"I'm bad at switching off. I have a proper addiction to my phone," she told AFP, as she headed into an evening out organised by the Offline Club in London.

Tickets were snatched up when they went on sale for the two-hour "digital detox" night, with more than 150 young adults aged mostly between 20 and 35 eager to ditch their screens for an IRL evening -- meeting up in real life.

They each paid £9.50 ($11.97) for the chance to switch off their phones and make in-person human connections.

"We are the technology generation, but we're tired of it. We want to reconnect with the real world," said Bianca Bolum.

The 25-year-old jeweller had come on her own and was hoping to meet new people.

According to the UK's telecoms regulator Ofcom, young Brits aged between 25 and 34 spend an average of four hours and three minutes a day glued to their smartphones.

But Liliann Delacruz, 22, said she spent about 10 hours a day texting with her family and friends, surfing the net and checking her socials.

The evening was a chance to "get outside my bubble".

Scattered around the room in a London church were tables stacked with board games, as an excited hum echoed around the walls.

Engineer Harry Stead, 25, said he found leaving his phone at the door "freeing".

"I don't realise the addiction and then too often I feel the urge to look at my phone and scroll," he told AFP, adding he suffered from "FOMO" ("Fear of missing out").

- 'Loneliness epidemic' -

Shafier, 35, had come with a friend and they sat chatting together as they sewed.

If she had been at home, her phone would have been next to her. "I hate using my phone so much. I'm angry at myself," she said.

As soon as the evening was over though, she switched her phone back on, scanning her screen.

Ironically the participants found out about the club via social media, often Instagram posts.

Organiser Ben Hounsell, 23, said he was not against technology or calling for everyone to get rid of their phones.

"A lot of people are realising that just getting away from your phone for a few hours can be super beneficial in a number of ways," he said.

Since the club launched at the end of October, more than 2,000 people have taken part.

"It's really just growing super rapidly in London. Every event seems to sell out instantly," he said.

The club has also opened branches in Paris, Barcelona and Dubai. The first Offline Club was launched in Amsterdam by Ilya Kneppelhout and two friends.

"The loneliness epidemic and the mental health epidemics are on the rise. So people really seek connection, genuine connection with others away from screens," said Kneppelhout.

"A lot of us have social media and phone addictions because we're using it even though we don't want to... and we're using it even though we know it doesn't make us feel better."

- #offline -

Kneppelhout has been inspired by book clubs such as Reading Rhythms in New York or the Silent Book Club where people gather to read together.

Those seeking a longer detox can even join retreats in several countries lasting days.

Some influencers, ever present on social media, are leading the way. French woman Lena Mahfouf announced to her millions of followers in November that she was taking a month-long break.

Venetia La Manna, an online activist for sustainable fashion, disconnects from her phone every weekend, and lets her followers know with the hashtag #offline48.

"I'm able to be more present with my loved ones, I sleep better, I have more time to be creative, to be in nature and to be with my community."

For most people, "the real issue isn't necessarily harm to mental health; it's missed opportunities. What didn't you do because you were scrolling?" said Anna Cox, a professor of human-computer interaction at University College London.

"Did you miss a conversation with your partner," for example, or stay up later than planned and put off doing the washing up?

But Cox said there are excellent strategies "to help people reduce the time they spend on their devices", such as turning off notifications or switching the phone's interface to black and white.

"We need to educate ourselves -- and particularly young people -- on how to take control of our devices," she added.

ctx/alm/jkb/lcm/yad/fg

© Agence France-Presse

Critics have often been bamboozled by the former reality TV star's far-fetched proposals -- wondering whether he is for real, marking a negotiating position, or simply creating a distraction.

But Trump also prides himself on being a political disruptor -- and his shock suggestion to move out Palestinians and make Gaza the "Riviera of the Middle East" is a prime example.

"Much of what President Trump says is hyperbole, clever negotiating, and serious all at the same time," Peter Loge, the director of George Washington University's School of Media, told AFP.

"When he says outrageous seeming things that don't happen he plays it off as a joke or negotiating tactic. When the occasional scheme pans out, he claims to be a genius."

Trump's favorite tactic is often to leave people guessing.

A famous early assessment of Trump in 2016 by the journalist Salena Zito got to the heart of the difficulty.

Zito said that the press took Trump "literally, but not seriously" while his supporters took him "seriously, but not literally."

And offbeat suggestions have become 78-year-old Trump's trademark.

On one infamous occasion in 2020, he mused about injecting disinfectant to treat Covid-19 infection, or somehow getting a form of sterilizing light inside people's bodies.

In another case, before taking office in January, he vowed to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours.

