Focus: Recent Episodes
FRANCE 24 English
Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. From Monday to Friday at 7.50 am Paris time.
The Pantanal, in the Central-West region of Brazil, is in the grip of record fires. In this wildlife sanctuary, more than 760,000 hectares of vegetation were destroyed in the first six months of 2024. June was a record month, with 2,636 new fires. That's 30 times more than during the same period last year. In the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, which contains 65 percent of this fragile ecosystem, 400 firefighters and soldiers have been mobilised for more than three months to fight the flames. 95 percent of these fires originate from agricultural properties in the region. Louise Raulais, Marine Resse, Jan Onoszko report.
Since the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the competition to be selected as the host city has been fierce. Cities vie with innovation and resources to stand out and attract athletes and spectators from around the globe. Follow our special coverage this week as we bring you a daily focus report on cities that have hosted the Olympics, from Los Angeles to Beijing, Athens, Barcelona, and Munich.
Since the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the competition to be selected as the host city has been fierce. Cities vie with innovation and resources to stand out and attract athletes and spectators from around the globe. Follow our special coverage this week as we bring you a daily focus report on cities that have hosted the Olympics, from Los Angeles to Beijing, Athens, Barcelona, and Munich.
Since the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the competition to be selected as the host city has been fierce. Cities vie with innovation and resources to stand out and attract athletes and spectators from around the globe. Follow our special coverage this week as we bring you a daily focus report on cities that have hosted the Olympics, from Los Angeles to Beijing, Athens, Barcelona, and Munich.
In the lead-up to the Olympics here in Paris, we continue our series on the long-term impacts of the Games on host cities. We head to California, where Los Angeles was the only city vying to host the 1984 Olympics after Tehran withdrew. The mood heading into the Games had lost its appeal, as they were touted as too expensive and political. But forty years later, they have proven to be a success story, transforming the lives of local residents. This report comes from our correspondents Pierrick Leurent, Valérie Defert, and Wassim Cornet.
Since the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the competition to be selected as the host city has been fierce. Cities vie with innovation and resources to stand out and attract athletes and spectators from around the globe. Follow our special coverage this week as we bring you a daily focus report on cities that have hosted the Olympics, from Los Angeles to Beijing, Athens, Barcelona, and Munich.
Andalusia in southern Spain is attracting the attention of mining companies who want to extract metal ore. Near to Seville, the village of Aznalcollar is in the process of receiving the final permits to reopen a mine that was closed 26 years ago. In 1998, a wastewater reserve pool at the Los Frailes mine burst, spewing millions of cubic metres of toxic mud onto nearby farmland, rivers and protected wetlands. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports.
A growing number of people are renting out their homes to film crews for movies or to companies in search of a place to hold seminars. For some, it has turned into a lucrative business opportunity. Our colleagues at France 2 met with several of these homeowners to uncover what’s driving this trend. FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon reports.
June 29 marks the 10th anniversary of the declaration of a caliphate across Iraq by the Islamic State. A decade later, families perceived as affiliated with ISIS still live with the consequences of that time, which profoundly changed the country. Tens of thousands of people, mainly women and children, remain marginalised from Iraqi society. Lina Malers and Marie-Charlotte Roupie report.
Mongolia has emerged from a particularly long and bitter winter. Extreme temperatures killed over 7.1 million animals. Thousands of herder families lost more than 70 percent of their livestock. Climate change has increased the frequency of extreme weather phenomena, accelerating domestic migration. Mongolia’s traditional nomadic herders are leaving the grasslands to settle down in urban areas. But the capital is ill-equipped to take in this community. Indeed, the move to the city comes with problems of their own. Yena Lee reports.
Out of the 26 athletes representing Tunisia at the Paris Summer Games, 14 are women. In a country where many prejudices against women linger, these athletes have overcome multiple obstacles to qualify for the Olympics in various disciplines including boxing, rowing, archery and steeplechase running.
In 2019, the Ratodero scandal broke out in Pakistan. The town in the country's southern Sindh province was suddenly in the spotlight after a doctor revealed that thousands of children had been infected with HIV. An investigation showed that dangerous and illegal hygiene practices of doctors such as reusing disposable syringes for injections were at the origin of the outbreak. The scandal is Pakistan's biggest healthcare scandal and the largest HIV epidemic among children in Asia. Five years on, those affected are discriminated against and treated like outcasts. Our correspondents report, with the collaboration of Sameer Mandhro.
Water is running out in Iraq, a country where nearly more than half of the territory is considered at risk of desertification. Year after year, the situation is becoming worse and worse. Meanwhile the vast desertified areas create an environment prone to sandstorms – a destructive and dangerous phenomenon for the people living there. Lina Malers and Marie-Charlotte Roupie report.
Can you make a living from playing video games? Millions of Filipinos who earn cryptocurrency playing online games seem to think so. Players earn tokens they then trade in a virtual market for pesos or dollars. They can earn up to twice the minimum wage – an irresistible prospect for young Filipinos hoping to escape poverty. But cryptocurrencies are also extremely volatile. Their value in the Philippines is estimated at $7 billion, but they can collapse at a moment’s notice. Our team on the ground reports.
A total of 126 Ukrainian athletes will be competing at this year's Paris Olympics. With their country at war, their participation takes on particular importance. Ukraine's National Olympic Committee says more than 400 registered athletes have been killed since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, while many others have put their sporting careers on hold to serve in the army. As for those who are competing, they say the war is both a stress factor and an additional motivation. Meanwhile, some Russian and Belarusian athletes will also be taking part, but in neutral colours: a neutrality that the Ukrainian side has decried as fake. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports.
In 2019, India's Hindu nationalist government was accused of surveilling its activists, scholars, journalists and politicians. A recent report released by a UK-based cyber security and privacy research firm, Comparitech, concluded that several Indian cities top the list of the most surveilled cities worldwide. According to Amnesty International, India's tech capital of Hyderabad is on the brink of becoming a "total surveillance city". Our correspondents report.
Since February, Haiti has been facing an unprecedented political and security crisis. The country is ravaged by gang violence, with 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince under the control of gangs accused of countless atrocities. The airport, which had been closed for three months, has just reopened. But it's still extremely tough to get humanitarian aid into Haiti. In the United States, where more than a million Haitians live, the diaspora lives in daily fear of receiving bad news from their loved ones left behind. FRANCE 24's Fanny Allard reports.
Earlier this year, Sierra Leone declared a national emergency on substance abuse, amid rising numbers of people addicted to a synthetic drug called kush. Sold for as little as 20 cents per hit, kush is wreaking havoc among young people. The drug, which is made from a mixture of cannabis and other psychoactive substances like fentanyl and tramadol, can lead to serious mental illness and death. Our regional correspondents report.
South Korean pop music generated more than €4 billion in the first half of last year. It has even become the main reason why tourists visit the country. But now, K-pop is trying to attract new generations of overseas fans, while retaining its Korean identity. That means the emergence of bands with non-Korean artists. Our corrrespondent asked K-pop artists and fans what they think about this bold new move.
More than half of Brazil's population is Black, but most have no idea of their precise origins. They only know the broad outlines of their history and the fact that their African ancestors were enslaved and shipped over by the millions. After the abolition of slavery in 1888, the finance minister of the time ordered the destruction of all documents relating to the slave trade. Today, many Brazilians are searching for their roots and some are even taking DNA tests. Our correspondents Fanny Lothaire, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery report.
Japan is one of the world's fastest-ageing societies, with one of the lowest birth rates. For its economy to thrive, it needs more workers. On June 14, parliament passed an immigration reform that will lead to a rise in the number of foreign workers. Non-Japanese currently make up just 2.8 percent of the population, a level far lower than in most other developed economies. Our correspondents report from Tokyo.
When he was elected president of the Philippines in 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed to legalise divorce. The Catholic nation is the only country in the world, along with the Vatican, to ban it. Yet two years on, legislation has still not been passed. That could happen by the end of next year, now that a bill has been tabled in parliament. The move would be a dramatic one in this conservative country where the Catholic Church remains a powerful presence. It could bring freedom to tens of thousands of couples who want to end their marriage. Currently, they can only obtain an annulment – a process that takes several years and can sometimes cost more than $10,000. Legalising divorce could also bring an end to the ordeal faced by women who have suffered physical and psychological abuse from their husbands. Our team on the ground reports.
A new EU regulation aims to ban the import of several products, including palm oil, that come from plantations linked to deforestation. While the bloc hails the law as an important way to protect the world's forests, Southeast Asian countries say it threatens their livelihoods and is difficult to implement. Malaysia is one the world's top palm oil producers and farmers there are worried they could lose out on earnings. Our team reports from the island of Borneo.
The conflict in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which broke out on April 15, 2023, has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and the displacement of over 9 million people. More than 650,000 of them have now fled to neighbouring South Sudan. These survivors have escaped atrocities, only to reach one of the world’s poorest countries, where aid workers are struggling to cope. Our regional correspondent Olivia Bizot met with refugees at the Sudan-South Sudan border.
The town of Geel, in Belgium's Flanders region, is home to a surprising centuries-old tradition, where patients with mental health issues live with host families. It's said to date back to the 14th century, when the city attracted pilgrims praying to Dymphna, the local patron saint of mental illness – and locals began opening their doors to them. Nowadays, families in Geel do the same, with the help of the city's psychiatric hospital. Doctors there say many patients are better off with host families than in a closed medical environment. This unique care model has gained recognition well beyond Belgium's borders. Our correspondent reports.
Authorities in Japan have been raiding "host bars" since the start of the year. These are clubs whose male employees trick women into spending large sums of money to drink and spend time in their company. Victims, who believe they're in love with their host, are left with massive debts, forcing some to turn to prostitution to pay them off. Authorities have already visited around 700 clubs and ordered some of them to close. Our correspondents report from Tokyo.
From a payment card that does not allow cash withdrawals, to mandatory community service, Germany is introducing measures to make the country less attractive to migrants. The country remains the destination of choice for asylum seekers within the EU. More than 330,000 people sought asylum there last year: almost a third of all applications in the EU, according to the European Asylum Agency. But the new measures – agreed by the government and regional leaders last November – are beginning to appear in municipalities across the country, especially in eastern Germany, where regional elections are due in September. The far-right AfD party is leading the polls there and its main campaign theme is immigration. Our correspondents report.
In January, the Kenyan government announced the discovery of coltan deposits in six counties across the country. This highly valuable mineral is used to manufacture high-tech devices like electric car batteries and mobile phones. The discovery of coltan could place Kenya on the map as a coltan exporter, a sector currently dominated by DR Congo. It is also expected to create jobs in an underdeveloped part of the country. Our Kenya correspondents Olivia Bizot and Elodie Cousin report.
In Cape Verde, music is more than just an art form – it is central to the country's national identity and economy. Experts estimate that around a quarter of all jobs in the archipelago are in some way linked to the music industry. The most famous Cape Verdean singer of all time, Cesaria Evora, died back in 2011. But a whole new generation of artists is set to blossom. FRANCE 24's Simon Martin and Sarah Sakho report, with Sam Bradpiece.
In Canada, some of the country's largest school boards are taking legal action against Snapchat, Meta and TikTok. Accusing them of promoting cyberbullying, harassment, hate speech and misinformation, the school boards say these social networks are all knowingly "harmful applications" for children. The schools concerned are seeking $4.5 billion in compensation, a change in the algorithm of the apps and a strengthened parental control system. The initiative isn’t supported by the government of Ontario province, where it originated, but its announcement quickly spread across the country. FRANCE 24's François Rihouay reports, with Fraser Jackson.
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia back in 2001. More than 20 years later, the practice is almost universally accepted in Dutch society to end the lives of those who are physically suffering. But its use remains more restricted for psychiatric cases who say they, too, meet the legal requirement of unbearable suffering. Today, some would like to see the law evolve to include the possibility to end one's life even without a medical need to do so. Our correspondents Fernande van Tets and Alix Le Bourdon report.
In Ireland, high prices and a lack of sufficient homes mean it's difficult for many Irish people to find a place to live. Rents are soaring and first-time buyers are struggling to enter the market. Young people are particularly affected, with two thirds of under-30s forced to stay with their parents. FRANCE 24's Julien Sauvaget and Clovis Casali report from the capital Dublin and its neighbouring towns.
Recent months have seen farmers in Europe take to the streets to protest against EU regulations and paperwork. Even in Belgium, where the EU headquarters are located, anger remains palpable. Jeanne, 24, works as a dairy farmer and does not plan on voting in this week's European elections, since she "thinks of the European Union with disgust". FRANCE 24's Elodie Radenac and Chloé Robert went to meet her.
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed in Normandy in the largest air, sea and land operation in military history. Today, very few people who experienced D-Day are still alive and able to talk about it. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin and Stéphanie Trouillard met three people who were children at the time and living with their families in Normandy when the landings began. They still remember, very clearly, what happened on that historic day.
On June 6, 1944, three countries sent the bulk of their troops to land in Normandy: the United States, Britain and Canada. In this report, FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin and Florence Gaillard look at how the British forces, who had already endured five years of war before D-Day, showed bravery and flair that were crucial to the success of the operation.
Among the Americans drafted in 1943 to defeat the Nazis in Europe were young Cajuns from Louisiana, who spoke French as their native language. At the time, society tended to view the Cajun French language as a handicap, and the people who spoke it as second-class citizens. All of that changed after D-Day, when where the Cajuns' French-speaking abilities proved invaluable to military operations in Europe and North Africa. They often served as interpreters for the officers and were nicknamed the "Frenchies". Our correspondent Fanny Allard met one of the last surviving Cajun World War II veterans in Louisiana.
The majority of the Allied troops who took part in the D-Day landings were American, British and Canadian. But a small number were French; part of the Free Forces serving with the Allies. The story of the "Groupes Lourds", French squadrons who were integrated into the Royal Air Force and took part in the D-Day operations, is not well known in France. In this report, FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin and Stéphanie Trouillard met one of the last surviving members of the "Groupes Lourds" and spoke to several people whose fathers were killed during combat missions during World War II.
Irving Locker was only 19 when he was called up to fight in World War II. He'd never even left his village in New Jersey. So when he stormed the Normandy beaches with 150,000 of his fellow soldiers, June 6, 1944 became the most important day of his life. The young Jewish American landed at Utah Beach and went on to play a part in the liberation of the Gardelegen Concentration Camp, about 100 miles west of Berlin. Locker will shortly turn 100 and is making what might be his last trip to France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Our correspondent Fanny Allard met with him in Florida before he left. This is his story.
In Israel, human rights groups have filed a court case in a bid to close the Sdei Teiman military prison. Set up after the October 7 attacks in the heart of the Negev desert, it serves as a detention centre for prisoners from Gaza. Numerous eyewitness accounts speak of mistreatment and torture. An internal investigation has established that at least two prisoners have died after beatings by soldiers. FRANCE 24's Claire Duhamel and Robert Parsons investigate this secret prison.
In Hungary, which has seen an erosion of democratic norms since far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban came to power, a turncoat from Orban's own Fidesz party is shaking things up. Peter Magyar says he wants to make Hungary a normal democratic country again. He left Fidesz and joined a minor opposition party, suddenly bringing it up to around 25 percent in the polls ahead of the European elections. While Orban's party remains the most popular, especially in small towns, the gap is narrowing. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports.
As South Africans vote in a crunch general election, one key issue that's impacted the campaign is the policy of affirmative action the country began in 1994. A series of measures, known as the "Triple B double E Act" (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment), have favoured non-White South Africans in public or private jobs, as well as in university admissions. But these measures are now being contested by the opposition, who claim they perpetuate racial discrimination and do not promote good governance. So how has affirmative action impacted South African society over the past 30 years and should it stay or go? Our correspondents report from Cape Town.
On June 2, Mexico will elect a new president ... and it’s almost certain that the new head of state will be a woman. The two favourites are Claudia Sheinbaum, who has been mentored by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador; and Xóchitl Gálvez, who is backed by three opposition parties. With only a few days to go before the country's biggest election – legislative and municipal elections are also taking place on the same day – candidates may soon breathe a sigh of relief, even if they lose. Since campaigning began, at least 24 candidates and pre-candidates have been assassinated as organised crime remains rampant in many parts of the country, particularly in the state of Guerrero. Our team on the ground reports.
Haiti has been in the grips of a renewed crisis ever since heavily armed gangs formed an alliance this February and forced Ariel Henry to step down as prime minister. The Caribbean nation has long been plagued by gang violence, with armed groups fostered in the shadows by power-hungry political and economic elites. But now more than 80 percent of Haiti’s capital is controlled by an alliance of armed groups, and they’re vowing they won’t lay down their arms unless they get a seat at the negotiating table. Haiti's under-resourced police, which is often accused of rampant corruption, are left to battle gangs that are often better armed than law enforcement. FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent and Roméo Langlois went on patrol with UTAG, a specially formed anti-gang unit of Haiti’s police. They bring us this exclusive report from Port-au-Prince.
With over 830,000 inmates, Brazil has the third-largest prison population in the world, behind only the US and China. According to data from the National Secretariat for Penal Policy, there are almost 166,000 more prisoners than there are places currently available in the country's jails. In some penitentiaries, such as in the state of Rio de Janeiro, prison overcrowding can reach 190 percent. Brazilian prisons are also regularly the scene of rebellions and massacres.
Around the world, elections have become a testing ground for artificial intelligence (AI). India, the world's most populous nation with more than 1.4 billion people, is a case in point. The country is in the middle of its marathon elections, with the capital New Delhi voting over the weekend. The vote has been marred by controversies surrounding the unregulated use of AI and deepfakes. Political parties are increasingly integrating AI into their campaigns and the industry has turned into a $60 million business. Our correspondents Khansa Juned and Léa Delfolie report.
Myanmar's military junta, which took power in a coup in February 2021, is increasingly facing armed resistance. Last October, an alliance of ethnic rebel groups and pro-democracy activists launched a major offensive across the country. In response, the junta recently announced mandatory conscription for all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged between 18 and 27. As a result, thousands of young people are now fleeing the country to avoid being called up. Most are heading to neighbouring Thailand, which is bracing for an influx of refugees. FRANCE 24's William de Tamaris reports from the Thai border.
As spring temperatures begin to rise in Europe, we see how one town in Australia has been learning to live with extreme heat for the past century. Situated in the middle of the desert, where summer temperatures reach up to 50°C, is Coober Pedy, a town built underground and originally established as a mining centre for opals. Over the past 100 years, residents have adapted to life in this extreme environment, only coming out at night when temperatures drop. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, neighbouring Poland has been wondering if it might be next – and getting ready. Warsaw says it wants to create the strongest army in Europe by 2035, and says it can attract new troops without bringing back compulsory military service. The Polish people appear enthusiastic about learning to defend themselves. FRANCE 24's Adrien Sarlat reports, with Gulliver Cragg.
Today the World Water Forum starts in Bali, where world leaders will discuss the sustainability of water resources for a week. To illustrate the issue of water management, we head to Panama. The Panama Canal, one of the world’s major maritime trade routes, has suffered a decline in its water levels ever since drought affected the country last year. As well as reducing traffic through the canal in the short term, the country is looking for long-term solutions to guarantee transit as well as access to water drinking water for the population. This report by Quentin Duval and Matthieu Comin.
In Italy the government of Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, has been criticised for being complacent about the rise of neo-fascism. Since the arrival of Meloni as the head of state, Italian neo-fascist groups are gaining members and becoming more visible. Our correspondent in Italy, Natalia Mendoza, went to meet some of these nostalgic followers of Benito Mussolini to understand who they are and what threat they pose to Italian society.
