"Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection" comprises more than 250 clothing and accessory items, most of which were runway looks before being worn by the designer herself.

The collection features some of her most iconic designs, including corsets, tartan patterns, billowing taffeta gowns, platform heels and T-shirts bearing political slogans.

The online sale hosted by Christie's in London and will include a live auction.

The lots include custom-designed playing card prints intended to shed light on issues such as climate change, social inequality and human rights.

Ten have been enlarged and signed by Westwood, who died in 2022 aged 81, to raise funds for Greenpeace.

Other proceeds will be donated to charities including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the designer's own Vivienne Foundation, which works with NGOs "to create a better society and halt climate change".

The collection's cataloguer and sale coordinator, Clementine Swallow, told AFP that "Vivienne's Playing Cards" were the catalyst for a larger charity auction.

Although Westwood "knew she wasn't going to be able to see the project out... she had the wish that her personal wardrobe would be sold to benefit other charities important to her", Swallow said.

Westwood's widower Andreas Kronthaler, 58, has been closely involved in the sale. "He's personally put together each of the lots to be an outfit she would have worn," Swallow said.

"These are the items that she chose to have, of the many thousand things that she designed over 40 years," she said. "They are the kinds of things that she felt were the epitome of her designs."

- Sustainability -

The collection includes a number of pieces that illustrate Westwood's cultural impact, and the wide range of influences she drew from in her four-decade career.

The earliest piece is a 1983 navy jacket-and-skirt ensemble from the "World's End, Witches" Autumn-Winter 1983 collection, when Westwood was still in collaboration with her first husband and manager of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren.

Westwood was influenced by British history but gave classic designs a provocative edge, Swallow said, noting in particular a taffeta ball gown with "bondage-style black wrappings".

Many of the clothes feature political graphics and slogans that reflected Westwood's advocacy of social justice.

"A big part of Vivienne's identity is activism... She really is one of those designers who took their clothes and used them as a mouthpiece to voice her ideas and political opinions," Swallow said.

Other collection highlights include Westwood's signature pink tartan pattern and a cropped blue jacket identical to the one worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell during a notorious incident when she fell on the catwalk while wearing 12-inch (30-centimetre) Westwood platforms.

There are also early examples of the designer's elasticated corsets.

Sustainability and ethical fashion are also key themes -- The most expensive piece is a cut-out illusion gown hand stitched with intricate beading and gold panelling, created with artisans and craftspeople in Kenya.

All materials used in the exhibition are recycled or recyclable, including cardboard signage and plywood stands.

"It's been a great lesson for us, (proving that) we can do recyclable exhibitions," Swallow said.

Collection items are listed at £200 to £7,000 ($255 to $9,000) but are expected to fetch much more given Westwood's reputation.

Museums and other institutions are expected to bid but Swallow said the designer "loved the idea that (her clothes) might be worn by real people".

"The idea that they might have another life is wonderful," she said.

str/phz/js

© Agence France-Presse

Campbell was such a fixture on catwalks in the 1990s that she was referred to by her first name only, just like fellow supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista.

She remains a highly influential figure in the industry and is the first supermodel to have a V&A exhibition dedicated to her.

The "NAOMI In Fashion" show, which opens, explores the dozens of looks that have marked the history of fashion during Campbell's 40-year career.

Born in 1970, Campbell saw herself as a dancer, like her mother, when she was a child.

Aged 15, an agent spotted her in London's Covent Garden and two years later she had already appeared on several fashion magazine covers and in shows in New York, Milan and Paris.

- 'Peerless' -

Some have questioned the choice of the V&A, a revered art and design museum, to dedicate an exhibition to a model.

But curator Sonnet Stanfill said: "The best fashion models are not simply models. They serve as creative inspiration and they are creative collaborators.

"Naomi Campbell's peerless walk and her alchemy in front of the camera are the stuff of fashion legend," she added.

Stanfill interviewed the model for hours as part of her preparation for the exhibition.