And more recently, he stunned the world by suddenly talking about annexing Canada and Greenland and seizing the Panama Canal.

- 'Outside of the box' -

Trump's opponents have sometimes lived to regret not taking him seriously.

Many counted Trump out after his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, only to see him return.

Then they wondered if he would carry out the radical right-wing agenda he promised in his 2024 election campaign, just to see him launch a "shock and awe" program targeting immigrants, transgender people and the federal government.

But many of those measures now face challenges in the courts or in Congress, where his party has only the slimmest of margins.

The Gaza proposal, meanwhile, goes a step further in terms of sheer unpredictability.

A smiling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump Tuesday for "thinking outside of the box."

"You say things others refuse to say. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, 'you know, he's right,'" Netanyahu said.

But Middle Eastern leaders begged to differ.

And without any further elaboration from Trump, the White House and State Department have since had to walk back elements about whether it would be a permanent change and if it would involve US boots on the ground.

- 'Art of the Deal' -

Experts suggest there are different strategies for Trump's outrageous suggestions.

Sometimes they are useful as a distraction from more pressing political problems.

Mirette Mabrouk, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Trump's recent proposals masked the fact that he had yet to bring down inflation as he'd promised.

"There have been these big international claims, but really none of this contributes to the price of eggs," Mabrouk said.

At other times, the man behind the 1987 book "The Art of the Deal" appears to use them as a negotiating tool.

This tactic seemed to be on display when Trump threatened tariffs on allies Mexico and Canada, then paused them after they agreed to take border security steps.

But things were, again, not necessarily as it seemed, as some of the Canadian promises had already been announced months earlier.

Trump's former career as a real estate tycoon -- albeit one that involved a series of bankruptcies and lawsuits -- perhaps provides the best explanation.

His plans for Gaza, Greenland and Panama all sound a lot like property deals.

Last year, Trump described Gaza as being "like Monaco," while his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested that Israel could clear Gaza of civilians to unlock "waterfront property."

It was during Trump's property developer life in the 1980s, meanwhile, that he first floated a presidential run.

Few took him seriously at the time. Decades later, he would end up in the White House -- twice.

dk-rfo/jgc

© Agence France-Presse

Visitors to the HaHaHouse in the Croatian capital Zagreb are blasted with a puff of white smoke once they step inside to blow away their worries before climbing into a "giant washing machine".

The "centrifuge of life" then whips them away Willy Wonka-style down a twisting slide into a pool filled with little white balls where their journey to a happier place starts.

Its creator Andrea Golubic said she had the idea for the museum during the pandemic when many were feeling down, depressed and isolated.

"I realised that I had a mission -- to heal people with laughter," added the upbeat 43-year-old.

The idea "came straight from the heart", Golubic told AFP, and on that very day I listed 78 exhibits... that's how the HaHaHouse began."

Golubic said it was her carefree seven-year-old self that inspired her -- "a picture of me as a first-grader, with wide teeth and dying of laughter. I was constantly joking as a kid," she said.

Visitors press a button to be "disinfected from negativity" as soon as they step inside the museum, which has eight interactive zones.

One has a rubber chicken choir cheerfully cackling out hits like ABBA's "Dancing Queen", there is a karaoke room with distorted voices and a "Sumo Arena" for wrestling in puffed up costumes.

There is also some serious history of humour from ancient to modern times told through theatre, film or the net.

The museum also explains humour styles, from word play, slapstick, toilet and dark humour to satire with the help of some choice one-liners.

"I've had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware," is one of the featured zingers from US comedian Joan Rivers.

- 'Inner child' -

Golubic said the HaHaHouse is drawing everyone from small children to the elderly, with grown-ups seeing it as a good excuse to play at being kids again themselves.

"All those who still feel a bit of childish joy and embrace their inner child, will recharge themselves," she insisted.

Pensioner Bruno Dadic told AFP he was "delighted" by his visit "as there is never enough humour in life.

"Laughter is a medicine for the soul," he said.

Zagreb's psychiatric hospital has voiced interest in organised visits and links are also being made with schools and retirement homes.

"The museum is great," said Aleksandar Suka who celebrated his fifth birthday with a visit.

Accompanied by his mother, the little boy said he loved lying on the "Bed of Nails" since they tickled him.

Singer Zorica Bucic, from the coastal town of Split, said the museum was perfect for our times "when we are bombarded with so much bad news.

"Entering here is like entering childhood, being relieved of all problems. If you could come here more there would be no need to pay a psychologist," she said.

Indeed, laughter is a defence mechanism which gives people strength to face their problems, psychologist Petar Kraljevic told AFP, saying he loved the idea too.