The European elections are only a few weeks away. Some 360 million people are expected to vote in the June 6-9 ballots. But not only do candidates have to convince the public of their policies, they also need to restore voter confidence at a time when scandals of foreign interference in the European Parliament have multiplied. Marie Schuster takes a look at how this issue affects politicians in France.
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival gets underway, where Japanese anime studio – Studio Ghibli – is being awarded the honorary Palm d'Or, we take a look at Japanese pop culture that has become all the rage in France. Founded by Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, Studio Ghibli has produced films like 'the Boy and the Heron', 'Spirited Away' and 'Princess Mononoke'. But why has Japanese anime become so popular in France? Seeking to gain and maintain its influence, Japan has since WWII adopted a soft-power strategy which focuses on the export of its pop culture including manga, video games, cosplay and anime. FRANCE 24's Ethan Hajji and Lauren Bain report.
For almost a month now, tens of thousands of Georgians, particularly young people, have been protesting a controversial bill on “foreign agents”. Inspired by Russia's 2012 law, the new legislation will require NGOs and media outlets to register as agents of foreign influence if 20 percent or more of their funding comes from abroad. Opponents fear that the bill would be used to crackdown on political dissent like in Russia. Taline Oundjian and Régis Genté report.
A police force in a Madrid commuter town has become an example to others in Europe on how to prevent institutional racism. Fuenlabrada, where 15 percent of residents are immigrants, has found a model of policing to end discriminatory ID checks, as well as stop and searches. FRANCE 24's Clara Le Nagard, Constance Twardowski and Sarah Morris report.
In March, three terror attacks were carried out in one week on Chinese interests in Pakistan. The victims included five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver. This worrying phenomenon is on the rise. The Pakistani government believes that attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan are part of a "larger plan" to damage the country's economic interests and sabotage ties between the two powers. Faced with repeated attacks, the Chinese community in Pakistan has made no secret of its concern. Some have even changed their daily routines for security reasons. Our correspondents report.
Children are the first victims of the war in Gaza, with over 14,000 youngsters killed, according to the United Nations. Many of them died due to a lack of medical care. In response to this humanitarian crisis, several countries are evacuating children with the heaviest wounds or with chronic illnesses that can no longer be treated. These medical flights take off from Egypt, after the young patients pass through the Rafah border crossing. Our reporters Sophie Guignon and Chloé Domat followed one evacuation flight organised by the United Arab Emirates. The tiny Gulf state wants to take in 2,000 Gazan children for medical care.
Warning: This report contains distressing images.
The Netherlands has always been known as a business-friendly country. But the country looks set to become a lot less hospitable following the result of November’s elections, in which the far right won the most votes. The four parties seeking to form a government have vowed to limit immigration, hitting both high-tech workers and students. Companies have started to voice their concern and some are even threatening to leave the country. FRANCE 24's Alix Le Bourdon and Fernande van Tets report from Eindhoven, one of Europe's biggest tech hubs.
In the space of a year, asylum applications in Canada have jumped 56 percent. In an official letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier François Legault claims that "the situation [in Quebec] has become unsustainable", with the province saying it receives 55 percent of the country's asylum seekers. With public services at breaking point, the provincial government is asking Ottawa for more than a billion dollars and full powers over immigration, saying Quebec is on the brink of a "humanitarian crisis". Meanwhile on the ground, reception and accommodation conditions for tens of thousands of asylum seekers are deteriorating. Our correspondents report.
With inflation taking a toll on people's finances and amid a growing sense of responsibility towards the climate, second-hand shops are booming across the globe. In France, around 10 percent of clothes each year are now resold, and thrift stores are attracting a wider audience. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Shona Bhattacharyya.
More than six months after the start of Israel's devastating offensive in response to the October 7 attacks, Palestinian journalists in Gaza continue to pay a heavy price. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), more than 100 have been killed, with at least 20 slain in the line of duty. Meanwhile, the international press is still banned from accessing the Palestinian enclave, much to its frustration. For RSF, Gaza is on the verge of becoming a "news black hole". So under what conditions are journalists reporting from the ground there? How is information reaching us? FRANCE 24's Tarek Kai reports. Warning: This report contains distressing images.
China's electric vehicle (EV) industry has grown exponentially in recent years, encouraged by colossal state subsidies. China produces three quarters of the world's car batteries, a huge advantage for carmakers who can drastically reduce their production costs and expand internationally. The Asian giant is now the world's top exporter of cars, dethroning Japan. But the situation is worrying the EU, as Brussels fears unfair competition could seriously harm its car industry. Our correspondents report.
Women make up nearly half the active population in Germany, but the arrival of a baby completely changes their position in the labour market. More than 70 percent of mothers of children under the age of six work part time. Mothers – particularly in the west of Germany – are still encouraged to stay at home for a few years after giving birth, but a mediocre childcare system also plays a part. The lack of nursery places is glaring, with more than 400,000 children on waiting lists. In response, the state is investing billions and even guarantees childcare places for all children up to the age of 10. But the problem persists. Our correspondents report.
Northern Kosovo is home to a large part of the country's Serb minority. For a long time, this region, which is contiguous with Serbia, operated under the Serbian administrative system, despite Kosovo's independence from Belgrade. This as the local population rejects the authority of Pristina. But since taking power in 2021, Kosovo's new government has been much tougher on Serbia and the Serb population of Kosovo. Prime Minister Albin Kurti is trying to impose definitive separation from Serbia on the region's Serb population. Our correspondents Laurent Rouy and Edward Godsell report.
Every last Sunday in April, France holds a national day of remembrance for the victims of deportation during World War II. Ceremonies are held in tribute to the 150,000 people deported from French soil to the Nazi death camps, many of whom never returned. But nearly 80 years since France was liberated from the Nazis, a page in history is turning. Few people who survived World War II and the Holocaust are still alive and able to share their experiences with young people and children. Other teaching methods will soon be required to maintain awareness about this dark chapter of history. For now, France's last surviving "hidden Jewish children", who escaped deportation, are determined to speak out while they still can. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin and Stéphanie Trouillard report.
Over the past two years, the French and Spanish police have been discovering the extent to which rubbish is illegally smuggled across the border. The phenomenon has long plagued Italy, where the mafia organises the trafficking, and is now reaching France and Spain. In northern Spain, a vast criminal network was recently dismantled in the Aragon region. Our correspondents Armelle Exposito, Victoria David, Rémi Cadoret and Sarah Morris report.
Global demand for cashew nuts is exploding. Around the world, they're eaten as snacks, dairy replacements or used in cooking. In response, Kenya has been trying to revitalise the sector in the coastal region of Kilifi that once fed thousands. But in some factories, women face dangerous working conditions. Our correspondent Olivia Bizot reports.
For more than 60 years, the Dogu Express train has connected Turkey's capital Ankara to the eastern city of Kars. Once a well-kept secret, Instagram influencers have recently turned the trip into one of the country's main tourist attractions. Tickets now tend to sell out in a matter of minutes. Our correspondent Jenna Le Bras got on board with Melvyn Ingleby for a 32-hour-long journey covering 1,360 kilometres, taking in Turkey's most stunning landscapes.
The central Mexican city of Celaya has become the scene of a brutal turf war between rival drug cartels. These criminal groups have taken advantage of its strategic position at the crossroads for transporting drugs into the United States. Kidnappings, shootouts with police and drive-by killings now occur on an almost daily basis in broad daylight. Nearly 500 people were killed in Celaya last year. The city's police officers (pictured) risk their lives every day and are forced to travel in armoured vehicles. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
The shihuahuaco tree is one of the giants of the Amazon rainforest, reaching heights of up to 60 metres. But it is coveted for its hardwood, one of the most precious and sought-after types of wood in the world. Peru exports it to China, but also to Europe and in particular France, which is one of the main buyers of this tropical timber used for parquet flooring in homes and on terraces. Some 500,000 tonnes have been exported from Peru in the last 10 years. Scientists are now warning that the shihuahuaco tree faces extinction. They estimate that the trees could disappear from certain regions of the Amazon within a few years. Our correspondents report.
India's mammoth elections are now under way, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win a third term. Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has expanded subsidy programmes for the poor and women. These programmes include measures like equipping homes with butane gas by offering free cylinders or distributing free food rations. Some 60 percent of the population benefits from Modi’s food distribution scheme, which he has pledged to renew for another five years. Another success story is the nationwide rollout of digital payment services. Meanwhile, critics say the prime minister is eroding democracy by targeting opposition parties and controlling the media. Our correspondents report.
Deepfake pornography of famous women like Taylor Swift has sparked outrage and calls for the regulation of artificial intelligence. Yet this powerful technology is not only being used to bully women in the public eye – minors are also being victimised. Schoolgirls are finding themselves targeted by AI-generated deepfake porn made by their own classmates using new, easy-to-access "nudifying" apps. And no federal laws exist to stop it.
Indonesia is aiming to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, with 30 percent of the country's energy slated to come from biodiesel by 2030. But the plan has caused alarm among environmental groups. Palm oil, a key component of biodiesel, is the primary driver of deforestation in Indonesia. To meet Indonesia's energy transition goals, more palm trees are needed – and that means clearing the country's primary forests. Our team reports from South Sumatra.
As the Olympic flame begins its journey to Paris and the French capital prepares to host some 15 million tourists in less than four months' time, more than 80 NGOs are denouncing a form of "social cleansing". Authorities in the French capital has been relocating people from the streets in the city centre and around the Olympic sites. These vulnerable populations include homeless people, migrants and drug addicts. FRANCE 24's Julien Sauvaget and Lauren Bain report.
With China set to have 400 million elderly people by 2035, authorities are trying to figure out how to take care of them. Family structures were transformed with the now defunct one-child policy. Even now, the birth rate continues to plummet. With the state pension fund drying up and less than one grandchild for four grandparents, who will take care of China's elders? FRANCE 24's Yena Lee and Katherina Tse report.
Louisiana is home to 25 percent of the US petrochemical industry and is the country's fourth-largest crude oil producer. As a result, it is one of the states with the highest levels of industrial pollution, with disastrous consequences for the health of its citizens. In St James County, part of an area of Louisiana known as "cancer alley", the cancer rate is 50 times higher than the national average. With no buffer zone to allow a safe distance between factories and housing, residents feel abandoned by authorities. FRANCE 24's Fraser Jackson and Fanny Allard report.
As South Koreans head to the polls for a parliamentary election, the country's worsening ties with North Korea are high on the agenda. The small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong is located about 12 kilometres from the North Korean coast. In January, Pyongyang fired live artillery into nearby waters, forcing islanders into air raid shelters. The island could be first in the line of fire if conflict breaks out between the North and South. FRANCE 24's Constantin Simon, Hwang Se-jeong and Justin McCurry report from Yeonpyeong.
In Greece, the success of the tourist industry is making it difficult for local Greeks to keep up with surging property prices. Short-term rentals are booming, while chain stores are replacing local retailers. Residents are being forced out, with more than 40 percent of their disposable income spent on housing – more than in any other European country. FRANCE 24's Nathalie Savaricas, Laurent Laughlin, Aris Dimitrakopoulos and Nikos Kollias report from Athens.
Even if homosexuality is not illegal in Madagascar, it is widely considered to be socially unacceptable. Many LGBT people have to hide their sexuality in order to hold onto their job or simply live in peace. They have developed their own networks, body language and dialect. FRANCE 24's Gaëlle Borgia, Vanessa Rakotomalala and Jedidia Andriamasy report.
Eight years after a national ban on skin-whitening products came into force in Ivory Coast, the trend continues to boom despite its health risks. Half of Abidjan's women are known to engage in skin depigmentation, which can lead to serious health issues such as diabetes and hypertension. NGOs are denouncing what they see as a lack of political will from authorities to tackle the problem. FRANCE 24's Julia Guggenheim, Damien Koffi, M'ma Camara and Justice Baidoo report, with Antonia Kerrigan.
The nickel ore extraction industry is booming in the Philippines, be it on the islands of Sibuyan, Palawan or Luzon. Nickel is mainly known for its use in stainless steel, but is also used for the production of lithium batteries for solar panels and electric vehicles. The metal is therefore a key component of the energy transition.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, hundreds of Nepalese men – many with no military experience – have been enlisted by Russian recruiters. President Vladimir Putin has publicly promised citizenship and a high salary to those who sign up to fight for Russia. This has led to a massive recruitment campaign, deemed illegal by the Nepalese government. So far, at least 33 Nepalese soldiers have lost their lives on the front line, but the true number could be significantly higher. FRANCE 24's Nejma Bentrad, Nabeel Ahmed, Rojita Adhikari and Khansa Juned report.
How to explain the sharp rise in autism cases in industrialised countries in recent years? The neurodevelopmental disorder is partly hereditary, but the finger is also increasingly being pointed at pollution. Scientists in southern France are currently investigating the role of environmental factors in autism by following 1,700 families over 10 years. It's a groundbreaking study in a country that lags behind in autism research and diagnosis. To mark World Autism Awareness Day, FRANCE 24 went to Montpellier to meet one of these families. Emerald Maxwell and Sophian Aubin report.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out last October, Yemen's Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war in Gaza. The Houthis' missiles and drones are spreading terror along a particularly busy shipping route. The French and US navies, as well as an EU naval mission, are deployed in the area to protect commercial navigation. The French navy agreed to take FRANCE 24 reporters Bastien Renouil and Olivia Bizot on board one of its frigates to witness the operations behind the scenes.
March 30 marks the International Day of Zero Waste. Between 2000 and 2015, global clothing production doubled. Europe and North America export some of their unsold and discarded clothes to Chile. In the north of the country, textile waste accumulates and often ends its life in the wild dumps of the Atacama desert. The situation is getting worse, despite increasing attention from the authorities. FRANCE 24's Juliette Chaignon and Guillaume Gosalbes report from the Iquique region, with Josh Vardey.
Sweden joined NATO earlier this month, becoming to become the 32nd member of the military alliance. Around the Baltic Sea, nations are worried about what Russian President Vladimir Putin could do next after showing he was capable of invading Ukraine. Sweden has officially ended its traditional neutrality and its prime minister has even told Swedes they need to be prepared for war. Military service was already reintroduced back in 2018. Our reporters Clovis Casali and Julien Sauvaget went to the Swedish island of Gotland, deemed the most strategic location in the Baltic Sea.
Since Tunisian President Kais Saied seized full governing powers in July 2021, concern has been growing about a crackdown on free speech and dissent in the country. In the last year, about 50 political opponents have been in jail in various cases. Some have been awaiting trial for more than a year. Meanwhile, judges fired by the president have not been reinstated, despite a ruling in their favour. While some Tunisians are speaking out, others feel resigned to their fate. Our correspondents report.
The eastern Canadian province of Quebec is seeing a new "gold rush" for minerals the government calls "critical and strategic". Demand for graphite, lithium and cobalt is growing rapidly, mainly because of their important role in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. As a result, thousands of drilling rights have been granted in just a few months. These rights can be purchased by anybody for about €50, but some analysts say the rush to buy titles is threatening residents and the environment alike. Our correspondents report.
In the heart of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo – the largest metropolis in the Americas, with 12 million inhabitants – lies Cracolandia. Literally the "land of crack cocaine", it's a dangerous area frequented and inhabited by homeless people and drug users. They have no shelter, water or sanitation. Due to the lack of public services in the city, NGOs have provided food, work and entertainment for these extremely vulnerable people for many years. Our correspondents followed a psychiatrist who is trying to help people get out of Cracolandia.
Gambling in Japan operates in the shadows, yet it accounts for nearly half of sales in the country's leisure sector. And for some, a harmless pastime can turn into a dangerous addiction. About three million Japanese are thought to have experienced a gambling addiction at some point in their lives. Earlier this year, the government approved plans to build Japan's first casino, a long-awaited move that has divided public opinion. Our correspondents report on Japan's troubled relationship with gambling.
The first round of the presidential election in the Maldives will take place on Saturday, September 9. Incumbent Ibrahim Solih is running for re-election against Mohamed Muizzu, who has emerged as the main opposition candidate. The polls are taking place against a backdrop of China and India competing for strategic control of the region. Both are seeking to consolidate their economic and political power by financing large infrastructure projects and are actively supporting rival candidates. Our regional correspondents report.
Nine years of war in Yemen have displaced millions of people. As negotiations drag on in Saudi Arabia between the Houthi rebels and the internationally recognised government, the humanitarian situation in Yemen remains dire. Only 30 percent of required aid is currently being provided, according to the UN. In Marib, a city that serves as a refuge for millions of Yemenis, some live in extreme poverty, while others just manage to scrape by. Our team on the ground reports.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Europe has been forced to find an alternative to Russian gas, which it relied heavily on. The European Union has turned to liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Last year, the United States became the number one exporter of LNG and that trend has continued this year, despite alarm over the potential environmental consequences of extracting this resource. FRANCE 24's Fanny Allard reports from Louisiana, with Wassim Cornet.
Located off the coast of the southern French city of Marseille, the Château d'If has withstood the wear and tear of time. But today, this landmark is facing the threat of climate change. In recent years, sea levels have risen by 15 centimetres, forcing the castle to close 180 days a year. Meanwhile, the ramparts and walls of the medieval state prison are crumbling, as storms chip away at the stone facade. Over in southwestern France, the Bouillac abbey risks collapsing at any moment since its foundations are threatened by drought. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Bryan Quinn.
In India, schoolteachers and pupils alike are grappling with the Hindu nationalist government's rewriting and sanitising of textbooks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has extensively revised secondary school curricula, removing all mention of the country's Mughal and Muslim history, which spanned some six centuries, as well as the identity of the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi and even Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Officially, the aim of the changes was to lighten the workload for pupils after the two-year closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the reform has been criticised by a number of Indian historians and scientists. Our correspondents report.
The Greek island of Paros, in the Cyclades, is a popular tourist destination during the summer season, when around 450,000 visitors flock to the picturesque island of 12,000 inhabitants. But locals have become exacerbated by this huge influx of tourists and the illegal privatisation of certain beaches. Protests have even erupted on Paros under the banner of "Reclaim the beach". Meanwhile, measures are already being taken in the Greek capital Athens amid increasing awareness of overtourism. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
What if we could eat broccoli that's sweet? Or cherries without pits? How about apples that don't go brown? With gene editing, nearly everything is possible. In May, Canada announced it would loosen regulations around new farming techniques. An authorisation is no longer required to create new types of genetically modified seeds. They also don't need a label, unlike traditional GMOs. While some believe the changes will revolutionise agriculture, others are deeply worried. Organic farmers see the changes as the end of food traceability and a threat to organic certification. Our correspondents report.
In Peru, 60 percent of people who disappear are women. Over 11,000 women were reported missing in the country last year, the majority of them teenagers. Some disappearances are voluntary. But most are linked to human trafficking networks, prostitution and domestic violence. Despite this poor record, Peru was the first nation in South America to recognise forced disappearances as gender-based violence. This comes as less than half of those missing are ever found. Peruvian mothers of missing women, alongside feminist groups, are protesting in the hope that one day there will be fewer disappearances and that their calls for justice will be heard. Our correspondents report to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.
On August 16, a Muslim mob attacked a Christian neighbourhood of the Pakistani town of Jaranwala. Homes and churches were burned and ransacked by a crowd of hundreds that tore through the streets of the town in the eastern Punjab province. The attack happened after two Christian brothers were accused of committing blasphemy against the Koran. No one was injured, as all the Christian families were able to flee in time. But the damage is significant and residents feel traumatised. Our correspondents report from the scene.