"She has an incredible memory. She remembers where she was when she was wearing something, who she was with, where she went out that night," she added.

She was also allowed to dig through Campbell's personal collection, including accessories, photos, clothes and even Concorde tickets between London and New York.

A section is dedicated to the great fashion designer Azzedine Alaia, who died in 2017, with whom she lived from the age of 16 when she was in Paris and whom she called "papa".

He found a muse in what he called her "perfect body".

Campbell also praises designer Yves Saint Laurent in the show, whom she said "really helped women of colour and changed the course of my career".

"God bless Yves," she added in quotes that appear on the label describing the feather dress the London-born model wore for a 1987 autumn/winter show -- her first for the French designer.

Saint Laurent famously threatened to withdraw his advertising from Vogue if it did not place Campbell on the front of its French magazine in 1988. As a result, she became its first black cover star.

The show also features magazine front-pages projected onto the wall and video broadcasts of her best-known shows for the biggest fashion houses.

Designer Vivienne Westwood's 1993-era look, which required Campbell to wear 15-centimetre (six-inch) platform shoes, is also on display.

The shoes infamously led to her taking a tumble on the catwalk, with the picture of her laughing after her fall from grace going around the world, helping to soften her icy image.

- Pioneering -

Campbell did have a reputation for her temper. In 2007, she was sentenced to five days of community service in New York after having thrown her phone at an assistant.

The paparazzi were waiting every morning she turned up for her community service, and a symbol of her defiance is featured in the exhibition.

"When the last day came, I decided I wanted to walk out and leave with my head held up high. I chose to wear this," she said, pointing to a Dolce & Gabanna evening dress.

But it is her pioneering work in opening up the industry to black models, which began in 1988 when she campaigned for equal pay, that underpins the exhibition.

While this is a retrospective, Campbell, now 54, continues to model, recently appearing on the catwalk for Burberry.

The exhibition ends with tips on how to "walk like Naomi", with a podium set up for budding supermodels to practice on.

"Shoulders back... move with the music" and "focus your gaze on the camera," she advises.

ctx/jwp/phz/jj

© Agence France-Presse

Feline tickets for night's event sold out within days, as Shanghai's devoted pet owners seized the chance to share an educational experience with their animals -- and share the photos on the mostly pedigree cats' personal social media accounts.

One pet owner told AFP she had postponed a trip to Europe to ensure she could nab one of the 200 available tickets for her regal ginger "son".

Trump -- named for his physical and psychological resemblance to the US presidential candidate -- was dressed as a Chinese emperor, and blinked haughtily as journalists flocked around him with cameras.

"I cannot imagine my life right now without a cat," his owner Amy told AFP. "So I really can have the same feeling why Egyptian persons, they valued cats on such a level."

The number of pets in China has soared, reaching over 120 million in 2023, and cats are the most popular.

The trend is being driven largely by younger generations, many of whom see their "furred kids" as a cheaper substitute for human children, experts say.

Shanghai Museum is capitalising on that interest -- Saturday's event, heralded as a first in China, is just one of 10 planned cat nights.

As the guests of honour filed in, perched on shoulders or peering out of handbags, they had their vaccination and insurance records checked before they were transferred into a fleet of specially designed kitten-eared prams.

Claire, who had dressed herself and her German Rex Tiedan in matching Egyptian costumes, said the exhibition showed "cats have always been humans' good friends".

"Now young people are under great pressure, cats help us relieve a lot of mental pressure... probably the same as in ancient times," she said.

Cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, and associated in particular with Bast, a goddess of fertility, birth, and protection.

"In the modern world, kitties are a symbol of cuteness, which is very different from (ancient Egypt)," said a young woman named Feifei, clutching a resplendent white furball named Sticky Rice.

That cuteness has led to a surge in feline influencers and hopefuls.

Many of the cats at the exhibition had their own social media accounts, and one or two appeared to have small teams helping produce content.

