Claim OwnershipFocus
Subscribed: 279Played: 10,950
Subscribe
© France Médias Monde
Description
Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. Every day at 8:45am Paris time.
775 Episodes
Reverse
Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, the US has seen a significant increase in book censorship. According to PEN America, more than 6,800 book bans have been recorded, with works by Stephen King now topping the list. He holds the unwanted title of the most banned author in the United States. In Texas, public school libraries have become the front line of an unprecedented political battle over free speech. FRANCE 24's Pierrick Leurent and Valérie Defert report.
Spread across eight nation-states, the Arctic Circle is home to a number of Indigenous peoples. US President Donald Trump's ambitions to take control of Greenland have caused concern but also kindled solidarity amongst these peoples, who call the coldest parts of the world home. FRANCE 24's Isabelle Romero and Luke Brown report from Norway.
France is Europe's second-largest consumer of benzodiazepines – a class of sedatives that includes drugs like Valium and Xanax. Every year, nearly 10 million patients are prescribed these pills to treat anxiety and insomnia. While they are intended only for short-term use, treatments are often extended indefinitely, without proper supervision. Dependency sets in, affecting everyone from teenagers to elderly patients. FRANCE 24's Olivia Bizot reports.
Wine is the lifeblood of France's southwestern Bordeaux region, employing 60,000 people both directly and indirectly. But faced with falling consumption, overproduction and the French state's "grubbing up" scheme, the wine industry is being forced to reinvent itself in order to survive. Winemakers are seeking new outlets, whether that means distilling surplus stock or developing sparkling or alcohol-free wines. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan and Fadile Bhayat report.
This Tuesday, February 24 marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, forcing millions to flee their homes. Today there are an estimated four million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ukraine. As the front line moves, endangering areas that were previously considered relatively safe, the shortage of suitable long-term accommodation options for these IDPs remains chronic. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg, Illia Dyadik and Catalina Gomez report.
In undisclosed locations, volunteers meet regularly in the Belgian capital to assemble drones destined for Ukraine. Teachers, European civil servants, members of the Ukrainian diaspora and former military personnel are participating in this initiative coordinated by the NGO Wings for Europe. Funded by private donations, these devices are then sent to the front lines. FRANCE 24's Alix Le Bourdon and Dave Keating report from Brussels.
Hundreds of Kenyans have been recruited and sent to the front line in Ukraine as expendable troops for the Russian army. Some were unaware they were being deployed to war, believing instead that they had been offered legitimate employment abroad. After reports emerged of Kenyan citizens killed on the front line, Nairobi condemned the fake recruitment agencies accused of luring Africans with false promises. Meanwhile, the families of those who accepted the offers remain at home, struggling to cope and with no way of bringing their loved ones back. Report by Bastien Renouil, adapted by Tom Canetti.
Long considered a transit route, Pakistan is now emerging as a major hub for both drug production and consumption. This shift follows the upheaval triggered by the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Bali's picture-postcard image is cracking. On Indonesia's premium tourist resort, the race to build luxury villas and hotels has triggered an unprecedented property frenzy. Farmland is carved up into plots, coastline is privatised and bogus permits issued.
Glaciers are vital to Earth's water supplies, yet they are being pushed to the brink of collapse. Half of the world's glaciers could disappear by the end of the century. A French mountain climber is putting her experience to use by helping scientists collect ice samples from major glaciers around the world. Living and dormant species found within them could provide vital clues in the fight against global warming. FRANCE 24's Juliette Alfano, Valérie Dekimpe and Alexandra Renard report.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are using a new facial recognition smartphone app called Mobile Fortify to scan the faces of both US citizens and immigrants. They point a phone camera at their target and it pulls up the person's immigration status. Previously reserved for use at US borders or criminal investigations, the technology is causing concern among civil rights advocates, who fear widespread digital surveillance on American streets.
Bangladesh has held its first elections since a student revolution deposed autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina in 2024. Hasina's main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is now projected to win. Yet the biggest development is the resurgence of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, which was banned under Hasina. Minorities targeted in recent mob violence and some women now fear for their rights. FRANCE 24's Navodita Kumari, Alban Alvarez and Muktadir Rashid report.
Canada is undergoing a historic demographic shift: according to Statistics Canada, the country is experiencing its sharpest population decline since World War II. Behind this phenomenon is an unprecedented tightening of migration policy, after years of openness under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. As a result, the number of foreign students and temporary workers has plummeted in order to "reduce pressure on housing, public services and infrastructure", according to authorities.
In the year since Donald Trump returned to the White House, more than 350,000 migrants have been deported from the United States. This report takes us to meet several of them in Guatemala. In this central American country, thousands have started to rebuild their lives after their forced removal. FRANCE 24's Andrés Suárez Jaramillo reports, with Lauren Bain.
In Syria, last week’s agreement between Kurdish forces and Damascus includes a humanitarian component, ultimately aimed at allowing refugees to return home. These families fled the fighting that followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad. There are now more than 100,000 internally displaced people in the Qamishli region, in Syria’s far northeast. Report by Marie Charlotte Roupie, Abdulrahman Daoud and Josh Vardey.
Long confined to tourist clichés, Swiss yodelling is moving on from being a folkloric curiosity. This ancient Alpine vocal technique, which alternates between "chest voice" and "head voice", was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December 2025. Today, yodelling is sung in a multitude of contexts and crosses the boundaries of folk music to blend with rock, pop and even rap. FRANCE 24's Jade Lévin reports, with Josh Vardey.
In Pakistan, the economic crisis and climate-related natural disasters are placing sustained pressure on the poorest families. In a nation where around 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, marriage has become financially out of reach for millions of households. Each year, tens of thousands of couples are forced to delay or abandon plans to marry. In response, mass weddings are multiplying across the country, cutting across religious communities. Our correspondents report.
Canada and the United States share the world's longest border. But tensions are rising over trade and politics. US President Donald Trump has threatened Canada with unprecedented tariffs and has expressed a desire to annex the country and turn it into the 51st US state. In the Canadian border town of Cornwall, those tensions can be felt in everyday life. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Guillaume Gougeon.
The meteoric rise of Shein, one of the world's biggest fast-fashion retailers, has not been without controversy. For years, human rights groups have warned of labour law violations in its supplier factories. Our China correspondents Jan Camenzind Broomby and Eudeline Boishult investigate.
Rare earth elements are crucial for defence, auto and electronic industries and have become a geopolitical battleground. China controls 95 percent of the world's supply, thanks to cheap labour, vast deposits and lax environmental regulations. But a young French-American scientist has developed a groundbreaking process for recovering rare earths from neon light bulbs, and potentially other electronic appliances, paving the way for the recycling of these essential metals.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States