Over the past few months, temperatures in Iraq have reached 50 degrees Celsius and water levels in the country’s rivers are dropping fast. Despite having two big rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq suffers from desertification and there are concerns about the water disappearing - mainly from Iranian and Turkish dams upstream and the excessive use of water resources, particularly within agriculture. But despite this, Iraq is doing little to protect its rivers. From the north to the south, industrial, chemical, medical and biological waste flows untreated into the water, effectively poisoning it. From Kirkuk to Basra and Baghdad, the water is contaminated. Marie-Charlotte Roupie and Josh Vardey report.
When French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympics in 1894, he imagined the Games as an occasion for world peace as countries came together in amicable sporting events. But the Games were soon caught up in nations' rivalries and political agendas. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) struggled – and failed – to distance itself from the 20th century's global crises and conflicts, from holding the Berlin Olympics in 1936 during Nazi rule to rival boycotts of the Games during the Cold War. FRANCE 24's David Gilberg and Lauren Bain take a look back.
To mark France's Bastille Day, the traditional military parade is taking place on Paris's Champs-Elysées. This report takes us inside a French military branch that doesn't have boots on the ground, but above: COSMOS, where soldiers scan the sky 24 hours a day analysing satellite activity. France is trying to keep up with superpowers like Russia, China and the US, whose satellites dominate the final frontier. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
One of the most chilling pieces of evidence of the brutal Argentinian dictatorship, which lasted from 1976 to 1983, is a small airplane. The Skyvan, a British-made aircraft, was used by Argentina's military junta to make political opponents disappear. The "death flights" saw dozens of people killed when they were thrown from the planes into the sea. The location of the last Argentinian Skyvan was a mystery for decades. But it was recently found in Florida and returned to Buenos Aires: a powerful symbol for families of victims of the regime, as well as for survivors. Our correspondents report.
With Spain currently experiencing a heatwave, the country is trying to adapt. Barcelona, a city on the frontline of climate change, is doing everything it can to replenish its water reservoirs. This includes treating wastewater and even desalinating sea water. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
In 2022, Indians spent an average of nearly five hours a day on their mobiles – the eighth highest figure in the world, according to a report by analysts from data.ai Intelligence. Social media giants are accused of fuelling the addiction. Excessive use of smartphones can cause social isolation and mental health issues, to the extent that some Indian doctors are now specialising in screen addiction. Meanwhile, a group of villages in southern India are imposing mandatory 90-minute digital detoxes. Our correspondents report.
As part of a new immigration bill, the French government is hoping to fill labour shortages with undocumented migrants by offering them a one-year residency permit. But despite President Emmanuel Macron having promised progress in the first fortnight of July, plans for the bill have been overshadowed by the recent riots, while right-wing politicians still disagree over several aspects of the legislation. Undocumented workers are often vulnerable to abusive labour conditions and exploitation, as both private and public firms turn a blind eye to their plight. FRANCE 24's team reports.
In this edition we head into the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Many of the minerals used in our day-to-day electronic devices can be found on the seabeds, and the global race to exploit them has already begun. However, scientists fear that this will result in long-lasting environmental damage, with major losses for the biodiversity of the world's oceans. A report from our colleagues at France 2 with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
In 2022, Spain was the country in Europe worst hit by forest fires. More than 300,000 hectares went up in smoke in almost 50 separate fires. Due to drought and global warming, the Spanish government has decided to start this year's prevention plan a month and a half early. Across the nation, regional governments, which each have their own firefighting unit, are preparing for the risk of blazes. Our correspondents report from the southern region of Valencia.
In October 2022, Burundi reopened its borders after seven years of closure. Evariste Ndayishimiye, the new president, is keen to break with the isolation enforced by his late predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza, whose controversial third term sparked a political crisis and deadly crackdown in 2015. Despite being the poorest country in the world, Burundi is striving to reclaim its former glory. Young entrepreneurs are driving tourism and business, while international partners are returning. FRANCE 24's regional correspondent Clément Di Roma reports.
The past decade has seen an acceleration of medical research on LSD, a hallucinogenic substance discovered in the 1940s and banned 30 years later. In Switzerland, several clinics and hospitals now have permission to administer the drug to patients for depression or anxiety disorders, under strict supervision. But the enthusiasm surrounding the substance is such that some specialists are concerned about the risks of self-medication, particularly in Germany. Many patients there obtain LSD to treat their addiction or depression, outside of any medical framework. Our regional correspondents report.
Urban sprawl poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, resulting in the gradual disappearance of mammals, birds, butterflies and other vital insects within urban areas. However, integrating nature within cities plays a crucial role in mitigating urban heat, air and water pollution, flood hazards and carbon emissions. The eastern French city of Strasbourg has emerged as a pioneer by prioritising the inclusion of nature in its urban planning strategies. FRANCE 24's Rebecca Martin, Bastien Dufour and Lauren Bain report.
In the past 20 years, Peru's glaciers have lost a third of their surface area due to climate change. The phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the Cordillera Blanca, a majestic mountain range located north of Lima. Nearby towns and cities in the Huaylas valley, such as Huaraz with its 120,000 inhabitants, face the risk of avalanches or floods. Around 50 dangerous glacial lakes are currently being monitored across the Cordillera Blanca. Our correspondents report.
With a record-breaking 30 million tonnes of sugar produced last year, India recently became the world's largest sugar producer, surpassing Brazil. But at what cost? Every year, from September to March, over 1.4 million Indian workers migrate internally, searching for work in sugar cane fields. The labourers are paid a meager €300 to €400 for six months of hard toil, with only one day off per month. Our correspondents report on this form of modern slavery for millions of Indians.
Prom season, currently underway in the US, is an American tradition where graduating high school students get dressed up and party the night away. For some, this night is a chance to spare no expense and flex their social prowess. From tuxedos to limousines, to ball gowns to jewels, students and parents are willing to shell out for prom night. Our France 2 colleagues got an inside look at one of these extravagant events.
Uruguay may be one of the smallest countries in South America, but it’s also where one of the darkest moments in the continent’s history took place. On 27 June 1973, a coup d’etat ushered in a dictatorship that would rule the country with an iron fist for 12 years. During this time, more than 6,000 political prisoners were taken, out of a population of 3 million. Still today, around 200 Uruguayans have never been found, called the “desaparecidos” or disappeared. Their families continue to fight for the truth, to find the bodies of their loved ones and demand justice against war criminals.
A record 110 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the Belgian port of Antwerp in 2022. The city is now the main gateway into Europe for the drug, which largely comes from South America concealed in fruit shipments. Faced with this trafficking epidemic, Belgian authorities have recruited almost 100 extra customs officers and invested in new scanning equipment. The illegal trade has resulted in ballooning cocaine consumption in Antwerp and security problems beyond the region. Belgium's justice system is overwhelmed – even the justice minister himself has received kidnapping threats from suspected traffickers. Our correspondent reports.
To mark Pride Month, we take a closer look at ballroom culture, an LGBT movement born in Harlem, New York in the 1920s and which flooded nightclubs in the 1970s. In Paris, now one of the world's "voguing" capitals, the ballroom scene boasts some thirty dance troupes known as houses. Who are these dancers and where do they learn their moves? FRANCE 24's Ethan Hajji went to meet some of the voguers of Paris.
The second-largest lake in Africa, Lake Tanganyika is adorned with its sandy beaches that span four nations. But the ravages of overfishing and pollution have taken a toll on its delicate ecosystem. In a bid to rejuvenate its biodiversity, Burundi and its three neighbouring countries have taken the unprecedented decision to impose a three-month fishing ban on the lake every year, from May 15 to August 15. This measure, though detrimental to the livelihoods of resellers and fishermen, is crucial in facilitating the resurgence of the region's beloved fish. FRANCE 24's Clément Di Roma reports.
Italy is the country in Europe that suffers the most from natural disasters: it's the scene of two thirds of landslides that occur on the continent. The island of Ischia is particularly vulnerable, and the problem of uncontrolled urban development is making the damage worse. Some 27,000 of the 64,000 houses on the island do not meet building regulations. As the village of Casamiccciola rebuilds after a deadly landslide in November 2022, the council is trying to reduce risk factors to better adapt to climate change. Our correspondents report.
One of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's first promises after his election in 2018 was to build the Mayan train, a long railway that would criss-cross 1,554 kilometres of tropical forests in the eastern Yucatan peninsula. The goal is to connect major tourism centres. While the idea appears good on paper, it has engineers on edge and environmentalists crying foul. Meanwhile, its initial cost has already tripled. Our correspondents report.
In the Spanish countryside, farmland is being turned into space for solar panels and wind farms. Spain's government wants to produce at least 74 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030, an increase of 16 percent in five years. To meet those targets, the country is opting for giant solar farms, particularly in the southern Andalusia region. That's angering farmers – some of whom are having their land expropriated – and even some ecologists. Our correspondents report.
With the Hollywood screenwriters' strike now in its sixth week, unions are demanding guarantees that artificial intelligence will not be used to create new content. Could AI eventually replace writers and directors or even actors and singers? How effective and how credible are current AI tools? Are they truly a threat to the entertainment industry that could lead to hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs – or a golden opportunity to increase productivity? FRANCE 24's Los Angeles correspondents Pierrick Leurent and Wassim Cornet report.
Although youth gang wars affect all of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, a city of 400,000 inhabitants on the island of Java, has become the epicentre of a worrying new phenomenon. There, teenage boys clash in the streets at night. They travel on motorbike, armed with truncheons or rusty swords. Their victims are rival gang members, but sometimes also innocent passersby. Known as the Klitih, these gangs are spreading terror among the local population, as our regional correspondents report.
In this week's Focus, we turn to the tense frontier between Russia and Finland. The rapport between these neighbouring nations has soured significantly in the wake of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Historically, their mutual border has been a theatre of confrontation and conflict. Currently, Finland is taking drastic measures by erecting a formidable barbed wire fence along this boundary. According to authorities in Helsinki, the intention behind this undertaking is twofold: ensuring the nation's protection and enhancing scrutiny over entries from Russia.
As European countries grapple with the question of how to handle migration policy across the continent, many countries are looking to Denmark, known for having some of the strictest immigration rules in the European Union. Today's Focus takes us to a district of the capital, Copenhagen, where the debate around immigration and integration has flared in recent times. This report by our colleagues at France 2 and FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
Today is World Oceans Day. Global warming is causing sea levels to rise, and Miami is one of the US cities most vulnerable to this phenomenon. The sea level in south Florida has risen by 20cm since 1981 and is expected to continue rising. Even with optimal emission reduction efforts aimed at slowing global warming, Miami will continue to sink underwater. Are residents aware of the threat? What can be done to prepare for the inevitable? Fanny Allard and Kethevane Gorjestani report.
Ukraine declared a full mobilisation at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, banning military-age men from leaving the country so that they could be called up to fight at any time. Days after Russia attacked, so many people were lining up to head to the front line that military commissariats were turning some away. But not everyone wants to fight. As the war drags on and the casualties mount, many are looking for ways to avoid it.
In February, dozens of young Israeli settlers in the West Bank led a punitive expedition to the Palestinian town of Huwara in the north, near Nablus, following the murder of two of their own. They burned several buildings in the town and threw stones, injuring several residents and killing one, according to Palestinian authorities. One Israeli general described the violence as a "pogrom". FRANCE 24's Gwendoline Debono returned to Huwara to find out why the northern West Bank is now one of the most violent areas in the Palestinian Territories.
A city in Peru is debating the reactivation of its foundry. With a population of 33,000 and an altitude of 3,750 metres, La Oroya is South America's former smelting capital. It was also formerly one of the most polluted cities in the world. Closed in 2009, the metallurgic complex found new owners last year, when 1,270 former workers became shareholders. The new owners intend to reactivate the site in coming months. La Oroya’s residents are now divided between dreams of renewed prosperity and fears of a return to life in a massively polluted environment. Report by Juliette Chaignon and Guillaume Gosalbes.
June 4 marks the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. Usually, Hong Kongers take the lead in commemorating this event with massive candle light vigils. But, since China imposed its national security law in 2020, public criticism of the regime in Beijing has become dangerous. With their freedom of speech at risk, many have since fled to Taiwan. A self-imposed exile for those who hope to carry on the fight for civil liberties from across the Taiwan Strait.
In a bold stride towards the cosmos, the concept of settling on Mars is no longer just a flight of fancy. A number of ambitious plans for Martian travel and colonisation are underway, but first, why not simulate the conditions on Earth? NASA's Mars Mission in the United States has embarked on a unique project, allowing a team of four researchers to experience life as it might be on the Red Planet, all within the confines of Arizona.
This report is brought to you by our colleagues at France2 and FRANCE24's Michael Maitland-Jones.
In Canada, there has been a marked increase in the number of Mexican travelers seeking asylum at Montreal's airport since early last year. Since 2016, these travelers have been allowed to arrive without visa stipulations, a result of new entry regulations revised by the then newly-elected Liberal government. While Mexico typically sends seasonal agricultural workers, students, and tourists, this influx of new travelers highlights the authorities' workforce shortage to handle such a surprising volume of applications, as emphasised by the unions. This report is by François Rihouay, Joanne Profeta, and Gloria Henríquez.
A UN report released in January attributes 270,000 deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa to the consumption of counterfeit or substandard antimalarial drugs. Across the continent's local markets, fake and expired medicines are frequently sold at reduced prices, often with fatal consequences. The scarcity of affordable drugs in licensed pharmacies contributes significantly to this issue. This report is by Elimane Ndao, Sarah Sakho, Malick Diakité, Aminatou Diallo, and Sam Bradpiece.
Lebanon's economic and political crisis appears to have an end in sight. However, the issue of Syrian refugees presents another crisis within the current situation. Lately, these refugees have been encountering increased violence and discrimination as the Lebanese struggle to make ends meet. Over the past decade, approximately 2 million Syrians, most of whom are considered refugees according to Lebanese authorities, have crossed the border. In response to this influx, the government has implemented a plan that will lead to the expulsion of Syrian refugees.
It is now forbidden to smoke cannabis on the streets of Amsterdam's famous red light district. This is just one of the measures the Dutch municipality has taken to shake up the city's image. The sale of alcohol has also been restricted and the mayor is hoping to move the sex workers to an erotic centre on the edge of the city. Over the past few years, Amsterdam residents have felt beleaguered by the huge number of tourists who come for the weekend to get drunk and smoke marijuana. But will these new moves be enough to change the city's reputation as a party destination? Our correspondents report.
Exactly three years ago, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, was killed by a White police officer, Derek Chauvin. Floyd's death triggered widespread protests across the United States and around the world, with calls to end police violence and systemic racism. Chauvin was eventually sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, while the city of Minneapolis reached a $27 million settlement with Floyd's family. Three years after Floyd's murder, how much has changed in the US? Our correspondent reports.
Located on France's Normandy coast, the Mont-Saint-Michel is one of the most iconic and photographed places in the country. Every year, the site attracts nearly 3 million visitors. Built 1,000 years ago, the abbey on a tidal island, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, has stood the test of time and survived throughout the centuries. Our France 2 colleagues report on some of its secrets, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
"Nüshu", or "women's book", is a writing system that was kept secret for centuries. In feudal China – when women were denied an education, bound to their husbands and rarely left their homes – they developed their own language. This written code allowed them to communicate without being understood by men. Nüshu has almost disappeared but today, in the region where it was born, some women are striving to keep it alive. Our correspondents report from Hunan province.
On May 16, Iraq's Sinjar province saw deadly violence. The positions of a Yazidi armed group affiliated with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, were targeted by drone strikes attributed to Turkey. Security tensions are complicating the return to the province of Yazidis in exile, after a genocide perpetrated against them by the Islamic State group in 2014. In Sinjar and in refugee camps in northern Iraq, the Yazidi population warns of the absence of a clear governing authority to ensure their safety and bring public services back to the province. Our correspondent reports.
The French Pacific territory of New Caledonia is home to the world's largest lagoon, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The stunning area is a popular tourist destination and local authorities want to further develop the industry, but remain cautious about preserving the environment. Our FRANCE 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
As Ukraine prepares a counteroffensive to reclaim more territory from Russian occupation, it's still struggling with a thorny question: how to deal with collaborators? There are those who willingly served the Russians in their occupational administrations and took part in repressions against Ukrainians. Others helped the Russian armed forces. But there are also those whose guilt is much harder to assess: teachers, lower-level public servants and police officers.
May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. This Wednesday also marks exactly 10 years since gay marriage became legal in France. Since then, around 7,000 such marriages have taken place each year in the country. Back in 2013, FRANCE 24's reporters Pauline Godart and Claire Paccalin met several same-sex couples who were bringing up children together in France. Ten years later, they caught up with two of these couples to find out how having the right to get married has changed their lives.
Two Indian films have made to the official selection of this year's Cannes Film Festival. The Hindi-language film industry, commonly referred to as Bollywood – a portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood – remains the world's largest producer of films and is responsible for more than half of those in India. But despite this success, Bollywood is in crisis. Big-budget movies with many of India's most bankable megastars have sunk without a trace. Gradually, Bollywood's decline has benefited film industries in southern India. Our correspondents report on the success of Tollywood: Telugu-language films made in Hyderabad.
It is one of Europe’s largest shantytowns. Canada Real in the Spanish capital Madrid is just 15 kilometres away from the landmark square Puerta del Sol. A side of the city few tourists see. Conditions were already poor in much of the neighbourhood and then, in October 2020, the electricity was cut off to thousands of residents, including many young children. Many believe the authorities want to drive them out of the area. Report by Céline Schmitt, Armelle Exposito and Sarah Morris.
In the city of Antakya in southern Turkey, which was heavily damaged by the devastating February 6 twin earthquakes, the Turkish government has made an ambitious pledge: to rebuild – better – in a year. But residents there remain sceptical. Not only do homes need rebuilding, but those who live there must have jobs to return to as well. Our correspondents Shona Bhattacharyya, Ludovic de Foucaud and Hussein Assad report from the quake-damaged region.
In DR Congo, the regional force deployed by East African nations to stop the M23 rebels' advance in the east of the country is coming under scrutiny. While the regional force maintains that the rebels are gradually withdrawing from the territories they conquered, dubious Congolese authorities are demanding a "truthful discussion" on the mandate of the East African Community's force. On May 9, President Felix Tshisekedi expressed his disappointment, hinting that the troops could depart by the end of June. Our correspondents report.
In the past few months, Moldova – a small country located between Romania and Ukraine – has seen a wave of protests against its pro-European government. The country's authorities accuse Russia of using hybrid warfare to destabilise Moldova. They regularly manage to infiltrate groups thought to be taking orders from the Kremlin. Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch now living in exile in Israel, is at the head of one of these movements. FRANCE 24's Elena Volochine reports from Moldova.
Africa has some of the lowest rates of infertility in the world – at just over 13 percent, according to the latest WHO figures. But unlike in the West, couples who do struggle to conceive are often shut out of fertility treatments or have to bear the considerable cost themselves. Infertility is still widely considered taboo and frowned upon in West Africa. Our Ivory Coast correspondents report on the sole clinic in the region that's helping couples with fertility problems conceive through IVF treatment.
With a devastating climate crisis causing floods, famine, disease and the obliteration of species at an alarming rate, increasing numbers of young people are condemning the French state’s inaction. Students at France’s top universities (Sciences Po, HEC and École Polytechnique) condemn a curriculum that does not make environmental studies obligatory. Students and graduates have decided to take affirmative action, and FRANCE 24 went to meet them.