A section on Saqqara, a historic necropolis where archaeologists recently unearthed dozens of cat mummies and artefacts from a newly discovered tomb, was filled with confused mews as the star visitors were photographed next to a Bast statue.

"There are many ancestors of cats here, I wanted to bring (Sticky Rice) to have a look," said Feifei.

Like most of his fellow felines, Sticky Rice seemed largely unmoved by the historical experience.

reb/mtp

© Agence France-Presse

Kimono-clad ghosts with bloody eyes convulse in agony and lurch towards visitors at one spooky establishment in Tokyo, roaming around groaning like zombies.

Summer is closely associated with the dead in Japan, because it is believed that ancestral souls return to their household altars during the mid-August "obon" holiday.

So a visit to a haunted house is seen as a refreshing respite from the season's often stultifying heat and humidity -- thanks to both modern air-conditioning and the less tangible chills sent down one's spine.

Emerging from the dimly lit attraction at the indoor theme park Namjatown, 18-year-old Misato Naruse told AFP she had come there with her friend Himari Shimada "to get cool".

"I broke out in a cold sweat without even realising. That's how scared I was, I guess," the university student said beside a drained and speechless Shimada, also 18.

Japanese summers are getting harder to bear, partly because of climate change.

"Last year it was very hot but this year it feels even hotter. And I wonder how much hotter it will be in a few years' time," Naruse said.

This year, Japan sweltered through its hottest July since records began 126 years ago, with temperatures in the country 2.16 degree Celsius higher than average.

In central Tokyo alone, 123 people died of heatstroke last month, when extreme heatwaves fuelled by climate change saw a record number of ambulances mobilised in the capital, according to local authorities.

- 'Chilling the liver' -

Many haunted houses in Japan play up to their refreshing reputation by using slogans such as "a shudder that blows away the summer heat".

The idea can perhaps be traced back to the Japanese traditional theatre form of kabuki, according to Hirofumi Gomi, who has worked behind-the-scenes as a producer of haunted house experiences for three decades.

Lore has it that a few centuries ago, kabuki theatres struggled to lure spectators in summer because many loathed being crammed inside without air-conditioning.

But that changed when performers swapped sentimental human drama for full-on horror -- aided by various tricks and contraptions, similar to a modern-day haunted house.

"For patrons wilting under the heat, dazzling visual effects and gripping ghost tales were more bearable than the subtleties of human-interest stories," Gomi said.

"So maybe haunted houses don't so much cool you down as make you forget the heat momentarily."

At the Namjatown haunted house, which is meant to evoke an abandoned, spirit-infested town, organisers are confident about the scary tricks up their sleeves.

"In Japanese, we say 'kimo ga hieru', or literally 'chilling the liver' -- a reference to the sensation of getting goosebumps," Hiroki Matsubara, of operator Bandai Namco Amusement, told AFP.

"We believe visitors can experience the feeling of being scared, surprised or 'chilled to the liver', which will hopefully help them enjoy a cool feeling in summer."

tmo/kaf/mtp

© Agence France-Presse

Blink and you'll miss it, speed climbing has a claim to be the most exhilarating sport at the Paris Games. The 100m sprint? Pedestrian in comparison, taking almost twice as long.

In many ways, speed climbing is similar to the Olympic blue riband event, just vertical.

Competitors scramble up a 15-metre-high (49-foot) wall at a five-degree incline, straining every sinew to be first to tap a red button at the top.

At the knock-out stages, which took place Wednesday, two climbers race up identical courses side-by-side with 20 handholds and 11 footholds to help them to the top.

US sprinter Noah Lyles famously showed in the men's 100m final that Olympic glory can come down to thousandths of a second.

Speed climbing is no different, China's Deng Lijuan scraping though her quarter-final in 6:369sec, six thousandths of a second ahead of her rival.

With so little separating the climbers, one tiny slip means the end of your Olympic journey.

