- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty in rare graft trial
- Fishy business caught by fraying India-Bangladesh ties
- US Open champion Sabalenka chases year-end number one ranking
- New Zealand scientists discover ghostly 'spookfish'
- Trump slams early voting, even while urging Pennsylvanians to do so
- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty to bribery in rare graft trial
- Major Hurricane John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- IMF says ready for talks with Sri Lanka's new leftist government
- Phillies clinch division title, eye top seed
- Bills trample Jaguars, Commanders claw Bengals
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost ailing economy
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally on China stimulus on mixed day for markets
- Back to death row? Retrial verdict due in Japan murder saga
- Rare corruption trial of Singapore ex-minister begins
- Ghana a long way off from gender equality despite new law
- China unveils fresh stimulus to boost economy
- Hamas weakened, not crushed a year into war with Israel
- Israeli economy struggles under weight of Gaza war
- Israelis united in trauma, divided by war after October 7
- New York Liberty riding WNBA boom into playoffs
- Union says new Boeing pay offer 'missed the mark'
- Environmental groups urge EU 'high risk' label for Sarawak
- Argentina seeks Maduro's arrest for crimes against humanity
- Morales issues Bolivian president 24-hour ultimatum to shake up cabinet
- Armenia and Azerbaijan see progress, but peace treaty seems distant
- World leaders gather at UN as Mideast tensions explode
- Biden's UN goodbye aims to 'Trump-proof' legacy
- Singapore ex-minister set for high-profile corruption trial
- Man Utd, Spurs eye respite from domestic woes in Europa League
- Guatemala picks Supreme Court judges with focus on anti-graft fight
- Jill Biden announces $500 million for women's health research
- Injured All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett out of Australia Test
- 'Lead the future': youth challenge world leaders at UN
- Goosebumps and stars as Paris Fashion Week kicks off
- Boeing boosts pay offer in effort to end strike
- Global markets inch higher on hopes of further rate cuts
- Amazon forest loses area the size of Germany and France, fueling fires
- 'Curious' Dupont eyes position change after claiming Top 14 award
- Man Utd stadium regeneration could add £7.3bn to British economy
- At COP16, Colombia seeks to lead by example on biodiversity
- Dupont caps off Olympic gold season with Top 14 player award
- Leeds to expand Elland Road to 53,000 capacity
- Mysterious 18th century diamond necklace set for auction
- World's oceans near critical acidification level: report
- California sues oil giant Exxon over plastic recycling 'myth'
- As wars rage, UN's critics say global body is failing its mission
- Amazon forest has lost an area the size of Germany and France
- Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner in Davis Cup finals teams
- Telegram's Durov announces new crackdown on illegal content
- African players in Europe: Ice-cool Jackson strikes twice
Ukraine refugee children dance in safety in Prague
Six-year-old Eva swings into a backbend with ease, then assesses herself in the large mirror at the end of the dance studio and rewards herself with a contented smile.
Two dozen Ukrainian children in the room, including one boy, try to do the same, but only a few manage, while the rest end up sitting and watching in awe.
They all attend a free ballet course for Ukrainian refugee children, opened by Prague's National Theatre at the end of March, a month after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
"My daughter and I went to see the Sleeping Beauty ballet at the state opera... We jumped at the opportunity!" said Eva's mother, Yuliya Petronchak.
She and Eva left the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for Prague on the first day of the invasion to escape "the constant air alarms", while Eva's father stayed at home.
More than 4.5 million refugees have left Ukraine since the invasion started on February 24, and around 300,000 have ended up in the Czech Republic.
Like many children taking part in the course, Eva has experience from home -- she went to the State Choreographic School in Lviv for six months before leaving.
- 'The cradle of classical dance' -
"I have already spotted some talents," said Jana Jodasova, a former dancer at the National Theatre for 20 years who now teaches ballet.
At the beginning of the lesson, she helps the little dancers choose leotards and ballet shoes out of three bags provided by the parents of Czech children attending her regular classes.
She assesses the fit and sometimes sends a dancer back to the changing room with a different leotard.
The properly dressed little ballerinas meanwhile practise pirouettes on their own or test the firmness of the bars on the sides of the dance studio.
Jodasova came up with the idea soon after the Russian invasion started as she watched "the horrors" on TV.
"Russia and Ukraine are the cradle of classical dance, most kids over there go to ballet classes at least for some time," the energetic 59-year-old told AFP.
"Ballet is one of the things they can't live without."
Moments later, she faces a crowd of around a hundred mothers with their children queueing outside the building to register for the free course.
- 'Arms and legs' -
The new role has forced Jodasova to dig up her long-forgotten command of Russian, forced onto Czechs and other nations under Moscow's communist realm until 1989.
"I communicate with the children using my arms and legs and very poor Russian. But I feel we can understand each other," she said.
When she struggles, she turns to eight-year-old Alisa Kolesnikova, who was born to Russian parents in Prague and who attends Jodasova's regular course for local children.
Alisa, who has attended the ballet school for three years and wants to become a ballerina, relishes the opportunity as she guides the refugee children through the practice.
"I really love to show things to the kids, especially the beginners," the ginger-haired, blue-eyed dancer told AFP.
- Hoping to return -
One of the youngest children at the refugee course, five-year-old Vasilisa Malakutska, is no beginner either.
"I first took her to a ballet class when she was four and she didn't feel too well about it, but I think now is the right time," said her mother Ekaterina Malakutska, a marketing expert from Kyiv.
She is contemplating a ballet career for her daughter, just like Yuliya Petronchak is for little Eva.
"Either a ballerina or a doctor," university teacher Petronchak told AFP, adding that although Eva was happy at the Prague course, her future was in Ukraine.
"The safety of the child is key. But if there are no alarms in western Ukraine... we hope to return. As soon as possible."
L.Dubois--BTB