Charles III is the oldest monarch in British history to take the throne, after seven decades in the shadow of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. As a prince, he was a passionate environmentalist who helped support disadvantaged youth though his charity work. But he became deeply unpopular after his divorce from Princes Diana. Today, Charles is being crowned with his once-controversial second wife Camilla by his side as queen consort. The monarch, who is head of state of the UK and 14 other countries, will have one main challenge during his reign: to safeguard the future of the royal family, amid declining support for the monarchy in the polls. FRANCE 24's team looks back at his life.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit South Korea on Sunday, for the first time since 2018. But while relations between the two countries have warmed in recent weeks, many South Koreans have yet to forgive Japan for its brutal occupation which ended almost 80 years ago. While survivors continue to demand apologies and compensation, Japan says it has already done enough. In early March, the South Korean government proposed a new compensation plan for victims. But this move is being met with fierce opposition from the Korean people. Our correspondents report.
In January 2023, Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo was kidnapped and murdured in circumstances that remain unclear. The brutal assassination of the popular radio host, who regularly condemned corruption and the embezzlement of state funds in Cameroon, sent shockwaves throughout the country. His family and colleagues are still in the dark about why he was killed. The head of the anti-espionage agency, a top official of the secret service and a popular businessman have all been arrested and detained over Zogo's murder, but have only been charged with "torture". Several months on, journalists in Cameroon are still living in fear. Our correspondents report.
Italy's far-right government, led by PM Giorgia Meloni, recently made a change to its immigration policy. This involves a crackdown on residence permits for asylum seekers and an increase in deportation centres, in order to discourage illegal immigration. But the government also wants to increase the number of work visas for foreign workers from about 30 countries. The goal is to help alleviate chronic labour shortages, which affect various sectors of the eurozone's third-largest economy. Our correspondent reports.
Every year in India, industrial accidents kill thousands of people and leave thousands of others disabled for life. According to the government, at least 6,500 workers died on the job between 2017 and 2021. But labour activists say the figure could be higher. The victims of workplace accidents are often poor workers in factories or on construction sites. Yet India, now the most populous country in the world, wants to become an industrial power by encouraging investment and innovation. Our correspondents report.
The black market for stolen cultural goods is the third most profitable in the world, behind only drugs and arms trafficking – the UN's cultural agency UNESCO estimates it's worth some $9 billion each year. In France, around 1,000 thefts of cultural goods are reported annually. From counterfeit art to stolen artefacts, investigators from France's Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods handle complex cases of theft, concealment, looting and money laundering involving international criminal networks. FRANCE 24's Jade Lévin went to find out more about their work.
In Tunisia, the number of migrants leaving for Italy has increased since the start of the year. Coastguard officials in the southeastern Sfax region say there's been a 300 percent increase compared to 2022. The region has over 150 kilometres of coastline and Sfax is also the country's economic capital, but it's now become a hub for crossings for both Tunisians and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. President Kais Saied's racially charged speech on February 21 targeting Black migrants has pushed more of them to attempt the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. Our correspondents report.
In northern Canada, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible. Every winter, ice roads are built on frozen lakes and rivers. They are vital as they allow truckers to access remote communities – including workers at diamond mines – and provide them with necessary supplies. But with global warming, the ice road season is getting shorter. Our colleagues from France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
Russian forces occupy some 20 percent of Georgia's territory, a consequence of two wars. Officially, Georgia wants to join NATO and the EU; these ambitions are even written into its constitution. But behind the scenes, the country's de facto ruler – oligarch Bidzina Ivanizhvili – is suspected of sabotaging the reforms demanded by Brussels. This has put the ruling party at odds with the population, since the vast majority of Georgians are in favour of joining the EU. FRANCE 24's Elena Volochine reports from Tbilisi.
A decade after its creation, anaerobic digestion is flourishing in France. This method consists in breaking down organic matter to produce biogas, a renewable energy source. The sector already produces the equivalent of the energy capacity of a nuclear reactor, and this will likely be doubled by 2025. A key part of France's strategy for energy sovereignty and its ecological transition, biogas is showing considerable promise. FRANCE 24's Rebecca Martin, Jonathan Walsh, Armelle Caux and James Vasina report.
On Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education banned the teaching of gender identity and sexuality throughout all grades in public schools, expanding a nearly year-old legislative ban on such lessons for younger children. The rule change is championed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who once said that "Florida is where woke goes to die".
Thirty media outlets in the Forbidden Stories consortium of investigative journalists, including FRANCE 24, are continuing the work of Colombian journalist Rafael Moreno, who was murdered in October 2022. In particular, Moreno was investigating Cerro Matoso, an open-pit nickel mine in Colombia's northern Córdoba region. For 40 years, its operation by an Australian company has been eating away at the ancestral land of the Zenú Indians, who accuse the mine of spreading disease and desolation on their land. FRANCE 24's Pascale Mariani, Juan Orozco, Julia Courtois and Juan Cortés report.
Due to its intensive agriculture, the Netherlands has the highest nitrogen emissions in Europe. As a result, Dutch forests and rivers are among the most polluted in the world. EU environmental standards dictate that the Dutch government must reduce the presence of this chemical element in the soil. The idea is to get farmers to reduce the number of cattle, pigs and chickens they keep. However, these plans have been put on hold following large-scale protests by farmers.
Uganda has seen a new wave of hatred and “anti-gay” demonstrations sweep through the country since January... after a case of suspected paedophilia in a school became a pretext to condemn the entire LGBT community. Homosexuality is illegal in the country and punishable by imprisonment. But the authorities, including the president and his wife, want to strengthen anti-LGBTQ+ laws, and condemn being openly gay. Parliament passed a new “anti-homosexual” bill at the end of March, which worries the gay community in the country and has provoked outrage from many Ugandan and Western NGOs.
According to a UN forecast, India will overtaken China as the world's most populous country this Friday, with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants. Large Indian cities like Mumbai are already saturated. More than 20 million people live in the country's economic capital, in an area barely six times larger than central Paris. Mumbai is the victim of excessive urbanisation, with rents soaring and wealth gaps widening between the upper classes and poorer residents, especially those living in slums. Our correspondents report.
For the first time in Sweden's political history, the right-wing coalition struck a cooperation agreement with the far-right Sweden Democrats in October 2022 in order to secure a slim parliamentary majority. This allowed Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, to be elected prime minister by a narrow margin. The Sweden Democrats are now trying to show a less radical face in order to broaden their electorate and succeed in getting closer to power – they currently have no ministers in the cabinet. FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale and Mohamed Farhat went to Stockholm and Uppsala to meet some of the young people involved in Sweden's far-right politics.
At the end of 2022, Niger's army said it was highly satisfied with its military cooperation with France against the terrorist threat, unlike its neighbours in Mali and Burkina Faso. Of the countries located in the tri-border area – the most dangerous region of the Sahel – Niger is the only one that wants to keep the French military on its soil. This aid takes the form of Operation Almahaou. Our correspondent Harold Girard was able to film some of its manoeuvres for the first time, in the western Tillabéri region.
After three decades of conflict that left 3,500 people dead, the 1998 Good Friday Agreement reached by the political protagonists in Northern Ireland found common ground for power-sharing between unionists, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, and republicans, who call for a united and independent Ireland. Today, 25 years on, Northern Ireland has become a largely peaceful society. Our corrrespondent Hervé Amoric has been meeting Belfast families – from both unionist and republican backgrounds – whose lives were transformed by the Agreement.
Earlier this year in Mexico, 29-year-old Magnolia Camacho lost her life after undergoing more than 30 surgeries in six months, following the placement of a gastric band. In 2021, a 26-year-old woman died after a cosmetic surgery operation. In the Mexican state of Sinaloa, beauty standards mean that many women resort to plastic surgery to shape their bodies in the figure of the "buchona": a voluptuous woman linked to narco culture. Women sometimes put their lives at risk by going to black market surgeons operating in clandestine clinics. Our correspondents report from Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, on these risky low-cost cosmetic surgery practices.
The French Caribbean overseas department of Martinique has a large agricultural sector, with banana and sugar plantations stretching as far as the eye can see. But the island also relies heavily on food imports. This spells bad news for consumers, as most products cost around 10 percent more than in mainland France. For the past few years, however, Martinique has seen a rise in initiatives that aim to diversify its crops. Cocoa production is even making a comeback. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon and Jack Colmer Gale.
The Pemba live along the Indian Ocean, on the Kenyan coast. They arrived in the 1930s and have since been stateless – living without title deeds, social security, access to studies or fishing permits. But this is changing, as the Kenyan government has now officially recognised this community of several thousand people. The steps allowing the Pemba to obtain Kenyan citizenship have begun and they will receive their identity cards in a few months' time. It's a chance at a new life for a community that has been marginalised for 90 years. Our correspondents report.
More than 160,000 people took their own lives in 2021 in India, an alarming increase of 7 percent on the previous year, according to a report released by the Home Ministry. Suicides were highest among students, self-employed people, daily wage earners and housewives. Experts say multiple lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic made the situation worse. For daily labourers, lockdowns led to a sudden loss of livelihood, pushing thousands of them to end their lives, which accounted for almost one quarter of the total suicides in 2021. As for students, they face multiple risk factors, from parental pressure to excel to failing exams or financial stress. Our correspondents report.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan has shown unwavering support for Kyiv. The invasion of a young democracy by its larger neighbour is indeed a situation that hits close to home in Taiwan. Though the archipelago is more than 8,000 kilometres away, the situation facing Ukrainians resonates with many Taiwanese, who live under the constant threat of a possible invasion by neighbouring China. Some of them have even decided to travel to the frontline to take up arms and defend Ukraine. FRANCE 24's Lucie Barbazanges and Adrien Simorre report from Taipei.
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games now less than 500 days away, construction projects are well under way in host nation France. Nearly 1,500 small businesses are working on the building of stadiums and other essential infrastructure. In the Saint-Denis suburb north of Paris, a new aquatic centre and Olympic village are being built, offering a host of opportunities for small companies to expand their activities and access new markets. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
On Sunday, Bulgarians are voting in their fifth parliamentary election in two years. No stable majority has emerged from the previous polls. The political landscape is divided, particularly over the question of support for Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Bulgaria is a member of NATO and the European Union, but also has deep historical and cultural ties with Russia and still hosts pockets of loyal support for this Slavic past. FRANCE 24's David Gilberg and Elitsa Gadeva report from Sofia, with Emerald Maxwell.
Lebanon has been drowning in a series of crises since 2019. The economic, banking and political systems are in tailspin and the national currency has lost 98 percent of its value. With inflation in three-figure percentages for the third year running, eight out of 10 inhabitants now live under the poverty line. Fleeing Lebanon, illegally or not, is becoming more and more common, with many residents no longer able to continue a life of poverty. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
In the wake of the recent Nashville primary school shooting in the US, the debate over gun violence has resurfaced. Today's focus takes us to Japan, a country known for its low murder rates. Although gun ownership is not uncommon in Japan, it is tightly regulated. Japan's anti-gun culture has deep roots that date back 150 years and were reinforced during the US-led Occupation after World War II.Report by Ryusuke Murata, Pierre-Emmanuel Delétrée, Alexis Bregere and Justin McCurry.
Five young people, including two minors, were killed in Madrid in 2022 in score-settling between groups of rival gangs, known locally as "bandas latinas" ("Latino gangs"). The capital has four main gangs that have a total of around 800 members, according to police. Modelled on the South American cartels, they are made up of young Spaniards who are often from immigrant families and poor neighbourhoods. Nearly 40 percent of them are minors. Our correspondents report.
The UN has dubbed 2023 the year of millet, much to the delight of India, where the grain is indigenous. One of the oldest cereals known to human civilization, varieties of millet are now taking center stage in the fight against climate change and global hunger, and as the Ukraine war has led to shortages of wheat. While wheat and rice are the primary cereals grown and consumed in India, the government is pushing for a millet revolution to mitigate future distress caused by climate change. The country hopes to build a strong international market pull for the ancient seed.Our correspondents Sadia Rao and Alban Alvarez report.
Twelve years ago, young people took to the streets calling for constitutional reforms in Jordan. But the March 24 youth movement fizzled out. Following the return to state of emergency legislation imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the authorities issued new laws that can be used to silence journalists and citizens who dare to criticise the monarchy, this in a country often perceived as being one of the most moderate in the Middle East. In Amman, some are raising their voices to fight for freedom of expression. Our regional correspondents Chloé Domat and Sophie Guignon report.
To mark French Language and La Francophonie Week, we head across the Atlantic to New Orleans in Louisiana. Located on the banks of the Mississippi, it's the most French of American cities. Some want to preserve New Orleans' rich colonial heritage. In particular, they are striving to save Cajun, an archaic form of the French language directly inherited from the 18th century colonisers. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
Located beside the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara Bay is home to rich biodiversity and represents the livelihood of thousands of fishermen. But over the past few decades, its beauty has been tarnished by daily dumping of sewage, as well as chemical and plastic waste. According to a study by Rio de Janeiro State University, some 90 tonnes of waste are still dumped into the Bay every day, complicating the lives of the 12 million people who live nearby. Our correspondents Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais, Amin Guidara and Tim Vickery bring us this report to mark World Water Day.
Located in south-western China, Yunnan province is the same size as Germany. It's home to almost 20,000 plant and 2,000 animal species, most of which are protected and unique to the region. Yunnan is a haven of biodiversity and a showcase for environmental protection in China, where scientists and nature lovers are fighting to preserve its rare ecosystems. Our correspondents Lou Kisiela, Antoine Morel, Yan Chen and Yena Lee report.
On March 20, 2003, a US-led coalition invaded Iraq. Years of conflict and insecurity followed, with wide-ranging consequences to this day. In mid-April 2003, as American troops advanced on Baghdad amid the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Baghdad Museum was looted and tens of thousands of pieces disappeared. Twenty years later, many of these priceless artefacts are still missing and antiquity trafficking remains a serious problem in Iraq. Our correspondent reports.
Around a quarter of farmland in Ukraine is contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance. The problem concerns not only areas that were occupied by Russian forces, but also Ukrainian-controlled areas that came within artillery range. Demining programmes are focusing on residential areas, not fields. Yet some farmers say they simply can’t afford to miss the spring planting season and are risking their lives by going out to work anyway. Several have already been killed. Our correspondent Gulliver Cragg reports.
In Israel, the ongoing protest movement against judicial reform has now spread to the ranks of the army and in particular, reservists of elite units. In recent weeks, hundreds of them have published open letters to express their doubts about continuing to serve if the plans of Benjamin Netanyahu's government are adopted. It's an unprecedented move in a country that has largely been built around its reservists. Our correspondent Gwendoline Debono went to meet some of them.
At the border between the United States and Canada, a new phenomenon is worrying both Canadian and US authorities. More and more migrants are crossing back from Canada into the United States, after seeking asylum in Canada. According to some, this is due to a longer-than-usual wait for asylum applications in Canada. But the journey back to the US in freezing conditions is fraught with danger and can even turn deadly. FRANCE 24's Fanny Chauvin, Joanne Profeta and François Rihouay report from both sides of the border.
An Indian newspaper report alleges that New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to 77 smuggled antiquities. According to UNESCO estimates, some 50,000 pieces of art stolen from Indian temples are currently in Western museums or private collections. Faced with this enormous challenge, police forces, international institutions and art enthusiasts are working together to dismantle art mafias and bring back India's stolen idols. Our correspondents report.
Cyclone Freddy hit Madagascar first in February and then again in March, a rare loop trajectory that left behind a trail of destruction. The island nation was already reeling from last year's Batsirai and Emnati cyclones, which had destroyed farmland and infrastructure in the southeast. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people are going hungry, unable to find enough to eat. In January, Malagasy media claimed that some families had been forced to sell their children to survive. These claims quickly spread and were speedily denied by the government. FRANCE 24's team has been to some isolated villages and obtained exclusive accounts that contradict the official narrative.
In this edition we report on the latest technological innovations for disabled people in France. Founded by Nicolas Huchet, who lost his right hand in a work-related accident, My Human Kit is a company aimed at transforming the lives of those living with a disability. From prosthetic hands to electric wheelchairs, My Human Kit has a wide range of inventions. But what makes it stand out is the fact that disabled people themselves oversee their own projects. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Latvian capital Riga has become a hub of journalists, Russian intellectuals and Ukrainian refugees opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Local Latvians, who are proud of their independence gained in 1991, do not want to turn back the clock. Hundreds of Soviet-era monuments have been torn down throughout the country. FRANCE 24's Laura Cambaud and Marie Pennetrat report.
Since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, thousands of Afghan families have found refuge in neighbouring Pakistan. Many Afghans decided to flee their country in order for their daughters to have an education, the Taliban having imposed a ban on secondary and higher education for girls. Pakistan does not offer real prospects of integration or employment to refugees. Yet many Afghan families have nevertheless settled in the country, as our correspondents report.
Sub-Saharan migrants living in Tunisia have been the target of a surge in racist attacks, following a February 21 speech by President Kais Said denouncing what he called "hordes of illegal immigrants". Since then, many migrants have been urgently trying to return to their countries of origin. The Ivory Coast in particular has organised a repatriation of its citizens, who have had to pack up their lives and leave with just a few days' notice. Our correspondents in Tunis and Abidjan followed some of them, from their hasty departure to their arrival in a country that some of them had left long ago.
It's been a month since two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people. Many hospitals and clinics in Turkey are full of injured patients, while other facilities are heavily damaged, making it difficult to provide much-needed routine medical treatment to other residents. Our reporters Thameen Al-Kheetan, Julien Chehida and Brice Agier-Grégoire followed a team of French volunteer paramedics who are visiting remote quake-hit villages in southern Turkey to offer medical treatment to those who need it.
In this edition we take you to a small Central American country of just 5 million people, but where nearly 100 percent of the electricity is produced from renewables. Costa Rica is the El Dorado of green energy, mainly due to its investment in hydropower and geothermal energy. However, the country is still a long way off its target of overall carbon neutrality, with estimates showing it will still take another quarter of a century for this to be achievable. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
Will ski resorts survive climate change? It's a question many in the Alps and in mountainous areas around the world are asking. Warmer temperatures, less snow in the winter and melting glaciers all mean that ski resorts are looking at new ways of attracting tourists. Recently some 200 professional skiers, including US star Mikaela Shiffrin, published an open letter to the International Ski Federation, warning that their sport is in danger. FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali and Thibault Jeanpierre report from La Plagne in the French Alps, a resort already having to adapt to global warming.
It's a sinister heritage: tens of thousands of skulls and other human remains are stored in German museums and research institutes. Many were taken during the colonial era and researchers are now trying to source them in order to send them back to their countries of origin, mostly in Africa. Other European countries, such as Belgium and France, have similar collections. The French government is now planning to legislate on the issue later this year. Our Berlin and Brussels correspondents report.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago has caused the prices of chemical fertilisers to soar, with serious consequences for the agricultural sector. The price of gas, essential for manufacturing the products, has also skyrocketed. The EU used to import nearly half of its chemical fertilisers from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. As the Paris Agriculture Fair gets underway, French farmers are becoming increasingly concerned about their future, while others are taking measures into their own hands to find cleaner solutions. Our team reports.
Across India, measures targeting meat consumption have amplified since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected in 2014, from the closure of meat shops to increasing the jail term for cow slaughtering. Hindu extremists are leading this wave of "vegetarian nationalism". Butchers in the state of Haryana, who are predominantly Muslim, have been forced to close their shops every Tuesday, while "cow protectors" stop and search vehicles they suspect of transporting the animals – actions that can turn deadly. According to a 2019 Human Rights Watch report, at least 44 people have been killed by "cow protectors" in India since 2015. Thirty-six of them were Muslims. Our correspondents report.
Shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kyiv prosecutor general's office set up a special section with the aim of specifically investigating sexual crimes. All too often, when people think about sexual violence, they assume the acts are committed against women. But men – both soldiers and civilians – are also victims. Our reporters Luke Shrago and Mélina Huet followed prosecutors on the ground in Ukraine as they went about their harrowing work, building cases to be prosecuted, with the hope of one day seeing an international trial take place.