The bronze medal match saw Indonesia's Rajiah Sallsabillah lose her footing for a fraction of a second and with it the chance of a medal.

- 'Sky's the limit' -

Aleksandra Miroslaw from Poland is the undisputed queen of speed. Like Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, she keeps breaking her own world record, performing this feat eight times over her career.

The 30-year-old destroyed her old world record yet again in qualifying for the Olympic quarter-finals, setting a new time of 6:06sec.

Top seed and red hot favourite Miroslaw cruised through the quarter-final and semi-final relatively untroubled but faced a stiff challenge from Deng in the final.

Gold was won by a fingertip. Deng started marginally quicker but Miroslaw scrambled after her and stretched first for the buzzer, taking it in 6:10sec, the Chinese athlete coming home in 6:18sec.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Miroslaw sank to her knees sobbing before racing into the crowd to embrace her family, as a sizeable Polish crowd waved flags and shouted her name.

"I never thought about the time. I only had one thing in my mind: just run. I didn't even look at the other side, I didn't even know it was close," Miroslaw told reporters.

Could she break the six-second barrier? "I really don't know how fast I can go. The sky's the limit," she said.

- 'Gen-Z sport' -

First introduced at the Tokyo Olympics in a bid to attract a younger audience, sport climbing proved an instant hit and will feature again in Los Angeles in 2028.

"It's a Gen-Z sport," said Fabrizio Rossini, spokesman for the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

"You can fit the whole action into what would be the highlights for another sport, so it's perfect" for the younger generation's shorter attention span.

In Tokyo, the event consisted of three elements, speed, boulder, and lead, the latter two being more methodical and difficult climbs, with athletes battling to get as high up the wall as they can.

For the Paris Games, organisers decided to separate out the speed element, undoubtedly the most spectacular of the climbing disciplines.

This meant Wednesday's medals were the first in Olympic history, with Miroslaw the first-ever Olympic speed climbing champion.

The 6,000-capacity crowd at the sun-baked Le Bourget stadium north of Paris cheered wildly, stamping their feet after every climb, as Coldplay and Taylor Swift hits pumped out.

"The final, it was fantastic. It was absolutely amazing," enthused Brandon Blaser, 49, a real estate developer from Salt Lake City in the United States.

"Just those six seconds is the culmination of everything they've worked for. It was really, really fun to watch," he told AFP.

ric-ces/ea

© Agence France-Presse

"When every moment of your life feels like you're being sold something and the price of said item keeps going up, people will burn out on spending money," Kara Perez, an influencer and financial educator, told AFP.

Social media has long had room only for picture-perfect homes, lavish closets and an abundance of beauty products. But a new trend is sweeping the other way -- urging repurposing, more frugal lifestyles and prioritizing quality over quantity.

Known as "underconsumption core," it spotlights living sustainably and using what you have, a reversal of the excess and wealth that dominates ad-heavy Instagram and TikTok.

"When you get 300 videos on TikTok about people who have 30 Stanley cups, you want to have as many as you can afford. People want to fit in," said Perez, who repurposes jars as cups.

- Consumer fatigue -

A video with over 100,000 views from TikTok user loveofearthco critiqued the tendency toward overconsumption often amplified and encouraged on social media: "I spent money I didn't have on things I didn't need."

Another account, nevadahuvenaars, shared what "normal" consumption looks like: used furniture, a modest closet, decor upcycled from glass bottles, meal prep and a downsized skincare collection.

Despite financial hardships felt particularly by Gen Z and millennials, the US economy is thriving, with record corporate profits and high prices on shelves.

In a way, "that feels almost 'gaslighty' to consumers" amid a period of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, culture and consumer marketing analyst Tariro Makoni told AFP.

She argued that Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) plans commonly adopted by many young adults' budgets exacerbate consumption and represent a distortion in access to wealth.

But years of inflation have forced many to the conclusion that they cannot keep up with the spending habits of those on their social media feeds.

