Perspective

Three months after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini sparked a mass protest movement, renowned exiled French-Iranian photographer Reza Deghati says he believes the end of Iran's Islamic Republic is near. He spoke to FRANCE 24 from Baku, Azerbaijan, where he's travelled in order to quickly enter neighbouring Iran in the event of the regime's collapse. Reza hailed the generation of young people who have led the protests, saying they are clever, connected and above all, fearless.

When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, photographer Roya Heydari was taken completely by surprise. She'd already spent six years of her life exiled in Iran during the Taliban's first rule. When they returned, she was forced to leave for a second time, a decision that devastated her. As a photographer, Heydari has dedicated herself to capturing the beauty of Afghanistan's people, culture and places – wanting to show the world a brighter image of her country.

In many ways, last month's COP27 climate summit was yet another disappointment. Critics describe it as the moment the dream of limiting global warming to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels officially died. But the summit did see a breakthrough agreement on "loss and damage", through a funding scheme for the nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rwandan youth activist Ineza Umuhoza Grace conducts research on loss and damage in developing nations. She joined us for Perspective.

Early on in the war on Ukraine, Russia passed laws making it illegal to criticise the invasion, the military or even to describe the war as such. Along with thousands of arrests for anti-war protests, several high-profile opposition activists face lengthy prison sentences for speaking out against the war. Russian artist Alexandra Skotchilenko is among them. Arrested in April, she's accused of spreading "false information" about the Russian army. Her associate Maria joined us for Perspective to tell us more.

What would you do if you inherited millions of dollars? Would you reimburse your debts? Go on a travelling spree? Or lobby your government to take it away from you in the name of tax justice? Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn was left with millions of euros from her family business. But as co-founder of the organisation Tax Me Now, she wants the government to take around 90 percent of her wealth through a more equitable taxation system. She joined us for Perspective.

Two weeks after the COP27 wrapped up in Egypt, negotiators are meeting in Montreal, Canada for a UN summit focused on biodiversity. Countries will be setting their targets to protect the world's ecosystems, with the goal of coming up with a Paris-style agreement. It comes as the planet is facing a sixth mass extinction event – one that, as Australian ecologist Mark Burgman explains, humans are responsible for – both because of how and what we consume and how quickly we do so. He joined us for Perspective.

From its numerous controversies to its diplomatic match-ups, the World Cup in Qatar has been a gold mine for anyone interested in the intersection between sports and diplomacy. As the tournament heads into the quarter-finals, we speak to Simon Rofe from the Institute of Sports Humanities about the fierce criticism of the host country, the historic concept of the Olympic Truce and the key diplomatic moments of the tournament so far.

Climate change is having an immense impact on African countries and people need more information and awareness. That's the view of a leading climate activist from Kenya, who has her own climate podcast and spoke recently at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Abigael Kima has seen the effects of climate change on her home community in the west of Kenya and has now turned her attention to trying to change attitudes. Africa is only responsible for less than 4 percent of global emissions but is disproportionately affected by climate disasters. Kima joined us for Perspective.

An award-winning Ukrainian cartoonist has told FRANCE 24 that he draws his cartoons to fight against the propaganda of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The work of Vladimir Kazanevsky is currently on display at the cultural centre of the Ukrainian embassy in Paris. He was forced to leave Ukraine when the war broke out, so he uses his talent to do what he can for the war effort. Kazanevsky is also in Paris to take part in a roundtable discussion on freedom of the press in times of war, alongside FRANCE 24 reporter Elena Volochine. He joined us for Perspective.

As the international advocacy officer at Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Drik works to rally global support for Ukraine and fight against Russian disinformation. On a recent trip to Kenya and Ethiopia, she found that many wrongly consider the invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war between Russia and the West. Drik also fights for accountability, notably calling for a special tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression.  She says that the Center for Civil Liberties has documented over 27,000 Russian war crimes since the invasion began nine months ago. In October, the group was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Drik joined us for Perspective.