Reporters

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the French hospital system faced an unprecedented health crisis and medical workers were overwhelmed, many foreign medics volunteered to support their French colleagues. Our reporters went to meet Syrian doctors living in France, who are committed to helping their host country – sometimes at the risk of their own lives – and whose skills in warzone medicine proved a valuable asset.

Every day in the Iranian capital Tehran, thousands of supporters of the most conservative branch of the Iranian regime visit mausoleums honouring Shiite martyrs or other places linked to the Islamic Revolution. But on the streets, a younger generation is scorning the country's strict rules. Young women and men alike are yearning for change and a better relationship with the West. Our reporters went to meet this optimistic Iranian youth, which is becoming emancipated and dreaming of a future of freedom, in radical contrast to the most conservative Iranians.

In the United States, the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is deepening the divide between Republicans and Democrats. Faced with scientists’ decisions and the restrictions that they imply, supporters of President Donald Trump are invoking their rights set out in the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution. Our team reports from Florida and Louisiana, two states in the south of the country, where the political battle is raging.

Since lockdown began on March 17, 2020, thousands of foreign students have found themselves stranded in France, far away from family and even close friends. With their daily lives upended by the Covid-19 pandemic many are struggling with stress, isolation and insecurity. Our reporters met with some of these students to learn more about the difficulties they face.

Populist Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is refusing to sacrifice the economy for the sake of public health amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Like him, his supporters downplay the crisis and denounce a "coronavirus dictatorship". But local authorities have adopted lockdown measures against the president's advice. And in the cramped, working-class favelas, the locals are afraid of Covid-19 and are doing what they can to combat a potential health disaster. Our reporters in Brazil investigate.

In this exclusive 35-minute documentary, we expose a massive and unknown fish smuggling and supply network in the Pacific Ocean. Every year, an armada of North Korean ghost ships invade the waters of the Russian Far East and Japan. From Vladivostok to North Korea, via China, our reporter Elena Volochine investigated the illegal fishing networks of the world's most secretive country, North Korea.

In the fight against terrorist groups in Africa, US forces provide crucial support to the G5 Sahel group (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) with intelligence, logistics and supplies. But as the terror threat continues to spread in the region, Africa is no longer a priority for the Pentagon, which could well withdraw its troops, as announced by US President Donald Trump.

In West Africa, the nation of Burkina Faso is a weak link in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region. In the north of the country, which suffers constant terror attacks, entire provinces are threatened. And an unprecedented humanitarian crisis is underway, with Covid-19 just beginning to spread. Our reporters Jonathan Walsh and Kalidou Sy went to find out more.

The western city of Maracaibo used to be Venezuela's affluent oil capital. But today, it's a place of hardship and hunger. Facing hyperinflation, corruption, penniless public services, crime and chronic shortages, the city has become a symbol of the country's wider economic collapse. Eating has become a luxury. Due to a lack of medical care, the lives of children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases are slowly slipping away. In this 26-minute documentary, our reporter Roméo Langlois bring us a heart-wrenching account of the depths of human suffering.

For families living in Europe and with origins in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, holidays are often synonymous with returning home. But these family reunions sometimes turn into a living nightmare for young girls. Each year, thousands of them suffer female genital mutilation (FGM), without their prior knowledge or consent, in their parents' country.