A Google Trends analysis shows US searches for "underconsumption" hit a high point this summer, surfacing alongside queries about "overproduction" and the "Great Depression."

Many young adults have developed a "compulsive behavior to spend down to their last pound on a fashion item," said UK-based influencer Andrea Cheong who recently shared an "underconsumption core" style video of her mending old clothes.

It is an addiction tied to a pressure "to articulate who we are through possessions," Cheong noted.

In contrast, "underconsumption core" breaks from traditional core trends promoted by influencers, who often sell an ever changing purchasing blueprint embodying the latest trend and aesthetic, according to Cheong. She and Makoni agreed that the shift also reflects increased calls for authenticity from content creators.

Now, "conserving is cool" said Makoni -- "we saw very similar patterns after 2008" during the financial crisis.

Over half of Gen Z adults -- age 18 to 27 -- polled in a 2024 survey by Bank of America stated the high cost of living as a top barrier to their financial success, adding that many do not make enough money to live the life they want.

- Sustainability concerns -

"The social media trend of 'underconsumption' is another way for Gen Z to make the most of their money and be environmentally friendly at the same time," said Ashley Ross, head of consumer client experience and governance at Bank of America.

While younger generations worry about making sustainable choices, a lack of financial autonomy drives their decisions.

"Let's be honest, no one's gonna change their GDP for sustainability. We don't live in that world ... The motivation for people to do these things has always been to save money," said Cheong.

But she told AFP "underconsumption" trends ultimately provide the most accessible approach to sustainability for those who seek it. The message is simple: "Buy less, buy better."

Low consumption brick-and-mortar initiatives cast a wider net of profiles and generations.

Anjali Zielinski, 42, joined a "Mending 101" workshop in Georgetown, DC in the hopes of acquiring new skills. She brought her daughter, Mina, seven, along with her.

In addition to providing an outlet to her daughter's creativity, she hopes the craft will teach her the "value of our possessions and the work that goes into them."

nw-mja/adm/jgc

© Agence France-Presse

AFP Sport looks at five things to know about the Czech 28-year-old, who now has two Grand Slam titles.

Legoland to dreamland

When Krejcikova is not playing tennis, she is building Lego models.

In her repertoire are the Milky Way, and Dobby, a character from the world of Harry Potter.

"I have many of them actually. Yeah, I even received some from my team here," she said.

She hopes one day to put together a Lego version of Wimbledon Centre Court.

"If there's one for me, I'll do that," said Krejcikova.

Helping hands

Krejcikova sacked coach Ales Kartus, who helped her to the 2021 French Open title, in July last year. Since then, she has not had a full-time coach but is working with Pavel Motl, who is two years younger, at 26.

They went to the same school and occasionally trained together.

Recalling how they first met, Motl told the iDNES.cz news website: "Bara was 10 and she played in the village where I live. She was playing on court number three and beat our adult neighbour 6-0, 6-0."

Motl refuses to call himself a coach.

"I don't know whether I will ever call myself a coach. For me, it's a kind of a lifetime journey."

Family life

At Wimbledon, Krejcikova shuns life in official hotels, preferring instead to stay with a local family as she has done for the past decade.

Krejcikova has often spoken of the "relaxed atmosphere" at the house, where her late coach Jana Novotna used to stay too.

The 31st seed paid an emotional tribute to Novotna, who also hails from Brno, in an on-court interview after her semi-final win.

Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998, died from cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.

"I remember thinking about her a lot," said Krejcikova. "I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do."

School's out

Krejcikova admits she was committed to reaching junior finals as it often meant a day off from school.

"I always liked playing the finals at minor tournaments, because we played on Mondays and I didn't have to go to school. That was my goal for the weekend," she said.

Olympics dream

Krejcikova is due to team up with as the pair seek to defend their doubles title from Tokyo.

The two split last November after winning seven Grand Slam titles together.Katerina Siniakova for the Paris Olympics 

The split was initiated by Siniakova, who decided to team up with Storm Hunter but the Australian picked up an Achilles tendon injury in April, meaning a spell on the sidelines.