The Ukrainian government says Russia has illegally deported more than 16,000 children to Russian territory since 2014, a practice that intensified after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago. Not all children are taken by force, but evidence is mounting of a coordinated effort to indoctrinate Ukrainian children and send them to Russian foster families. In the southern city of Kherson, witnesses say Russian forces took children from at least two orphanages as they pulled out of the city last October. But thanks to the bravery of locals, some children were saved from deportation. FRANCE 24's Elena Volochine, Andrew Hilliar, Abdelkader Dermas and Olga Ivashchenko report.
Providing healthcare in Ukraine is a huge challenge not only on the frontline, but also in areas left ravaged by conflict. The Ukrainian army says it has re-taken around 1,000 towns and villages from occupying Russian troops. These are zones where mainly elderly, isolated locals remain. They need medication and treatment for a variety of conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and post-traumatic stress disorder. FRANCE 24 followed a team from Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins sans frontières, who are trying to get basic healthcare back on track. Catherine Norris Trent, Karim Yahiaoui and Mohamed Farhat report.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in France have spent the past year trying to adjust to their new life. Nearly 3,000 Ukrainians have been granted a temporary residence permit in the Hauts-de-Seine region, just west of Paris, of which 1,710 have been renewed, according to the prefecture. Among them are Liudmyla and her daughter Alisa, who settled in the town of Antony after fleeing Kyiv in April of 2022. In this Paris surburb, the young Alisa has been able to pursue her passion for gymnastics, like 15 of her felllow Ukrainians. Our team reports.
At least 5,000 Ukrainian civilians are thought to be languishing in prisons in Russia. Many were arbitrarily detained in Ukraine and forcibly deported when Russian forces swept towards Kyiv in the early days of the invasion. Now, almost a year later, their families are still desperate for news of their whereabouts. FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar, Elena Volochine, Olga Ivashchenko and Abdelkader Dermas report from the town of Dymer, some 30 kilometres north of the Ukrainian capital, with illustrations by Adel Gastel.
The number of countries present on the ground in Turkey is going down as humanitarian aid takes over from search and rescue missions. One of the main priorities now is providing medical assistance to alleviate, and at times even replace, Turkish hospital services that cannot face the crisis on their own, given that many health centers are damaged or even destroyed.
A team of journalists at FRANCE 24's sister channel, France 2, have made a perilous journey alongside migrants in Colombia by crossing the treacherous jungle into Panama. They report on how the migrants - from as far away as Venezuela, Haiti and Africa - put their fears aside to try to fulfil their dream of one day reaching the United States. The passage, from South America into Central America via the Darien Gap, is a short but essential part of the journey.
In a bid to tackle the energy crisis, Dutch authorities have approved offshore drilling for gas in the North Sea. The first gas is set to be extracted in 2024, but the project has sparked controversy on the surrounding islands. Residents fear that drilling for gas will damage the exceptional biodiversity of the area, pollute the Waddenzee - a UNESCO world heritage site - and threaten the islands main source of income, tourism.
In India, the wedding season in full swing and police are on high alert. Organised gangs have been infiltrating ceremonies and stealing jewelry, dresses, gifts and cash. These gangs often use minors to commit these crimes, causing several thousand euros worth of damage. The wedding industry represents 46 billion euros per year in India. Families save up for years, even go into debt, to organise magnanimous ceremonies, costing tens of thousands of euros.
When you think Australia, you think of koalas, but this could change... Koala populations have been on the decline for several years and since recent wildfires ravaged Australian forests the animal has been placed on the country's endangered species list in 2022. Increased stress levels puts the animal at a higher risks of contracting diseases like chlamydia or lukemia. Only a few tens of thousands remain in the country today.
Northern Portugal is believed to contain the largest lithium reserves in Europe. These resources have attracted the attention of some of the world's largest mining companies. London-based firm Savannah Resources wants to open the continent's biggest open-cast lithium mine in the village of Covas do Barroso by 2026. Supporters of the project say this would give Europe an invaluable supply of lithium for producing electric car batteries, helping the EU reach its carbon-zero target by 2050. However, many locals and environmentalists oppose the project. Our regional correspondents report.
It's one of the oldest symbols of democracy. The 2,500-year-old Parthenon in the Greek capital Athens attracts around 7.2 million vistors annually. But for more than two centuries, the site has been missing some of its marble sculptures. They were taken by the British ambassador in the 1800s, then sold to the British Museum in London, where they are still on display. Now pressure is mounting on the museum to return the Greek sculptures to their birthplace. Our correspondents in Greece report.
When the 2019 revolution began in Sudan, paintings touting democracy and freedom appeared at sit-ins. These paintings made a strong impression on the young generation, who discovered a new means of expression after decades of censorship under Omar al-Bashir. After the military seized power in a coup d’état in October 2021, artists continued to express their thirst for freedom. Since then, they have been resisting peacefully, with demonstrations in the streets of Khartoum and artistic creations. But they face repression from the junta of General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. Our regional correspondents report.
As European countries struggle to reach their targets on reducing carbon emissions, one small landlocked country in central Asia stands as an example to the world. With nearly three quarters of its territory covered by woodland, Bhutan, with a population of around 780,000, claims to be a carbon-negative economy. As well as absorbing carbon dioxide thanks to its forests, the Himalayan nation actively tries to limit its own CO2 emissions. Electricity production in the country is not derived from fossil fuels, but is instead 100 percent sourced from hydraulic power. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
As revellers flock to Venice to celebrate its iconic carnival, local authorities have a much more worrying concern. The Serenissima is one of the world's most beautiful cities, but also one of the most fragile. The Italian city on the lagoon is increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, which are exacerbated by climate change, and is frequently hit by flooding. If nothing changes, Venice could disappear underwater by the end of the century. Our correspondents report on the protective measures the city has put in place.
Pope Francis regularly mentions the war in South Sudan. The Catholic Church is highly present in the country, whose independence only dates back to 2011, although just a third of the population is Catholic. The Catholic Church faces increasing competition from Protestant churches and traditional religions in South Sudan. Nevertheless, the visit of Pope Francis, which begins this Friday, February 3, highlights the key role of Catholicism in the world's youngest nation. Our regional correspondents report.
From the depths of the Pacific Ocean comes an innovation in air conditioning that's good for the planet and saves money. Located just 200 metres from the ocean, the hospital in Papeete, on the French island of Tahiti, is using seawater to cool its facilities. The switch to this new system has decreased the hospital's energy consumption by 90 percent. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.
The United Kingdom is experiencing a wave of strikes on a scale not seen since the 1980s under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. With double-digit inflation, the spiralling cost-of-living crisis means that those on stagnating and low salaries, especially public sector workers, are struggling to make ends meet. This Wednesday, half a million people are expected to go on strike, from teachers to civil servants to train drivers. FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali and Julien Sauvaget report.
At one university residency south of Paris, students are living among cockroaches, mould and in overall unhygienic conditions, despite studying at some of France's top universities. The CROUS of Versailles, a state-run agency, offers financial aid and affordable housing to students, but some of the accommodation it provides is barely fit for purpose.
What's left of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement? Since the implementation of the 2020 National Security law, police have been arresting anti-regime activists en masse. Most are now in prison or in exile. Authorities dissuade and crack down on all forms of protest. But discreetly, some activists are determined to make their voices heard despite the risks. Our correspondents Lou Kisiela and Antoine Morel went to meet the last pro-democracy activists left in Hong Kong.
Tunisia is holding a second round of parliamentary elections this weekend. Voter turnout in the first round hit a record low, a reflection of a broader apathy. And yet, the election of President Kais Saied in 2019 had raised many hopes, notably in the fight against corruption. At the Rades port near Tunis, officials are trying to modernise the facilities and restore the image of the capital's port, which for years has been considered a hotbed for graft. FRANCE 24's team on the ground reports.
As India celebrates Republic Day, 52-year-old Rahul Gandhi, heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, is due to complete a march of more than 3,500 kilometres across India next week. His aim is to put the opposition Congress Party back on the political map after a string of scandals and political defeats. On his radar is the BJP, India's ruling Hindu nationalist party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in power since 2014. Our correspondents report.
The movie "Joyland" failed to make the Oscar nominations for best international feature film. But the first Pakistani film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival is still making headlines. It tells the story of a married man who falls in love with a transgender erotic dancer. The controversy around "Joyland" has put the spotlight on the issue of transgender people in Pakistan, known as khwaja siras, who have a special status in Pakistani law. However, the community is still discriminated against and ostracised in society. FRANCE 24's team reports.
In September of 2022, Spain announced that it would no longer fully honour the Albufeira Convention, a treaty on water transfers to neighbouring Portugal. Extreme drought has left Spanish reservoirs at a third of their average capacity this year, a situation not seen since 1995. Portuguese farmers are finding the decision difficult to accept, while environmentalists say it creates a major ecological risk. Our correspondents report from the Spanish-Portuguese border, near the Almendra Dam.
Captagon is a synthetic drug that has turned Syria into a narco-state. The illicit industry behind this amphetamine is estimated to be worth billions of dollars, with over 400 million tablets seized in the Middle East in 2021. So who is profiting from this trafficking? Where is the drug produced? How is it flooding the region and the rest of the world? We take a closer look at how captagon trafficking has reached the highest levels of the Syrian state.
Deforestation in Brazil has reached record levels. In 2022, the worst year so far, some 10,573 square kilometres of vegetation were replaced with enormous farms. Many of these farms export soy around the world, for use as livestock feed and oil. The north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia has suffered extensively from soy production, with profound consequences for local farmers and the environment. Our France 3 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Peter O'Brien.
Although Japan is the only G7 country where same-sex marriages are illegal, there have recently been some positive changes for the LGBT community. Last November, Tokyo's metropolitan government introduced partnership certificates that entitle gay couples to certain public services that were once reserved for straight couples. According to some opinion polls, more than half of Japanese people agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. But the ruling conservative party remains firmly opposed. Our correspondents report.
Latin America's largest gold mine is at the centre of a contentious debate. The Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic produces nearly 50 percent of the country's gold. But fifty years of industrial mining have transformed the once-isolated village of Cotui into a massive open-air mine. And the expansion of operations means that around 450 residents of the valley have to leave their native land. Some are calling for an end to exploitative mining practices, but the mining companies insist their activities have no environmental impact. Our regional correspondents report.
With the alleged coup recently foiled in Germany, the Reichsbürger, or "Citizens of the Reich", have shown their determination and their dangerous nature. In early December, German police broke up a far-right group close to the movement, accused of plotting terror attacks, notably against the parliament. Around 20 people were arrested, all of them "Citizens of the Reich". According to intelligence services, this nebulous grouping with a conspiratorial mindset is made up of around 23,000 members, who are united in their nostalgia for pre-WWII Germany. Our correspondents report.
While many European countries are struggling to tackle a rise in drug trafficking and drug use, some are looking to Portugal for inspiration on how to successfully reform their judicial and medical response. In July 2001, Portugal decriminalised the personal use and possession of all illegal drugs. Twenty years later, the country has become an example to the rest of the world, showing that avant-garde reforms can reap results. Drug users are no longer treated as criminals, but rather as patients. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
Earlier this week, the French government announced a plan to improve hunting safety and reduce the number of sometimes fatal accidents. Opponents of hunting denounce insufficient measures and underline the lack of debate around biodiversity. France has nearly one million hunters, who say they are acting to protect the environment. But anti-hunting campaigners are not buying that argument. Our team reports.
In December, Sweden extradited Mahmut Tat, a Turkish Kurd whom Ankara accuses of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist organisation. The move has added to the fears of Turkish nationals living in Sweden. For months, Ankara has been saying it will lift its veto on NATO membership for Sweden only if Stockholm changes its asylum policy. Turkey is now calling for the extradition of dozens of people it deems terrorists. FRANCE 24's team in Sweden reports.
Following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban, or TTP) have retaken their positions in areas along the border. With the return of Taliban fighters, the picturesque Swat Valley has once again descended into violence and fear. Targeted killings and kidnappings are now a daily occurrence, as well as terror attacks by the TTP. In the city of Mingora, the population is doing its best to resist the armed group. Those who do not support it are seen as traitors. Our correspondent reports.
Under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022), the war on drugs was often in the headlines. However there is another silent war behind several extra-judicial killings in Philippines: The war on dissent and “left-wing terrorism”.
On October 29, a night when the streets of South Korea's capital Seoul were packed with Halloween revellers, 158 people were crushed to death in a narrow alley and nearly 200 others were injured. Most of the victims were in their twenties and thirties and had come to the popular nightlife district of Itaewon to enjoy the first Covid curbs-free Halloween festivities in three years. Six weeks after the tragedy, survivors and Seoul residents are still trying to cope with the trauma. Our correspondents report.
Since March 27, El Salvador has been living under a state of emergency imposed by controversial young leader Nayib Bukele. The move aims to deal a blow to the criminal gangs who have made the small Central American country one of the most dangerous in the world. But this authoritarian policy based on mass and sometimes indiscriminate arrests is causing concern among the international community. More than 58,000 Salvadorians have been arrested since the start of the state of emergency and over 1 percent of the population is currently incarcerated. Our correspondents report.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and occupation of much of its most fertile land, in the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, has been catastrophic for the country's agriculture. Back in April, our correspondent Gulliver Cragg met one of the many farmers whose land had fallen under Russian control. Along with other local farmers, he joined the fight to liberate it – and ultimately succeeded. But as with most farms in the area, it’s now in ruins.
Over the past few years, tens of thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been expelled from Algeria into Niger. They are taken to the border between the two countries, an open desert, and must then cross 15km on foot to reach the village of Assamaka. Their telephones and money having been confiscated from them in Algeria, these migrants find themselves in overflowing transit centres where they must await repatriation to their countries of origin. FRANCE 24's Harold Girard reports.
On July 14, 2016, families in the French Riviera city of Nice had gathered to watch the Bastille Day fireworks on the seafront when a Tunisian-born jihadist drove a lorry into the crowd, killing 86 people and injuring more than 450. After more than three months of hearings, the trial of those accused of involvement in the attack wrapped up this Monday in Paris. The 2,500 civil plaintiffs, including survivors and bereaved parents, now await the court's verdict. We hear from some of them in this report, as well as several of their lawyers. FRANCE 24's Karim Hakiki and Sylvain Rousseau report, with Camille Nedelec.
In eastern DR Congo, fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army has already forced 400,000 people to flee. Since March, more than 100,000 civilians have found refuge in Uganda. Hundreds of families arrive every week in the country, which is already home to 1.5 million refugees. Ugandan camps are saturated; the government and the UN overwhelmed. Their only solution is to send the newcomers to a large settlement located 300 kilometres from the border. Thousands of Congolese are trying to start a new life there, but conditions are precarious. Our regional correspondent Clément Di Roma reports.
Over the next 30 years, a third of the world's glaciers classified as World Heritage sites will have disappeared, according to a UNESCO report published last month. But what will that look like on the ground? Argentina is home to some 16,000 glaciers that have been closely watched for years. The data is particularly alarming. Glaciers in the southern Patagonia region are melting at some of the fastest rates on the planet, while those in other regions in Argentina are faring little better. Our correspondents report.
Wildlife trafficking is the third most profitable illegal activity in the world, after arms trafficking and drug trafficking. In Brazil, where traffickers can earn nearly $2 billion a year, some 80 percent of trafficked animals are birds – often endangered species. Many are intended for local collectors and breeders. With the help of environmental police, Brazilian activists are seeking to save these endangered birds. But under outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro, the budget of the environmental police has been drastically cut, complicating their work. Our correspondents report.
One year ago, on December 6, 2021, a law was passed in France to enable parents to give a name to stillborn babies, a move hailed as progress by grieving families. With more than one in every 100 pregnancies in France resulting in a miscarriage, the national health agency is calling for better access to healthcare in a bid to reduce the perinatal mortality rate. Meanwhile, French maternity wards, understaffed like never before, are calling on authorities to act. Our team reports.
After a two-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the COP15 summit will open on December 7 in Canada to address the biodiversity crisis. We take a closer look at the African nation of Gabon, which the UN considers a leader in protecting the environment. Gabon is home to many threatened or endangered species, such as African forest elephants. These animals find a safe haven in the Congo Basin rainforest, which covers 90 percent of Gabon's territory. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jack Colmer Gale.
More than a million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Germany since the beginning of the year. The number of asylum seekers from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan has also increased. In 2022 alone, Germany has already taken in more people than at the peak of the migrant crisis in 2015. Currently, the capital Berlin is home to around 100,000 Ukrainian refugees – more than in the whole of France. Although German local authorities are doing their best to welcome the new arrivals, some are warning that the influx of refugees represents a significant logistical challenge that could spark renewed tensions. Our correspondents report.
The Warao people are Venezuela's second-largest indigenous group and live in the low-lying grasslands of the Orinoco Delta, in the east of the country. They have been hit particularly hard by an outbreak of HIV/AIDS. The severity of the situation came to light 15 years ago, when a group of doctors travelled to San Francisco de Guayos, one of the villages in the region. One 2013 study found a community where as many as 35 percent of men were infected with HIV. Many Warao villagers develop full-blown end-stage AIDS, since HIV positive people there struggle to access food and medicine due to shortages and stigma. Our correspondents report.
Just a few hours before the world learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, India was busy getting rid of traces of its British colonial past. At the instigation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avenue built by the British and originally called the "Kingsway" has been renamed "Kartavya Path", which means "path of duty" in Hindi. More recently, Modi inaugurated a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose, a controversial Indian freedom fighter, at the same spot where a statue of King George V had stood until the 1960s. Beyond renaming monuments, a part of Indian society wants an apology from the British for the atrocities they committed, such as the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919. Our correspondents report.
Almost five decades after the death of Spain's right-wing dictator Francisco Franco, the country is making a fresh attempt to offer justice to his victims. A new Democratic Memory law, which came into force in October, makes the state responsible for the search for tens of thousands of those forcibly disappeared during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship. Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez says the law is a historic move to "settle Spanish democracy’s debt to its past". But it has critics on all sides, as our correspondents report.
For several months, tensions have been rising in the West Bank. Following a wave of anti-Israeli attacks that killed 19 people in the spring, the Israeli government launched a vast military operation in the area. More than 2,000 people have been arrested and 130 Palestinians killed in raids and clashes, the heaviest toll since the Second Intifada. Operations have been concentrated in the northern West Bank, where more and more young people are joining new armed groups. These groups are popular, have a strong social media following and refuse to accept any political affiliation. The city of Nablus finds itself at their epicentre. FRANCE 24's Gwendoline Debono went to meet some of the young Palestinians who are returning to armed struggle.
In 2017, a report from the Thomson Foundation named the Egyptian capital Cairo as the world's most dangerous city for women. Some 99 percent of female residents there report having been sexually harassed. Egyptian women also struggle to access healthcare, education and the labour market. For a long time, it was taboo to even discuss these topics. But that was until the rise of a new generation of feminist activists, who are using the internet and social media to denounce sexual violence and support victims. Our correspondents report.
Since 2016, Colombian cyclists have topped the podiums in the French, Spanish and Italian tours. Yet these successes hide a dark secret: a doping problem. Along with Costa Rica and Italy, Colombia has the highest number of cyclists sanctioned for taking performance-enhancing drugs. The Colombian anti-doping agency is trying to track down and test potential cheaters, with some 30 doctors spread across the country. But their mission is far from easy, as our team in Colombia reports.
