After the US and China, India has the third-highest percentage of obese citizens in the world, with over 135 million Indians classed as overweight or obese. In light of this alarming trend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a nationwide anti-obesity campaign. Rising obesity rates are meanwhile adding to diabetes cases, with India counting 212 million diagnosed adults in 2022. Some Indians dealing with obesity are turning to bariatric surgeries that help reduce food consumption by removing a part of the stomach, while others prefer traditional methods such as acupuncture. FRANCE 24's Khansa Juned and Lisa Gamonet report.

With US President Donald Trump's tariffs on goods coming from Canada due to come into effect on Tuesday, our reporters take a closer look at the border between the two neighbours. Under pressure from the US, Canada recently pledged C$1.3 billion on increasing security along the shared frontier. Even though US government figures show that less than 1 percent of all illegal migrants and fentanyl intercepted in the United States come from Canada, the changes are nonetheless being made. FRANCE 24's Francois Rihouay, Joanne Profeta and Fraser Jackson report.

China is estimated to have some 500 million basketball fans, more than 1 million basketball courts and 43 million NBA followers on the social media platform Weibo. But increasingly, grassroots basketball is gaining popularity in rural China. Amateur leagues from small towns have become viral sensations and have been dubbed the "VBA", the Village Basketball Association. Local authorities are eager to profit from the phenomenon and use it to promote rural revitalisation. FRANCE 24's Yena Lee, Yorben den Hartog and Jasmine Ling report from Fujian province.

On December 8, the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime was widely celebrated across Syria, but also in neighbouring countries that have been home to millions of Syrian refugees for more than a decade. Although Assad's departure has revived hopes of a return from Iraqi Kurdistan, where almost 300,000 Syrian Kurds still live mostly in camps, the question of the Kurds' place in the new Syria is not yet clear. They have high expectations of the negotiations with Damascus, at a time when a union is taking shape between Kurdish political groups, which had until now been deeply divided. FRANCE 24's Josh Vardey, Marie-Charlotte Roupie and Stella Martany report.

In the slums of Wakaliga, on the outskirts of Uganda's capital Kampala, an independent film studio has been defying norms for 20 years. With shoestring budgets, Wakaliwood produces action and martial arts films that are viewed by millions of Ugandans on YouTube every year. This cult film studio, blending ultra-violence, comedy and tributes to Bruce Lee classics, made waves in 2010 with "Who Killed Captain Alex?", a viral hit amassing 10 million views. Today, after years of financial struggles, the long-awaited sequel to the film is about to debut, promising to reignite passion for this unique cinema. FRANCE 24's Clément Di Roma reports.

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest leather-exporting country. A quarter of the country's leather workers are children, according to a study by the University of Sussex. These youngsters are paid just €35 a month, come into contact with chemicals and work leather with sharp tools, unprotected, for 10 hours a day. Many of them have lost one or both parents and are forced to accept these working conditions to survive or help their families. This despite it being illegal in Bangladesh for children under 14 to work, and for those under 18 to do hazardous jobs. Some 90 percent of tannery workers in Bangladesh die before turning 50, according to a WHO report. FRANCE 24's Lisa Gamonet, Navodita Kumari, Nabeel Ahmed and Shehab Sumon report. 

As Germans head to the polls on Sunday to vote in pivotal legislative elections, immigration will be a key issue on their minds. It's nearly 10 years since Angela Merkel's famous phrase "Wir schaffen das" (We can manage this), when images of German citizens welcoming asylum seekers made headlines the world over. Since then, the tide has turned and the far-right AfD party has become Germany's second political force. Our correspondents report.

More than two years have gone by since mass "Woman, Life, Freedom" demonstrations erupted in Iran following the death of Kurdish student Mahsa Amini. She was killed by the Iranian morality police for a few strands of hair escaping from her veil. Recently, the death of a 19-year-old University of Tehran student sparked protests and sit-ins at the campus. Our reporter Mortaza Behboudi has been meeting Iranians who are carrying out everyday acts of resistance against the regime. From playing and teaching music, to advocating for LGBT rights, they are boldly taking a stand, whether it's on the streets or in private. For security reasons, the names of those featured in this report have been changed and their faces blurred.

Young people in New York City are climbing on top of trains for thrills. The dangerous phenomenon, known as subway surfing, has been around for decades but is seeing a revival that sometimes ends in tragedy. There were six subway surfing deaths in New York in 2024. These tragedies are part of a global trend of deaths from social-media related challenges, as addictive app algorithms enthrall children and encourage users to make increasingly extreme content in a bid to rack up "likes". Our correspondents Jessica Le Masurier and Fanny Chauvin met the mother of a teenage boy who lost his life while subway surfing. She is one of a growing number of parents suing the social media firms Meta and TikTok for harming children. 

Since 2011, some 1.5 million Syrians have found refuge in Egypt, where they have succeeded in creating new lives for themselves. But two months after the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, many are ready to return to their largely destroyed country. FRANCE 24's Nuria Tesón and Edouard Dropsy report.