Siniakova won the French Open women's doubles with Coco Gauff last month and has reached this year's Wimbledon final with Taylor Townsend.

Krejcikova teamed up with Laura Siegemund for the women's doubles at Wimbledon but they knocked out in the quarter-finals.

frj/dj/jw

© Agence France-Presse

The tournament has been a showcase of a talented next generation of footballers, including teenagers Lamine Yamal, Arda Guler and Kobbie Mainoo, but several under-the-radar established players have have shown their class on the European stage.

Here, AFP Sport looks at five stars who have broken through with impressive performances at Euro 2024:

Dani Olmo (Spain)

Spanish starlets Yamal and Nico Williams have lit up Euro 2024 from the flanks but Dani Olmo's contributions from the middle of the park have proved crucial for the finalists.

The 26-year-old is well-known in Germany after four years at RB Leipzig but has made everyone else stand up and take notice of his ability with a string of excellent performances in his adopted country.

Having sealed Spain's 4-1 last-16 win over Georgia with a late goal, Olmo came off the bench after just eight minutes to replace the injured Pedri against Germany in the quarter finals, scoring the opener and laying on Mikel Merino's extra-time winner.

In Spain's semi-final with France, Olmo's 25th-minute strike would prove the winner, sending his team to their fifth Euros final.

Olmo now has three goals, the equal most in the tournament, alongside two assists despite only starting two of Spain's six games.

Marc Guehi (England)

Playing in his first major international tournament, England's Marc Guehi quickly established himself in the middle of Gareth Southgate's miserly defensive set-up.

Just 23, he has been calm and assured alongside John Stones in central defence, with England conceding just three goals in five games with Guehi on the park.

When suspended for England's quarter-final against Switzerland, some asked how the Three Lions would replace the Crystal Palace centre-back, such is his important to the side.

Guehi has also contributed in attack, having put in an assist for Jude Bellingham's last-gasp equaliser against Slovakia in the last 16 which saved England from an early tournament exit, keeping them on track for a maiden Euros triumph.

Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)

Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo was front and centre in the Oranje's run to their first Euros semi-final in 20 years at Euro 2024, before a 2-1 defeat by England.

The orange shirt seems to bring the best out of the 25-year-old, whose impressive performances at the Qatar World Cup came before a big-money transfer to English giants Liverpool.

Gakpo scored the equaliser in the Netherlands' 2-1 group-stage win over Poland while his opener in the 3-0 win over last-16 opponents Romania calmed the nerves in a tense encounter.

An onrushing Gakpo also forced Turkey to concede a late own goal which would prove the winner for the Dutch in the quarter-finals.

Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)

Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may have been the country's biggest name at the tournament but man mountain Giorgi Mamardashvili stood tall in Georgia's run to the last 16.

A centimetre shy of being two metres in height, Mamardashvili's presence between the sticks was calming for the burgeoning football nation in their first ever Euros appearance.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper made 30 saves in four matches, the second-most in Euros history after Igor Akinfeev's 32 for Russia in 2008.

Mamardashvili's performances will not be a surprise to La Liga fans, with the Valencia 'keeper among the best in Spain this season.

Marcel Sabitzer (Austria)

A key part of club side Borussia Dortmund's surprise run to the Champions League final, Austria midfielder Marcel Sabitzer continued his stellar form at Euro 2024.

Austria emerged top in a group which featured semi-finalists France and the Netherlands and were whispered to be dark horses for the competition until a surprise last-16 loss to Turkey in torrid conditions.

The 30-year-old scored the winner in Austria's 3-2 win over the Dutch which secured top spot, thundering the ball under the crossbar from a tight angle.

A constant goal threat, particularly from long range, Sabitzer's boundless energy was key for Ralf Rangnick's full-throttle Austria side.

dwi/jc

© Agence France-Presse

De facto leader since the 1994 genocide and running for a fourth term as president in elections Monday, the iron-fisted Kagame has established a sphere of influence far outweighing Rwanda's size to develop the country and entrench his own power base.

