Perspective

Sudan is experiencing a starvation crisis of historic proportions, according to NGOs, which call the silence from the international community "deafening". It is estimated that more than half of the population of Sudan is affected, or nearly 26 million people. The hunger crisis comes amid the war in the country that has raged for almost a year and a half. The fighting has now spread to Sudan's central and southeastern food production areas. In Perspective, we spoke to Will Carter from the Norwegian Refugee Council, who joined us from Port Sudan.

A women’s rights group here in France has spoken to FRANCE 24 about the need for change once the court case that has shocked France and world is over. In the mass rape case, Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and raped by her husband, who also invited more than 50 other men via the internet to do the same while he filmed what went on. Elsa Labouret from Osez le féminisme! (Dare to be a feminist!) said that while the ongoing trial is shocking and disgusting, she and her team deal with many of the same issues on a weekly basis. “It’s showing a lot of things that we’ve known for a long time about violence against women”, Labouret said, pointing out that “over half of sexual violence happens in relationships”.

A survivor of Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October the 7th last year has spoken to FRANCE 24 about what happened to him and his family on that day, and his hopes for a way out of the current conflict. Amir Tibon told of how Hamas fired bullets into his home as he, his wife and two young girls sheltered in a room in the back. 15 people were killed in his Kibbutz, and 7 were kidnapped. They are still in the hands of Hamas. Tibon has now written a book called “The Gates of Gaza” to document what happened, which also looks to the future of the region. The book is also available in French “Les Portes de Gaza”. He spoke to us in Perspective.

One of France's leading Paralympians has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his motto in life, as he reflects on the success of this summer's Paralympic Games here in Paris. Stéphane Houdet told us that "everyone has two lives, and the second one starts when you understand that you have only one". He says sport is about communication and what we can do together worldwide. Houdet is a three-time Paralympic tennis doubles champion – in 2008 in Beijing, 2016 in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo, as well as a silver medallist in singles and a bronze medallist in doubles at the 2012 London Games. He was also world champion in 2012. At this summer's Paralympics, he was squeezed out just before the medal stage, but has already said he will be competing in Los Angeles in 2028. He spoke to us in Perspective.

An award-winning writer and poet has spoken to FRANCE 24 about her motto "Do it Afraid", as she prepares to launch her latest book of poems. British Nigerian poet Theresa Lola first became known six years ago when she was awarded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, and the following year was the Young People's Laureate for London. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing from University of Oxford, earning a distinction. Her second poetry book "Ceremony for the Nameless" is due out in a month or so. She said she would always encourage others who wish to write to follow in her line of work, saying the initial fear is worth taking to avoid a potential lifetime of regret. 

An Iranian woman who fled to France after taking in protests in Iran two years ago following the death of Mahsa Amini has spoken to FRANCE 24, saying her actions against the Iranian regime were worth it. Marjane Jangjoo escaped after 30 men came to her workplace to arrest her and her colleagues for joining the demonstrations. She spent several months in hiding before making her way across snowy mountains to cross the border. She says the Iranian regime is like a robe which little by little is shredding a thread, and that one day real change will come so that she can return home. She spoke to us in Perspective.

Two loggers, part of a team of people who had a license to cut down trees in the Peruvian Amazon, have been killed by bow and arrow after they allegedly encroached too far into land inhabited by the largest uncontacted tribe on the planet, the Mashco Piro. The tribe have lived on the land for years – surviving a traumatic history of massacres and enslavement. The Mashco Piro number little over 750 people, but their habitat and lives are increasingly under threat from the encroaching loggers around them. In Perspective, we spoke to Teresa Mayo, Researcher and Advocacy Officer at the human rights organisation Survival International.

As the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11 exactly 23 years ago, an international security expert has told FRANCE 24 how they were a pivotal turning point for the United States. He says 9/11 changed George W. Bush's perspective on what his administration needed to do in the world. The politicians witnessed the events and decided on a course of action that led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is only now, more than 20 years later, that the war on terror appears to be coming to an end. Elie Baranets, a researcher in International Security at the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM), a research institute of the French Ministry of Armed Forces, spoke to us in Perspective.

This year would have been the 100th birthday of one of the most beloved  African-American writers of all time – James Baldwin. The accomplished author grew up in Harlem, New York but spent much of his later life living in France. Baldwin was a novelist, playwright and poet as well as a legendary activist for civil rights and the LGBTQ+ community. 

An award-winning photojournalist joins FRANCE 24's Stuart Norval to share how he uses his art form as a way to advocate for the people he is bringing to life in his photos. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham’s images offer us an intimate view of the ongoing brutal conflict in DR Congo, known as the "forgotten war," as the government continues to battle the Tutsi-led M23 rebel fighters in their latest insurgency.