When the Covid-19 pandemic put a temporary stop to tourism, some hotels in the French capital were turned into homes for families in need. But now, with hotels reopening to tourists, families are being forced out with no suitable alternatives. In Paris alone, this means that 2,500 people are having to leave what had been their homes for the past two years. Some of the accommodation proposed to them is unsanitary, with cockroaches, bed bugs or even mice. Our team reports.
After Russian forces left Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv, residents started to piece their lives back together. In March, our reporters filmed in the bombed-out neighbourhood of Saltivka, a residential area which had been shelled day and night. Most inhabitants fled, although a few terrified, isolated and yet defiant locals remained. Their stories deeply moved many of our viewers. This autumn, FRANCE 24 returned to Saltivka to see how the survivors were getting on.
Thousands of Nepalese workers have died in Qatar since 2010 on the construction sites of the World Cup. But victims' grieving families are rarely given any compensation by Qatari companies. Most deaths are due to workers falling from high buildings or suffering heart attacks. Human rights groups have questioned working conditions in Qatar, where temperatures often reach 50 °C. Some workers do return home, but their health is ruined. Despite this, many Nepalese continue to flock to the Gulf.
November 19 is World Toilet Day, a crucial health issue in India. According to the World Bank, nearly 15 percent of the country's population does not have access to a toilet and the consequences are severe: water pollution, waterborne diseases and sexual violence. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that open defecation would be eradicated in India. Eight years after the government's promise, India still lacks toilets and the country's sanitary problems are not getting any better. Our correspondents report.
On September 16, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died in a Tehran hospital, three days after being arrested by the morality police for wearing her headscarf incorrectly. Iran has since been rocked by protests, which are closely followed and supported by the diaspora abroad. In Paris, the Iranian community gathers every week to cries of "Woman, life, freedom" and has high hopes that the regime in Tehran will fall. FRANCE 24's Mandi Heshmati, Abdelkader Dermas, Gilles Terrier and Camille Nedelec report.
Repeated droughts experienced by Iraq for the past three years are accentuating the rural exodus underway throughout the country. No longer able to work on their land due to rapid desertification, farmers are moving to the cities. In oil-rich Basra, the country's economic powerhouse, these farmers end up in slums, often going without basic services. Basra is officially home to two million people, but more than 350,000 people now live in informal settlements, putting the city under pressure. Our correspondents report.
Ukraine's recapture of the city of Kherson comes two months after another military success: the liberation of large swathes of the northeastern Kharkiv region from Russian occupation. There, too, there were celebrations, as local people greeted soldiers with flowers, hugs and tears. But now as winter approaches, people are struggling to rebuild their towns and their lives. Evidence continues to emerge of systematic torture of civilians who were detained by the Russian occupying forces. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg and Denys Denysov report from the town of Balakliya.
As the world's population reaches 8 billion inhabitants, China, the planet's most populous country, is suffering from a demographic crisis. In ten years, the number of births has halved. After four decades of the One Child Policy, the Chinese government now allows families to have two, sometimes even three children. But the policy reversal isn't enough to convince would-be parents. Education in China is one of the most expensive in the world and younger generations are turning down traditional family models. More and more women are prioritising their careers, despite social pressure. Our correspondents report.
After cyclone Niran hit New Caledonia with gusts of more than 250km per hour in March, one banana grower refused to accept that much of his three tons of unripe fruit would now be lost.
He decided to make lemonade out of lemons - by making his damaged fruit into banana flour. It's an alternative to wheat for consumers looking for gluten-free options, and producers in New Caledonia now hope that this could be the beginning of a whole new local industry.
In France, where 8 million people are food insecure, 10 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year. But initiatives are under way to limit food waste. In the heart of Paris's La Défense business district, the eco-conscious restaurant La Salle à Manger makes cheap meals out of leftovers from local caterers and unsold food from supermarkets. Meanwhile, "zero waste families" try to throw away no food at all, as their way of fighting climate change. Finally, one Parisian baker recycles stale bread to create an "eco-friendly loaf". FRANCE 24's Rebecca Martin and Camille Nedelec report.
Back in June, Thai authorities removed cannabis from the list of substances considered as narcotics. In doing so, Thailand became the first Asian nation to legalise marijuana. Officially, the government wants to promote the medical use of cannabis. But a law regulating recreational use of the drug has yet to be passed in parliament, leaving a legal grey area that many are rushing to take advantage of. In just four months, cannabis shops have opened all over Thailand and the plant is expected to grow into a €3 billion industry in the next five years. Our correspondents report.
Most of southern Turkey's nomadic Yörük people no longer live like their ancestors, migrating annually between valleys and mountains with their herds of goats and sheep. But a small handful of families maintain this traditional way of life, living in tents held up with wooden pillars and made of thick wool. Life is hard, without running water, central heating, electricity or easy access to medical care. It's made harder still by local landowners who have blocked off their properties from the Yörük's traditional migration route. Our France 2 colleagues report with FRANCE 24's Camile Nedelec.
The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling earlier this year has made abortion one of the top issues during the campaign for the midterm elections. Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to capitalise on the ruling in order to attract voters. In Texas, a state at the forefront of the pro-life movement, the two parties are locked in a battle over abortion rights. Democrats want to restore that right, while Republicans want to outlaw it at the federal level. Our correspondents report.
One of the key issues on US voters' minds during the upcoming midterm elections will be gun control. Around 40,000 people die from gun violence in the country each year. After every mass shooting, the same questions are asked about whether to restrict access to weapons. In the weeks following the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Congress managed to pass a bipartisan bill on gun control. The Uvalde shooting is now pushing Democrats to field candidates for local office, but they face a highly divided electorate in Texas. Our correspondents Pierrick Leurent and Valérie Defert report, with Wassim Cornet.
Starting on November 6, Egypt will host the COP27 climate change conference. Nearly 100 heads of state are expected in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Egypt itself has been experiencing first-hand the effects of climate change, as a lack of water threatens agriculture. The waters of the Nile, a symbol of prosperity in Egypt since ancient times, are no longer enough to support the needs of a growing population. Our correspondents Edouard Dropsy, Justine Babin and Matthew Thompson report.
A few decades ago, humpback whales were endangered, with only 10,000 of them left. But a global push for better protection has meant that whale watching, not whale hunting, is now a thriving industry. Every summer, the mammals travel to the warm swallow waters of the Gulf of Guinea and Madagascar to mate and give birth, before restarting their odyssey back to the Antarctic with their offspring. Our France 2 colleagues report from Gabon, with FRANCE 24's Camile Nedelec.
Yanjin, a city built along the Yangtze river in southern China, is the narrowest in the world: just 30 metres wide in some places. But despite growth being constrained by the area's stunning geography, residents have managed to turn this former mountain trading hub into a bustling metropolis of some 400,000 people. The once-isolated city has been thrust into the spotlight by Chinese social media users, who made drone footage of Yanjin go viral. With just two streets running along each bank of the river, the city is hoping to capitalise on its newfound popularity and attract more and more tourists. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camile Nedelec.
The Mar Menor – the largest saltwater lagoon in Europe linked to the Mediterranean Sea – has become the first natural area in Europe to be protected as a legal entity. Environmentalists and locals have long complained that the lagoon suffers from serious pollution, which they blame on intensive farming. Under a new law passed in Spain, any individual can now bring legal action to defend the ecosystem. Our correspondents report.
Danes head to the polls on Tuesday for a general election, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats seeking re-election. A plan to dismantle so-called "ghettos", begun by a previous right-wing government and continued throughout her term, is among the most radical in Europe. For a neighbourhood to be considered a "parallel society" or a ghetto, it must meet certain criteria. Among them: 50 percent or more of the population must be of non-Western origin. FRANCE 24's team reports from Copenhagen.
In the run-up to this Sunday's presidential run-off in Brazil, both candidates are fighting for votes in the northeast of the country. The vast, poor and arid region is of strategic importance, as it has historically been a breeding ground for the left. The northeast is the only region where Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is still in the lead: the left-wing former president won 67 percent of the vote there in the first round. But incumbent far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro is trying to catch up and win over the population. Our correspondents report.
Cameroon produces 600,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year, an environmental liability for the country's main urban centres. To reduce pollution and help protect the environment, several local entrepreneurs have turned to the collection, recycling and transformation of plastic waste. The applications are vast – from roof tiles to furniture and decorative objects and even fuel – and can provide cheaper alternatives to many industries. Our correspondents report.
Barbuda has long remained isolated from mass tourism. Its 1,600 inhabitants have been able to protect their Caribbean island because land ownership does not exist there. All land belongs to the community. But the island's white sandy beaches and turquoise waters attract foreign investors, who would like to build hotels for wealthy tourists. Since 2017, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has been trying to change the law to introduce private property, despite community pushback. Our team reports.
In Zimbabwe, unlike in other African countries, elephant conservation efforts have been successful. But the surge in numbers increases the chances of human-animal contact. The country is now seeing a rise in deadly elephant attacks, while Zimbabwean farmers complain that their crops are being destroyed. According to government statistics, around 10 people are killed every month by elephants. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin and Jack Colmer Gale.
One of the many consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the exodus of thousands of foreign students, who were forced to flee the country. Among them were more 18,000 Indian medical students, who made their way to neighbouring European countries in order to be repatriated. But back home, the Indian authorities refused to allow them to continue their studies at medical school. Today, some of these students are returning to Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict and the risks to their safety. Our New Delhi correspondents report.
One year ago, an anti-stalking law came into effect in South Korea, in a bid to combat a type of harassment that over 10 percent of Koreans say they have experienced. Perpetrators, who had previously been fined a maximum of 80 euros, now face three years in jail. But one particularly harrowing case has brought the law back into the spotlight. In September, a 28-year-old woman was murdered in a public toilet by a man she had accused of stalking her. Activists and politicians now say the legislation is too weak and are wondering what more can be done to protect victims before it's too late. Our correspondents report.
In Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Ukrainian troops are making progress and the Russians fear a fresh rout. Behind the frontline, another force is at work alongside the Ukrainian army: the partisans. These resistance fighters are able to strike behind enemy lines and provide valuable intelligence to Ukrainian forces. Our reporter Gwendoline Debono went to meet some of the members of this shadow army, who are relentlessly hunted down by Russian troops.
Afghanistan's Hazara community, a Shiite minority, is regularly targeted by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) group, which considers Hazaras as heretics. Dozens of people, mostly girls, were killed in an attack on an education centre in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul on September 30. Although the attack has not been claimed, the IS group is the main suspect. Since the Taliban seized power a year ago, Hazaras denounce systemic discrimination and the inability of the new authorities to ensure their safety. Our correspondents report.
Once so picturesque it was nicknamed the "Switzerland of the Donbas", the eastern Ukrainian town of Sviatohirsk today lies in ruins. It was recaptured by Ukrainian troops in mid-September after being occupied by Russian forces for nearly 100 days. Some locals welcomed the arrival of Russian troops, while others still struggle to contain their anger at the former occupiers. Sviatohirsk has long been known for its mixed loyalties and strong cultural ties to Russia. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent, Mélina Huet and Raïd Abu Zaideh report.
The vast Casamance forest region in Senegal is known for its rare woods: rosewood, and the Cayor pear tree, among others. Officially they are protected, but armed independence fighters smuggle the wood on the black market. These groups often raze entire plots of land and then export the wood, mainly to China via neighbouring Gambia. Clashes with the fighters have killed several people this year.
Pakistan is dealing with its worst climate disaster on record. UN figures estimate some 1,700 people have lost their lives. Millions remain displaced. In the Sindh province, most villages are either still underwater, or surrounded by stagnant, dirty water leading to a spike in waterborne diseases. With the death of livestock and arable land destroyed, many in rural Pakistan face further hardship and hunger in the coming months.
In Afghanistan, girls are at increasing risk of child marriage. As hunger and poverty surge, families are offering their underage girls, some very young, to older men in exchange for money. Volunteers from Too Young to Wed are helping girls reunite with their parents.
It's a revolution in a country with a pacifist tradition. In June, the German parliament voted to spend €100 billion to modernise the army and replace obsolete equipment. The special fund is meant to create the biggest conventional army in Europe. Before the war in Ukraine, that would have been unthinkable. But the population backs the change: around two-thirds of Germans say they approve the modernisation of their armed forces.
The beaches of Antigua and Barbuda are among the most beautiful in the world. On the two islands of this archipelagic state, huge stretches of white sand attract tourists from all over the world. But they are now in danger. Sand is the second most exploited resource in the world after water. In Antigua and Barbuda, the construction industry is demanding more and more of this raw material. Sand mines are irreparably destroying this already fragile ecosystem.
In southern Spain, the Donana National Park, one of the largest wetlands in Europe, has run dry. A year and a half ago, UNESCO declared the area "overexploited", but since then it has also been the victim of an extreme drought. Ecologists say action is urgent, but many locals say that tackling the problem would threaten their livelihoods. Report by Sarah Morris, Céline Schmitt and Armelle Exposito.
Customs officials in mainland France are grappling with cocaine being smuggled in from the overseas department of French Guiana. At Paris's Orly airport, as many as one in four passengers on flights from French Guiana's capital Cayenne try to smuggle in drugs in exchange for cash. Many locals are driven to drug trafficking because it's one of the few avenues open to them to make a decent wage. But in doing so, they risk their health, their lives and their freedom. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
Like the US and other European countries, France is experiencing its own "Great Resignation". Between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, resignations hit an all-time high, at almost 520,000 per quarter. The previous record dated from 2008, just before the financial crisis. Employees are demanding higher pay and better working conditions and are increasingly looking for a more meaningful job. FRANCE 24's Laura Cambaud and Camille Nédélec report.
In less than a decade, India's digital penetration has more than doubled to reach over 50 percent of its 1.3 billion residents. It's all part of PM Narendra Modi's ambitious plan to turn the country into a trillion-dollar digital economy. As a result, there has been a surge in social media influencers on Instagram and YouTube. India is also a leading market for WhatsApp and Facebook. However, there has also been an increase in internet blackouts and censorship. Our correspondents report.
Marc, Emilien and Timothée are three French army veterans who were wounded in the Malian town of Gossi while taking part in France's Barkhane anti-jihadist operation. With help from their brothers-in-arms, they took on a challenge: a 170-kilometre, one-week hike around Mont Blanc. The trek, known as the "Tiger Raid", is a way for them to regain confidence and continue their recovery. Our team walked the last 20 kilometres with them.
Since a partial mobilisation was announced in Russia on September 21, some 260,000 Russians have fled their country to avoid being called up to fight in Ukraine, according to the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. But many had already gone into exile since the beginning of the conflict on February 24. Activists, artists, intellectuals and tech sector workers have departed en masse. Many of these men and women have settled in Europe, particularly France. Our reporters Jonathan Walsh and Ania Zalenskaia went to meet some of these exiled Russians.
Brazil is gearing up for the most polarised elections in its recent history. Throughout the country, the electoral campaign has been marred by assaults, death threats and even murders. As the first round October 2 vote draws closer, more than two thirds of the population say they are afraid of being attacked because of their political choices, according to a recent survey by the Datafolha polling firm. Our correspondents report.
After more than 20 years on the run, Félicien Kabuga was arrested in May 2020 near Paris. Once rich and famous, the 87-year-old is accused of financing, training and encouraging the Hutu militias known as Interahamwe during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. As his trial opens in The Hague, the hearings will be followed closely back in Rwanda by victims of the genocide. In particular, they hope to find out more about the planning of the atrocities. Our correspondent reports.
Pakistan was recently hit by the worst floods in its history. Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in dire conditions in the flooded areas, with little to no access to clean drinking water or sanitary facilities. This includes many pregnant women. While experts fear a health crisis is looming, organisations are also concerned about the risk of violence against women and girls in crowded emergency camps. Our correspondents report from southern Pakistan.
After years of accelerated growth, the real estate sector in China is in crisis. The biggest developers are crumbling under colossal debts. Due to a lack of funds, the construction of hundreds of buildings has been put on put on hold for months, if not years. New apartment owners find themselves paying mortgages for unfinished homes, leaving some no choice but to move into these abandoned construction sites. Our correspondents report from Kunming, in southern China.
Although Pope Francis has made the fight against paedophilia in the Catholic Church one of his priorities, this call is not always heard. Our correspondents in DR Congo met several men who claim to have been sexually abused by a Slovenian priest in the 1990s in the village of Mooto. They were all minors at the time. After the alleged abuse came to light, the priest left the country in a hurry. The case was brought to the Vatican, but the Church concluded that the priest was innocent without even interviewing all of the alleged victims.
Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region on September 6. This operation surprised Russia and led to the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from several strategic cities in eastern Ukraine, such as Izium. Our reporters Gulliver Cragg and Gwendoline Debono met with Ukrainian soldiers who took part in the counter-offensive and spoke to two of the operational commanders.
If sea levels continue to rise, scientists say cities around the world are at risk of disappearing underwater by 2050. One of them is Gabon's economic hub, Port-Gentil. A possible solution to the rising seas is to move the city away from the coast. But relocating Port-Gentil would mean moving over 100,000 people, an outcome that residents want to avoid at all costs. Our correspondents report.
We take you on a journey to Peru's famed Inca citadel, Machu Picchu. Perched at an altitude of 2,430 metres, this UNESCO World Heritage site still holds many secrets. Some of them were recently uncovered by archaeologist José Bastante and a team of Polish researchers. They found a system of underground aqueducts, as well as other fascinating structures. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis.
On August 29, a young albino child was kidnapped and his 21-year-old mother murdered in the remote village of Ambatolampy in south-eastern Madagascar. Recent years have seen a rise in murders of Albinos on the island, with their body parts often used in rituals and ceremonies. The crime triggered a local riot, with an angry mob storming the local police station to kill the apprehended suspects. Law enforcement officers fired on the crowd, killing around 20 people. Why did residents want to take the law into their own hands? Who are the kidnappers? Our correspondent Gaëlle Borgia reports.
In Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, wildlife that had virtually disappeared in the 1990s has returned. After years of civil war, lions now live in peace alongside gazelles and elephants. Today, scientists come from far and wide to observe hundreds of species in this open-air laboratory. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's James Mulholland.
Despite the Ukrainian army's rapid counter-offensive, Russian forces still occupy vast swathes of Ukraine, including much of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that make up the Donbas. Cities in the Ukrainian-held parts of the Donetsk region suffer regular shelling, suffering significant damage to infrastructure and putting local people in danger. In July, Kyiv tried to impose mandatory evacuations. But for many citizens, the choice of whether to stay or go is a difficult one. FRANCE 24 reports from the city of Kramatorsk.
Cubans are increasingly feeling the pinch of the country's worst economic crisis in 30 years. In the capital Havana, people wait for hours in long queues to find something to eat for the day. The pandemic has played a major role in the food shortages, which are compounded by rising inflation and a 60-year-old US embargo. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Clémence Waller and Lauren Bain.
Like Rafik and Susan, dozens of Armenian families are reluctantly packing their bags in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave in the heart of the Caucasus where a brief war between Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed more than 6,500 lives in 2020. Aghavno, like two other villages in the Lachin corridor, is part of the territory ceded by Armenia to Azerbaijan in virtue of the 2020 ceasefire agreements. FRANCE 24's team met some of those forced to evacuate their homes.
In Guinea, cohabitation between chimpanzees and humans is becoming increasingly tense in some regions of the country. As fields and roads encroach on their territory, the animals are getting more aggressive. In the village of Longory, a four-year-old girl was attacked by a chimpanzee. Locals are now wary of the hungry apes. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
The war in Ukraine has turned into an artillery battle that produces a continuous flow of injured and shell-shocked fighters. Our reporters James André, Virginie Herz, Wassim Daly and Oleksi Gordeev were granted rare access to a hospital in the suburbs of Kyiv, where nearly 200 wounded Ukrainian soldiers are recovering from traumatic frontline experiences. But not all injuries are physical. At the hospital, which specialises in physiotherapy and psychiatry, relaxation and acupuncture are used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
India's Supreme Court recently ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same social benefits as traditional families. The breakthrough comes four years after the country decriminalised homosexuality. Yet members of the LGBT community often live in the shadows, rejected by their family or society at large. Activists are helping them become more visible, especially in the workplace. FRANCE 24's Alban Alvarez, Maëlys Sourt, Nejma Bentrad and Suyash Shrivastava report.
