movement' -

The rooms of the Gagosian gallery are organised according to links between the painters, whether temporal, geographical or stylistic.

Veteran German painter Gerhard Richter's richly variegated "Abstraktes Bild" (2017) is coupled with the minimalist "Rivers (2020-21) by American artist Brice Marden and the organic fluidity of Pat Steir's "Rainbow Waterfall #6".

"They began their serious, mature work and were recognised in the 1960s but have continued to make great painting," said Garrels.

At the other end of the scale, Columbia's Oscar Murillo's "Manifestation" (2020-22) combines conventional oil paint with oil stick, graphite and spray paint on canvas and linen.

Its dramatic thick dark strokes contrast with the lightness and luminosity of "Untitled" (2022) by the young American Ryan Sullivan.

With Sullivan's use of moulded cast urethane resin, fibreglass and epoxy, both have free reign in their use of textures.

Garrels says "there's no movement" in abstract painting.

"It's not like we have abstract expressionism or colour field painting. We have individual artists pursuing their own visions," he added.

For some, the medium is all about the expressiveness of the stroke, while others focus on "quiet" art based on pure, almost homogeneous surfaces, with few tonal nuances.

Many of these artists have friendships that, according to Garrels, are reflected in the dialogue between their works.

American artist Jacqueline Humphries and US-based German artist Charline von Heyl for example share a taste for indirect painting, mediated by screens or other tools.

That gives their work an elusive character that is difficult to take in.

The exhibition mainly features German, American and British artists.

Murillo, who was born in the city of La Paila, has dual Colombian-British nationality. He emigrated to the UK with his family, and trained and now lives in London.

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