Focus

By FRANCE 24 English

Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. Every day at 8:45am Paris time.

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How many episodes does Focus have?

The podcast currently has 1,497 episodes available.

Focus episodes:

December 18, 2020 South Korea finds creative ways to fight Covid-19
For the third straight day, South Korea has reported more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases. Although the country is facing a third wave of the coronavirus, cases and deaths remain relatively low compared to other parts of the world. In addition to face masks and social distancing, South Korea has used patrols, robots and makeshift ICUs to stop the spread of the virus. But critics say the strategy has curtailed personal freedoms. Our correspondents report.
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6min
December 17, 2020 Tunisia still faces major economic challenges, a decade after the revolution
It's been exactly ten years since Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest at police harassment, sparking the Tunisian revolution and what became the Arab Spring. But even today, Tunisia's economy remains extremely fragile, with hundreds of thousands of graduates without work and the Covid-19 pandemic making matters worse. Our correspondents travelled to several regions of the country and found that the demands of the revolution – social justice, employment and dignity – remain unfulfilled.
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6min
December 16, 2020 In Germany, ultra-Orthodox Jews start a new life far from home
The Netflix series "Unorthodox" tells the story of a young woman living in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in New York, who escapes to make a fresh start in Berlin. But in a case of life imitating art, many ultra-orthodox Jews have left their communities in the US or Israel in recent years to start a new life in Germany. They often come alone, isolated and destitute. But as our correspondents Anne Mailliet and Nick Spicer report, one rabbi in Dresden – who left his own Hasidic community in 2014 – is now giving them a helping hand.
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5min
December 15, 2020 Exporting banned pesticides: EU's double-dealing tactics?
Since the EU banned the use of various dangerous pesticides in its member states, agrochemical giants have continued to produce them in Europe and export them perfectly legally. In fact, business is booming. In 2018, more than 80,000 tonnes of these pesticides left the EU, with the US, Brazil, Ukraine and Morocco the top destination countries. The irony is that these countries then export food products back to Europe. In September, an investigation by Greenpeace and the Swiss NGO Public Eye revealed the scale of the trade. Our Brussels correspondents report.
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5min
December 14, 2020 DR Congo: Authorities powerless to stop deadly violence in North Kivu
For the past six years, the city of Beni in DR Congo's North Kivu region has been the scene of almost daily attacks which have killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. A year ago, the Congolese army launched a major offensive to drive out the main perpetrators of the massacres: the ADF, an armed militia originally from Uganda. But far from being defeated, the rebels have intensified their attacks, with deaths reaching a five-year high. Civilians find themselves caught in the middle, with the army and UN peacekeepers unable to protect them. Our correspondents report.
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6min
December 11, 2020 The human cost of Armenia's defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh
Last month, a Russian-brokered ceasefire brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict left thousands dead and forced tens of thousands more to flee their homes. In the aftermath of the war, some in Armenia are still searching for family members who are yet to be accounted for. FRANCE 24's Roméo Langlois and Mohamed Farhat report.
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6min
December 10, 2020 The challenges of integration for unaccompanied migrants in Italy
In recent years, tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrants have arrived in Italy, without their parents or family. These children and teenagers represent a particularly vulnerable category of immigrants. Their living arrangements and education are organised around a system that helps develop a personalised approach, including a legal guardian. Part of the local population also helps these youngsters integrate into Italian society. Our correspondents report from Palermo, on the southern Italian island of Sicily.
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6min
December 09, 2020 Teaching secularism in France: Mission impossible?
The French cabinet has approved a new bill on "strengthening republican values". Although already in the pipeline, it was given fresh impetus after the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to his pupils during a lesson on free speech. The gruesome murder shows how difficult it can be to teach children about the issues of secularism and free speech, as well as the pressure parents put on teachers, and the lack of training and support from schools. Salomé Saqué, Jonathan Walsh, Karim Yahiaoui and James Vasina report.
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6min
December 08, 2020 Covid-19 pandemic takes heavy toll on senior citizens' mental health
Around the world, elderly people are paying a heavy price during the Covid-19 pandemic: they are both the most vulnerable to the disease and the worst affected by lockdowns. In France, some senior citizens literally had no contact with anyone for weeks on end during the first lockdown, when visits to nursing homes were banned. Our team went to meet French pensioners left isolated by the pandemic but also the volunteers helping them feel less lonely. James André, Eléonore Vanel, Marie Schuster, Julie Dungelhoeff and Noémie Roche report.
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5min
December 07, 2020 In Cameroon, child gold miners sacrifice education for survival
According to the International Labour Organization, at least one million children aged five to 17 work in gold mines around the world. In eastern Cameroon, thousands of children spend their days at makeshift mines. They risk their health for small amounts of gold they then sell for a pittance at the local black market. Most of these children have never been to school, sacrificing their education for the survival of their families. It's a bleak reality that a handful of NGO workers are trying to change. Our correspondents report.
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6min

FAQs about Focus:

How many episodes does Focus have?

The podcast currently has 1,497 episodes available.