Boris Johnson is soon to leave Downing Street for the last time. According to a recent Ipsos survey, the British public rank him as the country's worst performing postwar leader. Johnson will be forever remembered as one of the men behind Brexit and as a PM who attended illegal parties at Downing Street during lockdown. But some Conservatives are already nostalgic for the leader they affectionately call "Boris". FRANCE 24's Julien Sauvaget and Clovis Casali report from across the UK on Johnson's divisive legacy.
Although Ottawa defends itself, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration found that Canada’s immigration process could be ridden with bias and racial prejudice. In 2021, the rejection rate for visas for French-speaking African students was close to 70%. A processing software used by the ministry called Chinook was also targeted by the group. Several organisations and immigration advocates are calling out the processes in place, which they say lead to systemic racism.
The run-up to Sweden’s general election this autumn has seen the leader of a right-wing extremist party tour the country, burning copies of the Koran. Rasmus Paludan's actions have caused widespread riots across the country and calls for the burning of Islam's holy book to be banned in Sweden. But former asylum seekers from the Muslim world are among the voices trying to resist any change in Sweden's freedom of expression laws.
In July 1942, more than 13,152 Jews were arrested in Paris by French police at the request of German authorities. This included more than 4,000 children, Henri Bek being one of them. Years later, Bek's childhood friend and fellow Jewish classmate wrote a book about their childhood friendship, immortalising his memory and inspiring others to retrace the life of a little boy lost to history.
In eastern Ukraine, Russia continues its push to control the entire Donbas region. The strategic towns of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut have all seen intense bombardment in recent days, leaving Ukrainian forces to shore up their lines of defence. Our reporters Luke Shrago, Taline Oundjian and Achraf Abid spent the night with some of those forces near the front, offering a glimpse into the life of a typical Ukrainian soldier at war.
We take you to India, where anti-Muslim campaigns are on the rise in recent days. Some Hindu fundamentalists have even publicly called for the genocide of Muslims. Critics blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi for tacitly encouraging these attacks on Muslims by failing to condemn the increasing violence against this minority community. France 24 journalists Edward Haywood and Anida Saifi bring us more.
On Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb telescope launched into space. Now, it has delivered some of the most breathtaking images of the universe to date. Using new infrared technology, the telescope can capture sharper photos in full colour, allowing scientists to see the origins of stars, planets, and the first galaxies. Our journalists Florence Gaillard and Emma James take a look at the advent of the project.
Rising inflation worldwide has made nearly everything more expensive - from energy to essential consumer goods. One country hit the hardest by rising prices is Argentina - inflation hit 51% at the end of 2021 and is expected to top 70% by the end of this year. Our correspondents Eléonore Vanel and Nicolas Flon took a look at the different avenues - both legal and illegal - Argentinians are taking to deal with the skyrocketing cost of living.
Canada's government signed the most significant compensation agreement in its history in December 2021. After a nearly 15-year legal battle, the state will pay $40 billion for imposing racist and discriminatory practices on its child welfare system. The agreement, however, has been greeted by indigenous communities with caution, as confidence in Ottawa is weak.
During Algeria's war of independence, thousands of people were arrested by the French authorities, never to return home. While many are believed to have died in custody or have been assassinated by French forces, families of those missing grapple with the lack of closure. 60 years on, historians continue to investigate the disappearances and families still hope to learn more about the fate of their loved ones.
On February 24, the first day of Russia's war in Ukraine, Moscow's troops took over Chernobyl, the scene of the world's worst ever nuclear accident. Following a 35-day occupation, Ukraine regained control of the defunct plant but workers have had a hard time returning it to regular functioning. Employees were forced to rebuild IT systems from scratch after specialist equipment and software was ransacked by Russian soldiers. Chernobyl remains a highly volatile site, with hundreds of tonnes of radioactive material still sitting under a protective cover.
Dominica, a member of the Commonwealth, is a small island in the lesser Antilles. Located between the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, it's one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean. To finance its economy, Dominica offers a Citizenship by Investment programme, or CBI. Investors can buy a Dominican passport, which has two major advantages: it's one of the cheapest in the world and it grants visa-free access to the EU. Our correspondents report.
The anti-immigrant attitude is common in South Africa. But in recent months it has taken an organised shape in the form of a rapidly growing populist movement. Young people united as the movement called "Operation Dudula" are demanding that illegal immigrants be sent home. The ruling party, the ANC, will have to respond. Authorities are firm in their stance of: "No jobs for undocumented migrants", but the situation can quickly get out of hand. Nobody wants to relive the tensions of 2008, 2015 and 2019.
As experts gather at a UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is facing an "ocean emergency". In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef recently suffered another mass bleaching event, just months after a UNESCO committee recommended the World Heritage Site be listed as "in danger". The country's new left-leaning Labor government has promised to tackle global warming, but the reef's future hangs in the balance as long as Australia remains one of the world's largest exporters of fossil fuels. Our correspondents report.
In Germany, a former SS corporal at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp is on trial on charges of being an accessory to murder for the deaths of 3,518 people between 1942 and 1945. The verdict in the trial of 101-year-old Josef Schütz is expected this week. Schütz, who maintains his innocence, is one of dozens of alleged Nazi criminals that German prosecutors are trying to convict before it's too late. Our correspondents report.
In India, over a million female healthcare workers known as "ASHA" ("hope" in Hindi) work tirelessly to help the country's poorest. Last month, the WHO honoured their hard work with its Global Leaders Award. Over the last 16 years, these women have become the backbone of India's healthcare system, especially for the hundreds of millions of Indians who live in rural areas. But today, they are fighting for better pay and recognition from the government. Our correspondents report.
During Pride Month, the LGBTQ community marches to defend its rights around the world. Our reporters went to meet some members of its older generation in France and Spain. Older gay, lesbian and trangender people often feel invisible within their wider communities and the majority of them suffer from loneliness after family rifts and years of discrimination. But thanks to the work of younger activists and organisations, LGBTQ seniors are gradually emerging from the margins.
The NGO Doctors without Borders is calling for humanitarian corridors to be created for asylum seekers stuck in Libya, who often face torture and abuse in Libyan detention centres. Now safely in Niger, two former detainees spoke to our correspondents about their harrowing ordeal. They were able to leave Libya thanks to the Emergency Transfer Mechanism, a programme set up by the UNHCR to evacuate migrants to Niger. Nearly 4,000 people have been evacuated from Libya through this mechanism since 2018.
The Mexican state of Michoacan is facing an unprecedented wave of violence. Since January, more than 800 homicides have been recorded there, making it Mexico's most violent state. While criminal groups wage a war to control territory, the state's residents pay a heavy price: kidnappings, murders and forced displacements. Our correspondents met one local man who decided to stand up to organised crime by leading a vigilante group. For many other residents, though, exile is the only viable choice.
To mark World Refugee Day, we head to Belgium, where several hundred unaccompanied minors are still waiting for a legal guardian. Under Belgian law, all foreign minors arriving into the country unaccompanied by an adult must be assigned a legal guardian in order to register with the authorities. But the country faces a shortage of these profiles and is trying to recruit more to address the shortfall. Our correspondents report.
Rwanda is gearing up host the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from June 20-25 in the capital Kigali. The East African country, which has dropped French in favour of English in schools, wants to use the summit to promote its tourism and hospitality sector. But NGOs that are highly critical of Rwanda's human rights record hope to put this aspect in the spotlight during the event. Our correspondents report.
Although fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, people in the Kyiv region are already starting to rebuild, two and a half months after the withdrawal of Russian troops. The Ukrainian government estimates the cost of damage at more than $100 billion nationwide. Kyiv is looking for massive investment and aid from international allies, but also wants Russia to foot the bill. FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent, Pauline Godart and Wassim Daly report.
Ukraine, an agricultural powerhouse, was projected to provide around 12 percent of the world's exported wheat this year and more than 16 percent of its corn. But that was before Russia invaded. Since then, the war has disrupted farming and this year's harvest will be much reduced. But the most immediate problem is how to get last year's bumper crop out of the country.
Namibia is home to around 3,500 cheetahs, or half the world's cheetah population. But the animals there are threatened by farmers, who often shoot them on sight to defend their herds. To protect the big cats, one wildlife sanctuary had the idea of training sheepdogs. These precious guard dogs, which deter cheetahs from getting too close to the herds, are then offered to farmers who use them to protect their goats or sheep. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
According to the United Nations, some 23 million people are suffering from acute hunger n Afghanistan, including 10 million children who urgently need help in order to survive. Since the start of the year, humanitarian organisations have been able to help 8.2 million people by providing food assistance, including emergency food rations and supplements for breastfeeding mothers and their infants. But this aid is dwindling fast and the situation, which has continually worsened since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, is reaching a critical stage. Our team reports from Herat, in north-western Afghanistan.
As the war in Ukraine continues in the eastern Donbas region, Ukrainian soldiers are defending themselves against Russian troops with weapons delivered by Western countries, including France. One Ukrainian artillery brigade showed a team of reporters how they are using French-supplied mobile Caesar howitzer vehicles in their counter-offensive. Our colleagues at France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Nicholas Rushworth.
Almost 10 months ago, Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban. The hardline Islamists' return to power led to a mass exodus of the Afghan population, with the US taking in some 78,000 refugees. California received the largest number, followed by Texas, where some 10,500 Afghans are already calling the Lone Star State home. Texans are proud to welcome them, as our correspondents report.
Thailand is one of the few Asian countries where tigers still live in the wild. In recent years, the country has set up cameras and patrols to protect the felines and those efforts have paid off. However, while there are some 200 tigers roaming free in Thailand, ten times as many live in captivity, often in theme parks where the animals are treated as a tourist attractions. Wildlife conservation NGOs say these tiger parks are exploiting the big cats. Our colleagues at France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's James Mullholland and Camille Nedelec.
For more than nine months, Afghan girls over the age of 11 have been prohibited from going to high school. The Taliban have not reneged on the ban they imposed on taking power last August, despite their initial promise to do so. In the western city of Herat, FRANCE 24's reporters followed one teacher who hopes that her former students will be able to continue their education. They also met a teacher who is defying the ban by giving clandestine lessons. Meanwhile, some fathers are trying to convince the authorities to reopen girls' schools for their daughters.
As war continues to rage in Ukraine, neighbouring countries worry that they might see the conflict spill over into their territory. In Poland, fears are centered around the Suwalki gap, a strip of Polish land that lies between the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus. NATO troops are currently training nearby, in anticipation of every possible scenario. Our team reports.
Tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Argentina is Ibera park, the world's second-largest wetland. Much of its wildlife vanished during the 20th century due to hunting and aggressive agricultural practices. But over the past 15 years, scientists and conservationists have taken a gamble to "rewild" the area by reintroducing endangered or previously extinct native species, including anteaters, scarlet macaws and even jaguars. The initiative is proving beneficial for both the environment and local communities. Our correspondents report.
Much of the wildlife in Ivory Coast has become virtually extinct after decades of heavy deforestation. But a nature reserve nestled in the centre of the country is doing its best to restore the region's fauna. In just over 20 years, the N’zi River Park has managed to recreate an animal ecosystem, fight poaching and organise its own safaris. Our correspondents report.
The Mekong is one of the largest rivers in the world, beginning in China and flowing through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Nearly 70 million people in Asia are dependent on its waters for fishing or to irrigate their rice fields. But this watery giant is threatened due to the dredging of its sand, which is wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Our colleagues from France 2 report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec and James Mulholland.
Last month, Amazon's 8,000 warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York voted to form the company's first ever union. It was the first in a series of union victories at companies that pay hourly wages. Experts say this could be the most significant moment in decades for the US labour movement, sparking hope that a wave of unionisation could help millions of Americans secure fairer working conditions. But US corporations are fighting back. Our New York correspondents report.
Spain is the largest producer of pork in Europe. But its methods of intensive farming on what are dubbed "mega farms" are now the subject of debate after the country's own consumer minister criticised them, saying Spaniards needed to eat less meat. The environmental impact of "mega farms" is also coming under scrutiny. Our correspondents report.
As the war in Ukraine continues, one Parisian NGO is using art as a force for unity. The "Agency of Artists in Exile" is currently inundated with requests from both Ukraine and Russia. The agency is building bridges and collaborations between artists from both countries, all of whom are united in their opposition to Vladimir Putin's war. Our team reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin never misses an opportunity to refer to patriotism and national unity in a bid to justify his acts of aggression. A large majority of Russians adhere to this patriotism, regardless of age. Some have joined Unarmia, a movement for young army cadets created by the Russian ministry of defence. Our team on the ground reports.
Argentina is a pioneer when it comes to trans rights. For the past decade, citizens have had the right to choose their gender and change their ID papers without needing to consult with a doctor or lawyer. But ten years after the world's most progressive law when it comes to gender identity was enacted, the trans community in Argentina still suffers from discrimination in education, health and work. In a bid to remedy this, the government has just introduced a 1 percent quota of trans employees in the public sector. FRANCE 24's team reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that one of the key aims of Russia's offensive in Ukraine is to "denazify" the country. But for the Jewish community in Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelensky himself, this claim is not only anti-Semitic but ridiculous. Some Jewish Ukrainians who have chosen not to flee the fighting have opened the doors of their synagogues and homes to welcome, care for and protect their fellow citizens, regardless of faith. This has brought Hasidic Jews and other Ukrainians closer together. Our team on the ground reports.
The Ukrainian resistance in Irpin played a key role in holding off the Russian advance on the capital Kyiv during the first few weeks of the war. But the middle-class commuter town paid a heavy price. More than 300 civilians were killed and tens of thousands fled. Now, more than a month after the Russian withdrawal, residents are beginning to return to try to rebuild their lives. Reconstruction is slowly getting under way, but an estimated €800 million is needed to build new homes. FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih, Bastien Renouil and Raïd Abu Zaideh report from Irpin.
As Peru slowly emerges from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, the government is trying to help the country's Covid orphans. According to the medical journal The Lancet, around 100,000 children in Peru lost at least one of their two parents to the pandemic; more than anywhere else in the world. The poorest Peruvians have been hit the hardest and many Covid orphans and widows are struggling to survive, both financially and emotionally. Our correspondent reports.
Ferdinand Marcos Junior has emerged as the favourite to win the Philippines’ presidential election on May 9. His father, Ferdinand Marcos, ruled the country with an iron fist from 1965 to 1986 - imposing martial law, torturing and killing thousands of opponents, and plundering public coffers. The election could be a turning point for this country of 110 million people. If Marcos Junior wins, it will mark the full rehabilitation of a political dynasty, decades after its despotic reign ended.
In southern Ukraine, Mykolaiv is the first major city behind the front line, as the nation's army faces off against Russian forces to the southeast in occupied Kherson. As such, the town has seen regular bombardments and nearby combat that led to its water supply being severed in mid-April. Throughout the ordeal, the city's inhabitants have come together in solidarity and mutual support to help those in need.
Northern Ireland voters go to the polls today (May 5) in what could be the most important election in a generation. They will elect the 90 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, from which a power-sharing executive should be formed. These institutions were created by the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. According to opinion polls, Sinn Fein - representing mostly people of Catholic and Irish background - could become the largest party for the first time.
Unaccompanied foreign minors are shunted around from one shelter to another upon arrival in France. They are lodged in hotels, which are not adapted to the needs of its teenage residents. Some of them have to prove their minor status to the regional authorities. They consider themselves lucky to have a roof when most others are left to fend for themselves in the street. A new law will ban housing young migrants in hotels by 2024, but the bill comes with an important caveat. It only includes those whose minority has been recognised by the state and who have been placed under the care of social services.
Domestic violence is on the rise, but under-reported in Cameroon. Campaigners say official figures account for only a fraction of the women who have suffered - or even died - at the hands of their partners. And for those seeking justice, advocates say successful prosecutions are rare due to the failings and corruption within Cameroon's judicial system.
Sixty years ago, Algeria won its independence after a brutal war with France. There is plenty of documentation on the 1954-1962 Algerian War, but one topic remains extremely taboo: the systemic rape of Algerian women by French soldiers during the conflict. Survivors have yet to see justice, and time is running out. FRANCE 24's Florence Gaillard reports.
Tens of thousands of Russians have fled to Georgia, a small Caucasus nation of roughly 4 million inhabitants, since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The reasons are varied: fear of conscription for men, a risk of reprisals for political opponents or simply hope of a better life as Russia isolates itself. However, an uncertain future awaits them. Opinions in Georgia are divided about this new diaspora, despite the country already experiencing a Russian attack in 2008 and the occupation of 20 percent of its territory.
In the jungle of southern Colombia, drug traffickers go to extraordinary lengths to protect their cocaine shipments. Illegal drug labs are hidden in the forest, along with makeshift naval bases, where the cartels build their own submarines to export their cocaine to the US market. As a result, authorities are struggling to stem the flow of drugs from the area. The navy estimates that it intercepts just over half of the 1,200 tonnes of cocaine produced in Colombia every year. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell.
Wishma Sandamali, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman, died in a Japanese detention centre in March of last year. Her death sparked debate on the treatment of the 1,500 asylum seekers currently in detention in Japan. Many of them claim they are being treated inhumanely. Despite its economic might, Japan takes in few refugees. In 2020, it accepted less than 100 asylum seekers, while France, whose population is half the size of Japan's, took in 24,000. Our correspondents report from the city of Nagoya, where Wishma died.
The textile industry is the backbone of Pakistan's economy, accounting for 8.5 percent of its GDP. But it's also a source of major pollution, with untreated waste flowing into the groundwater and factories relying heavily on coal. Our correspondents report on the industry's impact in Faisalabad, Pakistan's main textile hub, where clothes are produced for the biggest fast fashion brands.
Of the five million Ukrainians who have fled the war in their country, almost three million have gone to Poland, which now hosts the highest number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Many have arrived in the town of Rzeszów, less than an hour's drive from the border with Ukraine. Our team reports from a shopping centre that's been transformed into a shelter for refugees.
With the climate crisis beginning to gain some traction in the France presidential campaign, we focus on a clean but little exploited source of power: geothermal energy, which creates electricity from the Earth's heat. Kenya has become a major producer, with its geothermal power plants now providing a third of the country's electricity. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec and Jennie Shin.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first nation in the world to make bitcoin its official currency, along with the US dollar. The experiment in the small Central American country was considered groundbreaking by some and too risky by others. Seven months on, our regional correspondents take a look at how it has changed the lives of Salvadorians, for better or for worse.
The gig economy is nothing new in India, where the informal sector employs 80 percent of the country's workforce. India's growing smartphone market with cheap internet connections has provided opportunities for millions of unemployed people to become gig workers. This means that they have no written contracts, paid leave or social protection. But in recent months, India's app-based workers have been protesting against their rapidly falling earnings and poor working conditions. Our correspondents Navodita Kumari and Alban Alvarez report.
