Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. Every day at 8:45am Paris time.
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Over the past five decades, Nepal has established itself as a model for wildlife conservation. Nearly 20 percent of the country’s territory has been designated as protected areas. An effective anti-poaching policy has helped save iconic species such as the one-horned rhinoceros and the gharial crocodile, which were once on the brink of extinction. But this success also comes with tragic…
Syria's economic capital Aleppo was left largely in ruins by the fighting that raged there between regime and rebel forces from 2012 to 2016. A 2023 earthquake also caused severe damage to the old city. But reconstruction is now well underway, in particular of Aleppo's treasured historic monuments.
Vietnam, a country of more than 100 million people, is facing a sharp decline in its birthrate. Once known for large families, the nation's fertility rate has fallen to just 1.9 children per woman. This figure worries the government, which for decades was obsessed with controlling population growth. For more than 40 years, a two-child policy was the norm in Vietnam – a restriction that was only…
Pakistan, a country known for its conservative values, rarely makes waves in the music and entertainment industry. Yet in major cities like Karachi and Lahore, a quiet but thriving DJ scene is beginning to make itself heard, with emerging talents and artists transforming the music industry. At the heart of this evolution, more and more women are asserting themselves in a field largely dominated by…
Born barely five years ago in Yopougon – the poorest, but also the liveliest area of Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan – Biama has got the whole of Ivorian youth dancing. Faster than coupé-décalé, this newer musical and choreographic genre borrows many of its codes. But unlike its older sibling, which is associated with trendy nightclubs, biama is danced in the streets and on social media,…
The indigenous Hmong people have lived in a mountainous region of northern Vietnam for centuries. But today, these farming communities are on the front line of the climate crisis. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and landslides are now part of their daily life. The terraced rice paddies tended by generations of villagers are struggling to cope, while important medicinal plants are…
In 1894, when the Belgian city of Antwerp was hosting a World's Fair, 144 Congolese people were forcibly brought to the city to be exhibited in the Congo Pavilion. In this "human zoo", seven Congolese men ultimately died of disease. Today, this shocking episode still haunts Belgium as one of its colonial history's darkest chapters.
In the 1930s, Japan found itself battling against the spread of leprosy. Faced with the infectious disease, which attacks the nerves and deforms the body, the authorities confined leprosy patients to sanatoriums – some of them on the island of Nagashima. Even after the first treatments appeared in the late 1940s, it would take until 1996 for the government to end the forced confinement of patients…
For decades, humanoid robots belonged to the realm of science fiction. But today, they're one of Silicon Valley's hottest markets. According to consulting firm McKinsey, automation could transform up to 30 percent of all hours worked across the US economy by 2030. Dozens of companies are already developing robots that can interact with people and even help with everyday tasks. FRANCE 24's Pierrick…
Pasta may be one of the world's most beloved staples, but technology is being used to improve the iconic Italian dish. In the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy's "Food Valley", researchers are creating the pasta of the future by focusing on its main ingredient, wheat. FRANCE 24's Natalia Mendoza, Laura Roudaut, Tommaso Marro and Charlotte Davan Wetton report.