Unlike many other African nations, "Rwanda is pursuing a real foreign policy strategy", says Paul-Simon Handy, East Africa director at the Institute for Security Studies.

This strategy is similar to "smart power", says Handy, combining hard power -- the use of military and economic means for influence -- and soft power.

- Murky role -

The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) is one of the pillars of this policy, though its role is contradictory.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has for years accused its neighbour of fomenting instability in the east and supporting armed groups, including the Tutsi-led M23, deploying troops and allegedly seeking to plunder its mineral wealth.

A recent UN experts report said 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside M23 rebels and that Kigali had "de facto control" of the group's operations.

Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, instead pointing to the "persecution" of the Tutsi minority and the risk of instability on Rwanda's border.

"By nature, Rwanda's security posture has always been defensive, not offensive. We only act when trouble is brought on us," he said this month.

Its murky role in the DRC has however cost Kigali some financial support from the West, which since 2012-2013 has cut development aid and investment.

- 'Africa's policeman' -

At the same time, Kagame has established his army as the "policeman of Africa".

Since 2024, the RDF has taken part in numerous UN peacekeeping missions. With 5,894 men deployed as of March 31, Rwanda is the fourth largest contributor, with forces in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

"By participating in and leading peacekeeping and unilateral military missions, Rwanda has significantly enhanced its global image and strategic relevance beyond its historical association with the 1994 genocide," said Federico Donelli, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Trieste.

It also reaps a financial windfall. The UN pays contributors $1,428 per soldier per month, meaning Kigali receives more than $100 million a year.

The RDF has also been deployed under bilateral deals with, for example, CAR and Mozambique.

These military commitments are often accompanied by economic agreements, offering development opportunities for Rwanda, which does not have its own natural resources or industrial base, and is reliant on international funding.

In CAR, Rwandans enjoy privileged investment access to sectors such as mining, agriculture and construction, often led by Crystal Ventures, an investment firm owned by Kagame's ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

- Diplomatic lever -

These deals also represent a valuable diplomatic lever to ward off sanction threats over the DRC or its dismal human rights record.

"Rwanda has never hidden its threat to withdraw from peacekeeping operations if it were to be sanctioned," said Handy.

"It has proven its effectiveness: DRC efforts to have Rwanda sanctioned for its support for the M23 were unsuccessful."

Donelli said Kagame has an ability to read global dynamics.

"He knows that Western actors are increasingly reluctant to get involved in African crises," he added.

"In an increasingly chaotic regional context, he is using Rwanda's role as a reliable partner in crises to reduce Western criticism and divert attention from domestic issues such as the lack of democratic development, centralisation of power and human rights concerns."

- 'Smart power' -

Kagame is accused of authoritarian rule, muzzling the media and political opposition, while according to the World Bank almost half the population lives on less than $2.15 a day.

But he has sought to burnish Rwanda's image abroad -- selling itself as an African flagship for new technology, a hub for conferences and major sporting events, and a leading ecotourism destination.

Sponsorship deals have seen "Visit Rwanda" emblazoned on the shirts of European football teams Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich.

Rwanda has also boosted its presence in global organisations.

In 2009, it became a member of the Commonwealth and hosted its 2022 summit, while a former minister is head the International Organisation of La Francophonie (French-speaking union), another serves as deputy chair of the African Union Commission.

Handy says Rwanda's "smart power" was illustrated by the controversial deal to take in asylum seekers deported from Britain.

"The interest was essentially financial but it was also the projection of an image of a peaceful country where it would be good for refugees to live."

Widely condemned by rights groups and blocked by UK courts, the scheme has now been scrapped by Britain's new government -- but Rwanda insists it is not obliged to return the 240 million pound ($311 million) payment already sent by London.

sva/txw/gv

© Agence France-Presse