Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. Every day at 8:45am Paris time.
Latest episodes
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5 min
Israeli election: Fragile co-existence between residents in Jewish-Arab town of Lod
As Israelis head to the polls this Tuesday, among those voting are 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, some of whom live in mixed Jewish-Arab towns. One of them, Lod, has lon…
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6 min
Israeli election seen as a referendum: For or against Netanyahu?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has led his country almost continuously for nearly 17 years. But will he manage to retain power following Tuesday's election? Netanyahu's…
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6 min
Singapore's longevity industry: The quest for eternal youth
In Singapore, the quest for eternal youth is no longer just a billionaire's fantasy. It's becoming big business. High-tech clinics, longevity labs and specialist companies all prom…
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6 min
Brazil's sprawling favelas require long-term urban planning solutions
As Brazilians head to the polls on Sunday for the second round of presidential elections, our correspondents take us to the heart of the country's favelas, where residents live in…
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5 min
Concerns mount over artificial intelligence as Silicon Valley sees AI boom
Tuesday, October 20 saw protests in more than 50 US cities against the rise of artificial intelligence. Demonstrators are calling for a moratorium on AI development, and the sentim…
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5 min
Six years on, France remembers slain teacher Samuel Paty
French schoolteacher Samuel Paty was killed on October 16, 2020 after false rumours circulated about racism following one of his lessons in which cartoons from the satirical public…
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6 min
Inflation squeezes households as Lebanon's economic crisis persists
Lebanon's economic crisis has dragged on since 2019. A re-igniting of Israel's war with Hezbollah derailed the weak recovery seen last year. The World Bank now forecasts that the L…
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4 min
How books are being scanned and destroyed to train artificial intelligence
To train artificial intelligence models, millions of physical books are being digitised and destroyed. Our colleagues at France 2 investigate this controversial practice and the ri…
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6 min
War in Ukraine: Kyiv residents decry shortage of bomb shelters
Kyiv's mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, has advised those residents who can "temporarily relocate" for the winter to do so. That advice has been met with derision at best from many residen…
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5 min
Asia's fertility hub: Thailand emerges as top destination for IVF treatment
Thailand has become one of Asia's leading fertility hubs. Every year, thousands of foreign patients travel to Bangkok's state-of-the-art private clinics for IVF, egg donation and o…
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5 min
Residents of Ukraine's Kramatorsk forced to flee as drone strikes intensify
The city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, is increasingly coming under Russian attack. For those who have stayed behind, the threat from drones and shelling has become a daily re…
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5 min
Strait of Hormuz crisis fuels Cairo's plastic recycling business
In the heart of the Egyptian capital Cairo, within the labyrinthine streets of the Manshiyet Nasser district, nearly 120,000 residents process a third of the megacity's waste every…
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6 min
China's evolving funeral practices: From traditional burials to cremation
This year, China released new rules for funeral practices. The government is putting an emphasis on affordable and environmentally friendly funeral services. It's part of a decades…
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5 min
Mexico makes push for fracking despite environmental concerns
Following months of consultations with energy experts, Mexico is preparing to tap its shale oil and gas reserves using one of the world's most controversial extraction techniques:…
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7 min
What's real and what's fake? How AI is impacting Brazil's election race
With just two days to go before the first round of Brazil's presidential election, artificial intelligence is taking centre stage, whether it's a deepfake avatar of former presiden…
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7 min
A blessing or a curse? New Caledonia's dwindling nickel industry
This Thursday October 1, the French government is holding a summit aimed at attracting investors and revitalising wealth creation in France's overseas territories. Among the assets…
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5 min
Ethiopia's last Jews dream of visa for Israel
Ethiopia has one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, rumoured to be the descendants of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in 950 BC. From the 1970s to 1990s, this commu…
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6 min
Fatalities on Indian roads: One death reported every three minutes
India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning over 6 million kilometres. But these roads are silent killers, with one death reported every three minutes. Every d…
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4 min
Taiwan: Home of semiconductor giants at the centre of AI race
The topic of artificial intelligence looms large as Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his highly anticipated state visit to Washington. The fate of Taiwan – coveted by its larger…
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5 min
China cracks down on scam centres in neighbouring Myanmar
In Southeast Asia, hundreds of thousands of people working in fraud centres are scamming people across the world. US authorities suggest the fraudsters are responsible for scams wo…