"If a prescription for three hours of laughter per 24 hours could be written and followed that would certainly give positive results."

ljv/fg

© Agence France-Presse

With many having turned to time-honoured crafts like crochet and knitting during the Covid-19 pandemic, a growing number of enthusiasts are looking to connect with the Austrian capital's craft community in real life.

Vienna's Votiv Kino has become the latest movie theatre in Europe to offer craft cinema nights, a trend trailblazed by Nordic countries.

"We saw that it exists in the US, in Denmark, in Finland, in Germany," said avid knitter Luisa Palmer, who initiated the knitting nights at the Votiv Kino with a colleague.

Since the launch event in December, the monthly knitting nights have sold out, drawing almost 180 visitors each time.

With the lights only slightly dimmed while "The Devil Wears Prada" was showing on Sunday, the cinemagoers got crafty.

"It is a bit 'grannycore', but I find it very calming and pleasant. Why not let out your inner granny?" Alexander Koch, 28, quipped while crocheting away.

Kaja Vospernik, a 23-year-old fashion student, who is knitting a sweater, told AFP that she was excited about "meeting new people, who have the same interests".

"I really enjoy knitting while watching movies or listening to podcasts, so of course the cinema is a great place for that," Vospernik said.

The movie seemed to take a backseat as passionate knitters and crocheters -- some of whom were donning their handmade knitwear -- kept chatting and working away.

"A lot of people started knitting and crocheting during the pandemic and out of necessity, only did it at home alone. That's why a lot of people now want to do it with others," 32-year-old Palmer said.

In an increasingly digital world with many hunched over computers at work, people enjoy "creating something with their own hands you can later even wear," said Palmer.

"Cozy films that you have already seen" are best suited for knitting, Palmer added.

And Vienna's "diverse" crafting community, which is "open to all age groups", has meanwhile grown to an estimated 1,000 people, Judith Hasloewer, who co-initiated the event at the cinema, told AFP.

"You can just sit in the theatre and knit and keep to yourself, but if you feel like company, you'll definitely find it here," she said.

Crafting your own garment allows you to "connect to reality, as it slows you down" while it also symbolises a bold statement against "fast fashion", Hasloewer, 27, said.

According to Votiv Kino spokeswoman Lisa Stolze, knitting nights are the latest addition to their special shows -- which include cinema breakfasts and screenings for parents and their babies -- that are designed to "appeal to the different interests of our audience".

kym/tw

© Agence France-Presse

The unusual event on the airport's third runway -- which is still under construction -- saw the workout paired with beverages as participants were offered coconuts, iced teas and water to incorporate into their routines.

Some 500 yoga-goers and camera-ready influencers began arriving at 5:00 am, making their way in the dark to their mats on the runaway.

As the sun rose, yoga instructors guided the group through two workouts, cheerily enthusiastic despite the pollution, industrial setting, and occasional flight roar.

"Today is going to be very special," an instructor blared, before urging participants to "put your coconut in the air!"

"Feel like a beautiful bird," she said, as a plane rumbled along the concrete and lifted into the air behind the participants.

While many present were influencers -- and perhaps more focused on getting the perfect shot than the perfect lunge -- most seemed to have come for a laugh.

"This was something fun, this was a nice event," said lawyer Rugeradh Tungsupakul, attending with a friend.

"Right now, because of our jobs, we are too busy to go to a yoga studio," she told AFP.

Although Rugeradh was worried about pollution -- a perennial issue in smoggy Bangkok, which regularly ranks among the world's most polluted cities -- she said they had checked the air quality before arriving.

"Right now, it's not too bad," she explained.

Although there were a few men scattered in the crowd, the workout was dominated by women.

Most were clad in the ubiquitous yoga uniform of black leggings and cropped white t-shirts -- in this instance emblazoned with the word "BREW" for Brew Yoga which organized the event.

- 'Why not?!' -

"This is a very special event for me," said instructor Pavadee Komchokpaisan, 30, adding it was the first time yoga had been done on the runway.

"We have so many people come here to just join the yoga class, and take a picture on a runway," she told AFP, praising Bangkok's yoga community.

One of those receiving instruction was Precious, who has lived in Bangkok for the past four years, and said she was invited thanks to her Instagram-famous cat Ernest.

"He's been to Switzerland, Botswana, South Africa, so obviously this seemed kind of appropriate," she told AFP.

She figured she was unlikely to ever be asked to do yoga on an airport runway again.

"Why not?!" she asked.

bur-rbu/tym

© Agence France-Presse

In the northern port of serves fish and shellfish, with dozens of portraits of her on the walls.