The Saudi capital is changing, as demonstrated by the MDLBeast Soundstorm festival, an electronic dance music event held late last year on the outskirts of Riyadh. After trying to diversify its oil-dependent economy, Saudi authorities are now looking to develop the entertainment industry. Partying legally in Riyadh is rare, but is now possible. However, human rights groups are warning that this change, however welcome, should not overshadow the kingdom's crackdown on free speech. Our regional correspondent reports.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 400 dolphins have been found dead on the beaches of France's west coast. This disturbing phenomenon is due to accidental catches by non-selective fishing gear. About 200,000 dolphins live in the Bay of Biscay, but rights groups fear the species will be driven to the brink of extinction. The European Commission already put France on notice in 2020 for its ineffectiveness in saving dolphins, an animal essential to the ecosystem and one that's strictly protected under European and French law. The government has now implemented an action plan. But will it be effective? FRANCE 24's Jade Lévin and Jennie Shin report.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to impact crucial food exports, wheat prices are soaring. Many African countries rely on Ukrainian and Russian grain exports and could face a severe food crisis. But in Cameroon, entrepreneurs are coming up with alternatives to wheat, which is used to make flour. Production of bread and cakes made from local cassava and sweet potato flour is now booming. These tubers are abundant in the country but are normally used unprocessed in traditional dishes. Our correspondents report.
Ukrainian farmers have become something of folk heroes after numerous videos emerged of them using their tractors to tow away Russian tanks and other military equipment, following Ukrainian forces' battlefield victories. But in reality, the war has plunged Ukrainian agriculture into a crisis with global implications, given the country's importance to global supplies of grain and sunflower oil.
Six months after the publication of the Sauvé report, which revealed the scale of sexual abuse over decades in the French Catholic Church, what effect has the crisis had on aspiring priests? Despite the atmosphere of mistrust currently enveloping the Church, some forty students at the diocese in Orléans are training to join the priesthood while attempting to learn from the errors of those before them. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell.
As the war in Ukraine continues, we take you to the western town of Zhytomyr. Although tension has now eased there with the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region, Zhytomyr's inhabitants had to live with the sound of bombings and sirens for weeks on end and are now helplessly taking stock of the damage. Located 150 kilometres from the capital Kyiv, the town's proximity to the frontlines has also made it a regional hub for both aid distribution and displaced people. Our reporters Luke Shrago and Tarek Kai saw first-hand how its population is determined to resist the Russian invasion.
In recent weeks, more and more Ukrainian and Russian nationals have been flocking to the US-Mexican border crossing of San Ysidro in a bid to seek asylum in the United States. Ukrainians manage to cross the border without too much difficulty, but Russians don't get such a warm welcome. A piece of US legislation known as Title 42 allow US authorities to turn away would-be refugees to prevent the spead of Covid-19. As a result, Russians are joining the ranks of thousands of migrants stranded in Mexico waiting to file their asylum applications. FRANCE 24's Quentin Duval reports.
Thirty years have passed since the siege of Sarajevo began in April 1992. The anniversary of this key moment in the Bosnian War comes as the world sees many tragic comparisons with current events in Ukraine. Sarajevo was under siege from Serbian forces for almost four years, the longest blockade of any capital city in modern warfare. More than 11,000 lives were lost. The city was eventually liberated with the help of the international community. But for those who witnessed events in Sarajevo first-hand, the memories are hard to bear. FRANCE 24's Julien Sauvaget and Emma James report.
Energy prices in Europe were already on the rise, but with the war in Ukraine, they're soaring. The conflict has underlined a painful reality: the continent's dependence on Russian natural gas. As a result, EU member states are now scrambling to draft new energy strategies. Our correspondents report from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The island of Madagascar, just off the east coast of Africa, has been hit by five natural disasters in less than two months, including two major cyclones. More than 200 people have died and 460,000 have been left without shelter. The eastern city of Mananjary has been practically wiped off the map. The remaining 35,000 residents are trying to survive but many have no housing, electricity or clean drinking water. International aid agencies are helping keep them alive. Our correspondents visited what remains of the city.
More than half of India's population doesn't have access to clean drinking water. Contaminated water is not only disastrous for people's health and the environment, it is also estimated to cost the country more than half a billion euros annually. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to bring clean drinking water to all households by 2024, by investing €45 billion. But can he deliver? Our correspondents report on the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission.
The EU is proposing to put nuclear power on its list of sustainable energy sources. But Austria is threatening to file a case with the Court of Justice of the European Union to get that text annulled. The country has never embraced nuclear energy and is even home to the world's only power station to have been built but never fired up. Austria produces more than 75 percent of its electricity from renewable energy and is a leader of anti-nuclear advocacy in Europe. Our correspondents report.
The signing of the Évian Accords on March 18, 1962 paved the way for Algerian independence in July of that year. But the agreements included a clause that allowed France to continue carrying out nuclear tests in the Algerian desert, causing vast radioactive contamination of land and air. Sixty years later, the victims have not been properly compensated and the extent of the damage not properly assessed. FRANCE 24's Karim Yahiaoui and Jennie Shin report.
Three weeks ago at dawn, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Since then, Ukrainian forces have fought back against the full-scale invasion. Some 3 million people have already fled the country, and the UN estimates that 2 million more are internally displaced. FRANCE 24's Rob Parsons, Clovis Casali and Abdallah Malkawi went to meet Ukrainian soldiers, as well as regular citizens – some trying to flee, others choosing to stay and resist.
In March 2012, French jihadist Mohammed Merah went on a murderous spree around the southwestern city of Toulouse. After shooting dead three soldiers, the terrorist set his sights on the Jewish high school Ohr Torah, killing a rabbi and three young children. The attack deeply shook the local Jewish community, with many choosing to leave France altogether. FRANCE 24's Ellen Gainsford and Olivier Faissolle spoke to some of those who remember the horror of that day.
South Koreans went to the polls on Wednesday March 9 to elect a new president. Perhaps unsurprisingly for one of the most connected countries in the world, candidates for the top job used technology in a bid to connect with as many voters as possible, especially younger ones. Our correspondents report on the digital tools that have shaped the election campaign, from AI-generated clones of candidates to metaverse virtual reality platforms.
In a crime that shocked Brazil, 24-year-old Congolese refugee Moise Mugenyi Kabagambe was beaten to death in January. The worker at a beach kiosk in Rio de Janeiro had simply asked that his employers pay his overdue wages. His brutal xenophobic killing highlights the deeply rooted racism in Brazilian society. According to the latest Atlas of Violence, in 2019 in Brazil, 77% of homicide victims were Black. FRANCE 24's Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery report.
This Friday marks exactly 10 years since a deadly series of blasts at an arms depot in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Some 300 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured in the explosions, which also destroyed thousands of homes, leaving 17,000 families needing shelter. A decade on, memories of the tragedy are still fresh, as victims continue to wait for compensation and government support. FRANCE 24's Clement Bonnerot and Rosie Pioth report.
In January, two women's rights organisations filed a petition with the New Delhi's High Court seeking to criminalise marital rape in India. They want to strike down a legal loophole in the Indian penal code which stipulates that rape within a marriage is not against the law. Indian law states that intercourse between a husband and wife over the age of 15 cannot be considered as rape.
With more than 700 kilometres of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Senegal is one of the top fish producers in West Africa. This is one of the richest oceans in the world and that has attracted industrial fishing vessels from China. Aside from their fishing methods having massive repercussions on the environment, local fishermen say their own catch has dramatically dropped.
Sri Lanka's ongoing economic meltdown is getting worse day by day. It's the worst financial crisis this island nation of 22 million people has faced since its independence seven decades ago. The country's foreign reserves have been dangerously low in recent months, and experts fear the country is on the verge of default.
Decades of conflict has made Iraq a hotbed for trafficking. From weapons to drugs, Iraq has dominated headlines. However, less attention has been focused on the trafficking of wild animals. In fact, the Middle East is considered one of the hubs of animal trafficking. Our correspondent in Iraq, Lucile Wassermann, went to meet the players in the trading of wildlife to understand the drivers behind it.
Seventeen years ago, Spain’s socialist government decided to inject subsidies into renewable energy. As a result, thousands of Spanish families massively invested in photovoltaic energy. But, as you'll see in our report, the dream rapidly turned into a nightmare.
Nestled among some of the tallest ridges in the world is the former kingdom of Mustang. This Nepalese region of the Himalayas is home to Lo Manthang, a fortified city that has been resisting time and invaders since the 14th century. In this remote village, the power supply is limited and firewood is scarce. Some locals want a €400 permit required for visitors to be scrapped, so that tourism and their fragile economy can bloom. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
In Pakistan, where 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, access to education remains a major issue. According to a recent study, 22 million Pakistani children never complete their 10 years of compulsory schooling. They either drop out or never begin school. The telling of tales and legends from older to younger generations has long served as an educational vehicle in rural areas. But storytellers are gradually disappearing in Pakistan, ousted by competition from televisions and smartphones. Our correspondents report.
On February 16, the European Union's top court rejected a legal challenge by Poland and Hungary to a conditionality mechanism that would link EU funds for member states to respect for the rule of law. The Polish government stands by its controversial judicial reforms, despite criticism from local judges. On the ground in Poland, many development projects that were counting on EU funding have already been halted. One example is in the town of Wieliczka, as our correspondent Gulliver Cragg reports.
Six months ago, an ominous sense of déjà vu swept over Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the country. Unconvinced by the group's pledges to rule differently than in the 1990s, tens of thousands of Afghans fled. While some were evacuated by foreign powers, others had little choice but to embark upon dangerous journeys to safety. Our reporters met up with some recently arrived Afghan refugees in France to find out how they're faring in their new lives.
On November 30, 2021, Barbados became the world's youngest republic, cutting historic ties with the British monarchy. In the 17th century, the Caribbean island state became a British colony dedicated to sugar production. Some 90 percent of its population are descended from slaves. Since independence in 1966, Barbados had long been ambivalent about its colonial heritage. But today, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is taking the country into a new era. Our team reports.
Back in June 2019, the provincial government in Quebec adopted a secularism law, known as Bill 21. The law bars some government employees in positions of authority, such as teachers, from wearing religious signs while on the job. In December 2021, the law was applied for the first time. A Muslim teacher who wears a hijab was removed from her job and reassigned to an administrative position. The decision has sparked controversy and polarised Canadians, as our correspondents report.
More than 180 million voters in five Indian states are eligible to vote for new assemblies from this Thursday. The month-long process will be a key test for the ruling BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He wants to keep control of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous, which has been ruled by the BJP for the past five years. Modi also wants to keep using Uttar Pradesh as a political laboratory to implement his "Hindutva" agenda. This ideology defines Indian culture as a set of Hindu values to the detriment of religious minorities, especially Muslims. Our correspondents report.
The One Ocean Summit opens this Wednesday in the French port city of Brest. Seas and oceans cover around 70 percent of the surface of our planet, but continue to face an onslaught of problems, from pollution to rising temperatures. In the Maldives, coral reefs are dying because of climate change. However, locals are doing their best to save them. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Wassim Cornet.
More than three years after the Basque terror group ETA disbanded, Spaniards are still trying to come to terms with the aftermath of decades of violence. More than 350 attacks believed to have been carried out by ETA are unresolved, accentuating the pain of families of victims. Meanwhile, relatives of convicted ETA prisoners are demanding a change in their conditions of detention. Agreeing on a collective memory of the conflict remains difficult. Our correspondents report.
According to the latest estimates, 10 to 20 percent of the world's flora is still unknown to mankind. Botanists are scouring the world in a bid to find new plants and deepen our understanding of the planet's ecosystems. In the far east of Senegal, one group of Senegalese and French researchers are trying to unearth new species of ferns at the heart of an isolated waterfall. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Wassim Cornet.
Japan's ageing society is forcing it to innovate in some unusual ways. Fifteen years ago, the western town of Hōki, where almost half the residents are aged over 65, started using recycled adult diapers to heat public baths and reduce energy bills. The project was highly successful and now the idea of turning diapers into fuel pellets has spread to other parts of Japan. Our correspondents report.
This Wednesday is International Wetlands Day. Worldwide, wetlands cover 12.1 million km². But more than 30 percent have been lost over the past 50 years, despite them playing a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change. One example is the Mangroves National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's the only marine park in the country and it's home to a wide variety of plants and rare animals, including sea turtles. But the park is increasingly threatened by poaching and illegal logging. The construction of a deep water port in the vicinity has also sparked controversy. Our correspondents report.
In Turkey, inflation reached a record annual rate of 36 percent at the end of 2021. The Turkish lira has plummeted and in supermarkets, workers are forced to change price tags on basic necessities several times a day. Turks are increasingly struggling to buy staple foods like flour and milk. While some have taken to satirising the crisis on social media, protests remain rare out of fear of repression. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
With a population of 1.4 billion people, many would find it hard to believe that India has a fertility problem. However, according to a new country-wide study, the fertility rate in the country has fallen below the replacement rate, and India's demography could stabilise. This will also mean better opportunities for Indian women who are now carrying the whole responsibility of birth control. For many women, sterilisation is preferred to regular contraception. A report by Anida Saifi and Thomas Denis.
North Africa's Jewish community does not exceed a few thousand people today. Waves of immigration over the past decades have led many of the region's Jews to Europe, especially France, where the majority of Jews hail from the Maghreb region. Most of them have lost their ancestors' mother tongue: Arabic. But today, some are seeking to learn this language, as a way of discovering their roots and their complex identity. FRANCE 24's Thameen Al-Kheetan and Sophian Aubin report.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Canada has faced a labour shortage like never before. There are currently more than 912,000 vacant positions, nearly twice as many as in 2019. Many people have decided to change their lifestyles and companies have to adapt. Quebec is the hardest-hit province, with 64 percent of small and medium-sized businesses struggling to hire. Saint-Bruno, a popular ski resort located an hour away from Montreal, is desperately short of seasonal workers. Even the healthcare sector is affected. FRANCE 24's Joanne Profeta reports.
Since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have been trying to project a more moderate image to the rest of the world. They claim to have changed, in a bid to obtain financial aid and international recognition. However, this stance does not seem to match reality on the ground, where Sharia law is progressively edging its way into Afghans' everyday lives. Yet some business owners and women are trying to oppose the new rules. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin.
Two years ago, the Chinese city of Wuhan became the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic and its 11 million inhabitants were forced to stay home for 76 days. Today, not a single positive Covid-19 case has been reported in Wuhan for months and health rules there remain among the strictest in the country. Above all, authorities are focusing on their victory over the virus. According to the official version of events, the virus did not even originate in Wuhan but was imported from abroad. Our correspondents report.
Ghana is one of the last countries in the world that still has camps for "witches". Some 300 women falsely accused of witchcraft are spread across five camps nationwide. Shunned by society, they often live in dire conditions. Some people accuse a woman of witchcraft to avoid paying back a debt or when a relationship fails. Two NGOs, however, are trying to get these women rehabilitated in their former villages. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Wassim Cornet.
With its majestic fortress surveying the- land below, Jodhpur embodies all the splendour of Rajasthan, the land of kings in northwestern India. Founded in the 15th century, the mythical city is also nicknamed the Blue City because of the many houses that proudly display the colour. They are painted and repainted in blue every year, according to an ancestral tradition. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
Bullying at school, or "ijime", is a persistent problem in Japan. In 2020, there were 612,000 recorded cases at schools across the country – more than three times the number a decade ago. What begins as a joke among friends can end in insults and violence. Bullying leads to academic failure, isolation and, in some cases, suicide. Last year, 80 percent of Japanese schools reported bullying incidents. Our correspondents Louis Belin, Ryusuke Murata, Aruna Popuri and Justin McCurry report from Tokyo.
In Ghana, second-hand clothes once worn by Westerners are polluting ecosystems and causing significant public health problems. Every day, 160 tonnes of clothes arrive in the country: garments that were donated to charities in Europe or the US and are sent to Africa by recycling companies. An entire economy is based on the reselling of these old clothes, but few are in a fit state to be sold on. In the capital Accra, these unsellable garments form a huge textile mountain on the edge of the Atlantic. Residents regularly burn it, exposing locals to harmful fumes. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.
Pakistan is the world's fourth largest producer of milk. Domestic demand is strong and some 90 percent of the population consumes untreated raw milk. This provides an opportunity for corrupt retailers but also for farmers who are trying to survive inflation and falling profits. Some use illegal methods to increase the volume of the precious liquid – diluting milk with tap water is one of the most widespread techniques. Others even create fake milk from chemicals. Faced with this serious threat to public health, the authorities in Punjab province have stepped into action, as our correspondents report.
Turkey is home to more refugees than any other country in the world, with more than 3 million Syrians and 300,000 Iraqis. But as the years have gone by, many Turks believe these refugees have overstayed their welcome. Now, as the economic crisis in the country gets worse, attacks have begun to escalate, both rhetorically and physically. Our correspondents Ludovic de Foucaud, Shona Bhattacharyya and Hussein Asad report from Bolu, a city whose mayor wants all foreigners out of Turkey.
In 2020, over a million tonnes of waste were illegally dumped in the French countryside. Fly-tipping is an ever-growing problem in France, as dishonest businesses try to reduce costs by throwing construction waste into illegal rubbish dumps, sometimes even in protected sites. In the absence of an environmental police, citizens are taking action, searching the trash for clues in the hope of identifying the culprits. This report takes us to two locations in the Paris suburbs where fly-tipping has become an urgent environmental issue. Our France 2 colleagues report, with France 24's Camille Nedelec.
In Uganda, grasshopper hunters work through the night to catch as many insects as possible. They are sold at dawn at markets, before being grilled. At each major crossroads in the capital, vendors offer them to passers-by, who can't get enough. In baskets, on the ground or even directly in casseroles, these insects aren't repulsive to locals, but a valuable source of delicious protein. "It tastes a bit like meat, or even chicken," explains a passerby.
Nuclear fusion has long been the stuff of science fiction. The theory is straightforward: smash two atomic nuclei together to obtain a single, heavier one. The process has the advantage of not creating any radioactive waste or greenhouse gases. Yet it has long been a pipe dream due to insurmountable technical challenges. However, a recent series of discoveries and technological advances have triggered a wave of optimism among both scientists and investors.
Afghanistan is the world's top producer of opium and the illegal drug trade has helped finance the ruling Taliban. Over the past decades, millions of Afghans have fallen into drug addiction. The Taliban now claim they want to eradicate the use of narcotics. When they were in power from 1996 to 2001, the fundamentalists had banned poppy cultivation. But the intervention of US-led troops in 2001 relaunched opium production. Today, it remains permitted and is even intensifying in a country on the brink of economic collapse. Our team on the ground reports.
Japan recently became the first country in the world to sell genome-edited tomatoes. This technology, which alters a crop's genetic information, does not involve adding outside genetic material – unlike with genetically modified foods. Experts claim that some genome-edited foods are healthier than their conventional counterparts. But environment campaigners are calling for more testing to be carried out amid safety concerns. Our correspondents Louis Belin, Rie Fukushima, Yuko Sano and Justin McCurry report.
In this edition we head to the Italian capital Rome, which has long attracted the cream of French artists. The prestigious setting of the Villa Medici is home to the Academy of France, and each year a select group of contemporary artists receive a fellowship, allowing them to work on their dream project in a uniquely cossetted setting. Our reporters Luke Brown and Xavier Chemisseur were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of what the artists-in-residence have been working on.
As tensions rise in both the Indo-Pacific and the Black Sea, France is preparing for every eventuality in terms of conflict. Before departing on mission in February, the Charles de Gaulle, the EU's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is honing its response capabilities. Polaris 21 is a high-intensity simulated combat scenario in the Mediterranean organised by France to ensure operational readiness.
It's been one year since the world watched in shock as ordinary citizens stormed the US Capitol in Washington. What made that dramatic event possible? What motivated the rioters to storm the heart of their own democracy? One year on, our reporters travelled to the small town of Johnstown in Pennsylvania, where working-class voters helped elect Donald Trump as president in 2016.