As France and India kick off the 2026 “Year of Innovation”, Access Asia is on the ground in New Delhi, just weeks after landmark free trade agreements were signed with the EU and the United States. 

As plenty of drama plays out on the slopes of the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Malaysian alpine skier Aruwin Salehhuddin is giving it her all as the only athlete representing her country. From the Olympic Village, she shares her excitement and pride with Yuka Royer, and speaks about her dream of spreading winter sports in Southeast Asia. 

From a K-pop drum duet to a feud with China to an extra-early election, Japan's PM Sanae Takaichi has had quite a roller-coaster ride in her first three months in office. Riding on a wave of popularity, the hardline conservative dissolved parliament and called an election nearly three years early in a bid to regain a single-party majority and consolidate her hold on power. We take a closer look at Japan's "iron lady" and her policies since becoming the country's first female leader. 

In a landmark ruling, a Japanese court has ordered North Korea to pay compensations to victims of a mass repatriation programme that ran between 1959 and 1984. More than 93,000 ethnic Koreans and their Japanese spouses were lured by the promise of a "paradise on Earth" with free education, healthcare and guaranteed jobs, only to suffer human rights abuses, poverty and famine. Yuka Royer speaks with Human Rights Watch's Kanae Doi about the significance of the court decision.

In this edition of Access Asia, we meet the founder of New Delhi-based Kartik Research, which has just shown at Paris Fashion Week. Its 25-year-old founder, Kartik Kumra, who highlights "forgotten Indian crafts" in his work, is positioning the brand as an Indian fashion label aiming to break through on the global stage. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, actor Paul Mescal and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton have all been spotted wearing the brand's creations. 

In this week's edition of Access Asia, we explore how India and the EU are edging closer, as reports swirl that the two sides are in the final stages of securing a free trade deal. This shift in the relationship comes as both powers grapple with an unpredictable Donald Trump. Plus, we find out how K-pop is thriving abroad but facing a slump at home, as "KPop Demon Hunters" goes home with two Golden Globes.

China has strongly condemned the US attack on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Beijing had built a strategic partnership with the South American country, and been trying to expand its diplomatic and economic clout in the region. Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, tells FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer that China has a lot to lose but also to gain from the ongoing situation. 

Police in Australia are investigating a trip made by the suspects of the Bondi Beach anti-Semitic terrorist attack to the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, just weeks before they shot and killed 15 people and wounded dozens more. The region has long grappled with Islamist militancy, but President Marcos's government has fired back at reports suggesting the country was a training hotspot for terrorists.

It's a story of art, rivalry and bloodlines. Japan's megahit and Oscar hopeful "Kokuho" is coming to the French box office at Christmas. It follows the life of a man born the son of a yakuza boss who goes on to become a "living national treasure" in the hereditary world of kabuki, a centuries-old stage art performed only by men. Ahead of its French release, FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer sits down with director Sang-il Lee. 

The Indian government has scrapped an order which gave manufacturers 90 days to pre-install a state-backed security app on all new smartphones. The move came following a huge public outcry and resistance from tech firms. Yuka Royer speaks with Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy analyst in New Delhi, about what the app – which is still available albeit no longer mandatory – is intended for and why there was so much concern about what it could potentially do.