"When cuisine, art and politics come together, you can make beautiful things," restaurant owner Gjergj Luca told AFP.

Funded by Italy, the asylum centre -- one of two in the area due to open in coming weeks -- has been largely welcomed by local people for creating jobs in an impoverished region.

Human rights groups have branded it illegal under international law, warning that Albania, a n Shengjin -- by the Adriatic Sea where many migrants risk their lives trying to cross to Italy -- the "Trattoria Meloni"on-EU country, offers limited protections for the asylum seekers.

Meloni visited the future centre in Shengjin in June, before the restaurant was opened.

The 58-year-old owner Luca, son of a famous Albanian actor and a former actor himself, said he was charmed by her personality, calling her "extraordinary".

He said he hopes she will come back to taste his food and admire her portraits, which adorn every inch of the restaurant's walls.

The portraits were all painted by Heliton Haliti, a well-known Albanian artist.

A smiling Meloni, a serious Meloni, an angry Meloni, Meloni as a child, teenager or politician -- 70 portraits of the leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party hang in the restaurant.

Meloni is a "very interesting, strong character, and even if her political convictions aren't my own, that hasn't stopped me from doing a passionate job," Haliti told AFP.

"Did I need a permission to paint her portrait?" he added.

"Did Andy Warhol need permission to paint Marilyn Monroe? In postmodernism, it's allowed, and I think that with Meloni, I've succeeded."

bme/cbo/ljv/rlp

© Agence France-Presse

"Be more kind", "am I gonna get deported?", "dump Trump" and "having a felon as our new president" read some of the brightly colored sticky notes, many of which addressed President-elect Donald Trump's win 

Reviving a project created in the wake of Trump's 2016 victory, Matt Chavez invites commuters at a busy Manhattan station to take time from their journey to jot a note and add it to others on the wall of a long passageway.

"This project started in early 2016, it was called 'Subway Therapy', but there were no notes yet," Chavez, 36, said as passersby stopped to read notes, while others scrawled their own missives using small folding tables.

"It was just me talking to strangers in the subway. And that evolved after the 2016 election, when Trump was elected the first time. I just wanted to help people express themselves, to share ideas and to come together."

Chavez resurrected the project, which he has taken on the road around the United States and as far afield as Brussels and Malmo, on the Saturday before the election.

Trump made gains across New York City, which has traditionally been a bastion of Vice President Kamala Harris's Democrats, scoring 30 percent of votes to Harris's 68 percent, which was 16 points less than Biden's 2020 tally.

"I noticed people writing more about their anxieties, their fears, and also about strength and resilience," Chavez said.

Tourists, business people and parents with infants were among those stopping to read the wall and pen their own notes.

Esra Yalcin, a graphic designer originally from Turkey, stopped with her daughter, photographing her with a Polaroid camera after she attached her own note to the white tiles.

Yalcin, 50, had fixed a note onto an earlier iteration of the wall just after Trump was first elected in 2016.

"So today we put a note. And we're telling people stay strong," said Yalcin who had been pregnant with her daughter Lia at the time.

Her daughter's message?

"Don't lose your hope."

gw/adp

© Agence France-Presse

He's been living in a submerged capsule off the coast of Panama for two months -- which means, he told a visiting AFP journalist, he has about two more to go.

"The last time I checked, I was still married," he joked, as fish swim through bright blue Caribbean waters outside the portholes.

But Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Germany, has grander plans than simply notching a record. His stunt, he says, could change the way we think about human life -- and where we can settle, even permanently.

"Moving out to the ocean is something we should do as a species," he told AFP.

"What we are trying to do here is prove that the seas are actually a viable environment for human expansion."

Koch's 30-square-meter (320-square-foot) capsule has most of the trappings of modern life: a bed, toilet, TV, computer and internet -- even an exercise bike.

The only thing missing? A shower.

His home under the sea is attached through a vertical tube to another chamber perched above the waves, housing other members of his team -- and providing a way for food and curious journalists to be sent down.

The underwater chamber, meanwhile, provides a shelter for fish and acts as an artificial reef -- providing an environmental benefit.

"In the night, you can hear all the crustaceans," he said. "There's the fish out there, and there's all that stuff, and that wasn't here before we came."

- A window into the sea -

On a small bedside table lies Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," a 19th century sci-fi classic.

An admirer of the novel's Captain Nemo, Koch, who went down on September 26, is hoping to come up for air on January 24, surpassing by 20 days the record held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days submerged in a Florida lake.

Two clocks show how much time has passed -- and how much remains.

