Access Asia

On this week's Access Asia, we focus on the elections underway in Indian-administered Kashmir. It’s the first vote to take place in the region in a decade. New Delhi has allowed diplomats to observe the polls, however foreign journalists were kept out. We speak to Anuradha Bhasin, Managing Editor of the Kashmir Times, to find out more about the vote and the climate the elections are taking place in.

Global coffee prices are soaring to record levels but in Vietnam, one of the largest coffee producers, many farmers are switching to other – and more heat-resilient – crops. Yuka Royer speaks with Fairtrade International's Monika Firl. Also, regional elections are underway in Indian-administered Kashmir for the first time since the territory lost its semi-autonomous status in 2019. And we'll visit Indonesia's "Forgotten Island", a hidden gem in the Indian Ocean that's still untouched by mass tourism unlike neighbouring Bali. 

In this week's show: Bangladesh's International Crime Tribunal says it's begun the process to request the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India. While Dhaka and New Delhi enjoyed warm relations under Hasina's watch, we ask if relations between the two neighbours have now started to cool since her ouster in August.

It's a story that has gripped the Philippines for months. Alice Guo, the fugitive former mayor of the city of Bamban, has been deported back home after being caught in Indonesia. She faces accusations ranging from shady business dealings involving illegal gambling, to human trafficking as well as questions over her identity and links to China. Yuka Royer and Aurore-Cloé Dupuis discuss the case.    

It's been three years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. Their policies have rolled back women’s rights. Newly enforced laws require women to veil their faces in public. They are also now prohibited from singing or raising their voices. Afghan artist and activist Fatimah Hossaini reacts to the devastating new laws. 

On the show this week, we speak to Kiran Rao, director of "Laapataa Ladies," a film set in rural India and packed with subtle feminist messages. She tells us what inspired her to make the movie and how comedy was used as a tool to talk about female experiences. She argues the men portrayed in the film aren't meek, but empathetic. We also look at a new controversial canal project in Cambodia and head to Thailand, where the "Boys' Love" TV drama is making a splash. 

After multiple pre-wedding festivities, the son of India’s richest man ties the knot. Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant, married Radhika Merchant in India's financial capital Mumbai. The event draws international stars and raises some eyebrows. On “Access Asia” we ask Time Magazine's journalist Astha Rajvanshi why Mukesh Ambani is going all out to create such a fuss.

Authorities in India have arrested six people following a deadly stampede in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. 121 women and children were killed at a religious event where nearly 250,000 had gathered to listen to a guru. To understand what caused this human tragedy, we talk to Sanjay Srivastava, professor of Anthropology at SOAS University of London.   

China has become the first country to land a probe on the far side of the Moon and bring samples back to Earth. What does this new milestone mean for science, and how are geopolitics affecting human space exploration? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks to Martin Barstow, professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester.

Will India's democratic backsliding continue? Following recent elections which weakened Prime Minister Narendra Modi, FRANCE 24 discusses the latest foreign journalist forced to leave, as well as the prosecution of author Arundhati Roy, with author and professor Alpa Shah.