A narrow spiral staircase leads to the chamber above, the entire contraption located some 15 minutes by boat from the Puerto Lindo coast, off northern Panama.

Four cameras film his moves in the capsule -- capturing his daily life, monitoring his mental health and to provide proof that he's never come up to the surface.

Eial Berja, an Israeli, operates them from the section above, while minding the electricity and back-up generator.

It's not all easy going, he told AFP, noting that a heavy storm almost put an end to the project.

Outside of the media, Koch's only visitors have been his doctor, his children and his wife.

Supporting the project is Grant Romundt, from Canada. Both he and Koch have grander visions linked to the libertarian -- and at-times controversial --  "seasteading" movement that envisions ocean-based communities outside government control.

Though he still has a long way to go to resurface, Koch knows exactly what he'll do first once he's back on land: "a shower, a real shower."

jjr/mis/lab/liu/nro/bjt

© Agence France-Presse

AFP picks out six sports stories that weren't all about the sport:

- Super Swift -

Kansas City Chiefs may have taken a third Super Bowl in five years but the NFL thriller seemed to take second billing to the presence of Travis Kelce's girlfriend in the crowd - Taylor Swift.

The songstress superstar was performing in Tokyo the night before but hopped on a private jet to make the NFL championship spectacular in Las Vegas.

At one point she delighted the internet by chugging a beer -- she clocked in at 6.6 seconds.

"Thank you for making it halfway across the world," said Kelce after the game before offering what might be a Swift lyric. "You're the best, baby. The absolute best."

A few days later Swift donated $100,000 to a fundraiser supporting the family of a woman killed in a mass shooting at the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade.

- A man of influence -

Top flight Argentinian club Deportivo Riestra drew the ire of the country's football community after selecting an influencer with no professional experience in its starting XI.

Riestra selected a streamer known as "Spreen", who has some 15 million followers on his social media channels, for their match against Primera Division leaders Velez Sarsfield, before substituting the 24-year-old off after 78 seconds. He had not touched the ball.

His selection caused a backlash with former Argentina international Juan Sebastian Veron saying it showed a "total lack of respect for football and footballers" but it worked wonders for the club.

The announcement "Spreen" -- the pseudonym of Argentine influencer Ivan Buhajeruk -- would be playing racked up 3.4 million views, compared to the several thousand for a typical match.

- Death is no excuse -

When dope testers turned up at the Norwegian football team's training base, they had a list of stars they wanted samples from Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Leipzig's Antonio Nusa... as well as Einar Gundersen and Jorgen Juve.

Gundersen and Juve are Norwegian legends but both have been dead for decades -- Juve scoring the goal that beat Germany in front of Adolf Hitler in 1936.

Coach Stale Solbakken thought he was being pranked, asking, "Is this a hidden camera or what?"

Anti-Doping Norway struggled to explain their mistake. "It's hard to say what happened," a spokesman said.

- Baseball double -

Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen carved out a unique piece of baseball history after becoming the first player to officially appear for two teams in the same game.

The 29-year-old's unprecedented stint of double-duty arose due to a freak confluence of events stemming from Boston's abandoned game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The match began on June 26 with Jansen in the middle of an at-bat for Toronto when it was called off for rain in the second inning.

A month later, Jansen was traded to the Red Sox and when the game was resumed at Fenway Park in August he was on the field playing against his former team.

"Everybody keeps saying history is being made," he said. "It's such a strange thing. I never would have imagined myself in this situation with it being history."

- Bonkers conkers -

Scandal struck the UK-based World Conker Championships when the men's champion, 'King Conker', was accused of cheating after he was found to have a steel chestnut in his pocket.

Eighty-two-year-old David Jakins, who has been competing since 1977, said he kept a steel conker on him for "humour value".

His vanquished opponent, however, made the accusation that he had switched his genuine conker - a horse chestnut threaded with string - for the far more destructive steel version.

After an investigation, Jakins was cleared by the organisers and allowed to keep his crown although he was beaten for the overall title by 'Queen Conker' - 34-year-old Kelci Banschbach, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana.

- Sun power -

Hats off to a team of Belgian students and engineers who won a solar-powered car race in South Africa, widely considered the most challenging for testing the technology.

Over a dozen teams competed in the eight-day race spanning 4,000 kilometres from the north-east of the country to Cape Town, with varying weather and altitude extremes adding to the complexities for designers.

"Innoptus claimed victory after breaking their own record not once, but twice during the competition," said the organisers of the Sasol Solar Challenge.

The Innoptus car had a flat surface decked with photovoltaic panels and a white exterior, with narrow driver's seat sporting the number plate "SUN 08".

bsp/dj/nr

© Agence France-Presse