Focus
Rásarupplýsingar
Focus
Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world. Every day at 8:45am Paris time.
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Yodelling taken to new heights: Swiss folk singing adapts to modern era
Long confined to tourist clichés, Swiss yodelling is moving on from being a folkloric curiosity. This ancient Alpine vocal technique, which alternates...
Mass weddings on the rise in Pakistan as poverty soars
In Pakistan, the economic crisis and climate-related natural disasters are placing sustained pressure on the poorest families. In a nation where aroun...
US-Canada relations cool at the border over Trump's tariffs and threats
Canada and the United States share the world's longest border. But tensions are rising over trade and politics. US President Donald Trump has threaten...
Inside the Chinese factories of fast-fashion giant Shein
The meteoric rise of Shein, one of the world's biggest fast-fashion retailers, has not been without controversy. For years, human rights groups have w...
French-American chemist makes major breakthrough in recycling of rare earths
Rare earth elements are crucial for defence, auto and electronic industries and have become a geopolitical battleground. China controls 95 percent of...
Local elections in Marseille: Left and far right in battle for city hall
As France gears up for local elections in March, mayoral races are heating up across the country. In Marseille, France's second-largest city, which is...
Restoring Mont Saint-Michel: Historic French monument in need of repair
Located in the French region of Normandy, Mont-Saint-Michel is a breathtaking site, recognised the world over. Millions of visitors come to visit this...
Smile, you're on camera: Facial recognition becomes widespread in London
With CCTV cameras on almost every street corner, London is the European capital with the most video surveillance, and facial recognition is becoming i...
From Hollywood to Fort Worth: Film and TV productions move to Texas
As Hollywood faces an unprecedented crisis, Texas eyes an opportunity. Thanks to new tax incentives, the state is attracting producers and studios, wi...
Senegalese city of Saint-Louis threatened by rising sea levels
Senegal's former capital Saint-Louis, a coastal city and UNESCO World Heritage site, is threatened by rising sea levels caused by climate change. Esti...
India still plagued by scourge of 'witch-hunting'
"Witch-hunting" remains widespread across India, targeting mostly village women who are often single, widowed or otherwise isolated. Many endure sever...
Residents of Tunisian town of Gabes demand end to pollution
In the southern Tunisian town of Gabes, anger has been simmering in recent months as locals demand the dismantlement of the Tunisian Chemical Group. T...
A timeline of events in Iran: From cost-of-living protests to political revolt
Iranians began taking to the streets in late December. What initially began with protests against the spiralling cost of living has grown into a natio...
Visitors flock to Siwa: Egypt's hidden oasis threatened by tourism
Until 1984, there was no road connecting the oasis of Siwa and its 8,000 Bedouin residents with the rest of Egypt. Lost deep in the desert near the Li...
Italy, a pioneer in regulating artificial intelligence
Italy has become a pioneer in regulating artificial intelligence (AI). Last autumn, the Italian parliament approved a draft bill concerning the "Provi...
Driverless robotaxis arrive in US cities, but are they safe?
In the United States, driverless taxis piloted by artificial intelligence are appearing in cities from Los Angeles to Miami. But are these phantom dri...
Indians suffer from health scourge of noise pollution
Between traffic, excessive use of car horns, building sites and religious celebrations, the ears of residents in Indian megacities like New Delhi and...
In Japan, organised crime finds new recruits online with 'yami baito'
A new type of criminal activity known as yami baito is spreading in Japan. The modus operandi is simple: online ads offer easy, well-paid jobs such as...
Back to textbooks: Denmark rolls back digital learning
Denmark has long been hailed as a digital champion, with online public services, digital IDs and tablets in schools as early as 2011. But authorities...
Italy faces mounting criticism ahead of Winter Olympics
Italy is getting ready to host the Winter Olympics, known as Milan Cortina 2026. The event is an opportunity to showcase the country to the rest of th...
Switzerland goes bunkers as citizens revamp fallout shelters
Despite being a neutral country, Switzerland counts hundreds of thousands of fallout shelters – enough to accommodate its entire population in the eve...
A decade on, Greek island of Lesbos remains symbol of Europe's migration crisis
For more than a decade, the Greek island of Lesbos has been a symbol of Europe's migration crisis. Located close to Turkey, the island was a major ent...
In Ukraine, Kyiv residents haunted by nightly Russian attacks
About once a week on average, Russia stages a massive combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine, usually targeting multiple cities. In the capital...
Germany's youth opposed to return of military service
The war in Ukraine has pushed defence issues to the top of the agenda in Germany, where the federal government has confirmed that a military call-up w...
Vatican goes digital as influencer priests spread gospel on social media
During his papacy, Pope Francis encouraged the clergy to use the "digital continent" to broaden their evangelical work. They seem to have paid attenti...
UAE seeks to hire more Emirati nationals in private sector
In the United Arab Emirates, the government has imposed quotas for hiring Emirati citizens across the private sector, with the aim of having them make...
Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki, 21, conquers fans in Japan
A few days ago, Aonishiki became the first Ukrainian wrestler to win a professional sumo tournament in Japan. At just 21 years old, he has risen up th...
Newly returned Syrians struggle to reclaim land seized under Assad regime
Since Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took power in Syria a year ago after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, hun...
Syria's lost children: Families search for youngsters taken during Assad regime
A year after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, more than 110,000 Syrians are still missing, including several thousand children. Were they...
Syrian city of Homs trapped in cycle of sectarian violence
One year ago, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad fled the country aboard a Russian military aircraft. Twelve months later, the country continues to grapple...
'Rhino Renaissance Campaign': South Africa steps up fight against poachers
Every year, hundreds of rhinos are killed for their horns, which are trafficked mainly to Asia for use in traditional medicine. As part of the "G20 He...
After deportation from US, Mexican 'retornados' struggle to rebuild their lives
They once chased the American dream. Now, thousands of Mexicans are being deported back to a country they barely remember, or never even knew. Accordi...
Pro-European political prisoners: Georgian mothers fight for release of their sons
For over a year, authoritarianism has been gaining ground in Georgia. More than a hundred pro-European protesters are currently behind bars. In the mi...
Tehran residents film their daily lives as Iran faces devastating drought
Dried-up lakes, recurrent water cuts and undrinkable water: residents of the Iranian capital Tehran are suffering the consequences of an unprecedented...
Sinophobia on the rise: Anti-Chinese sentiment growing in South Korea
South Korea's close ties to China were evident at the recent APEC summit, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping held positive talks with his South Korean co...
Living among landmines: Residents' risky return to villages on Syrian-Iraqi border
Since the fall of the Syrian regime in December 2024, the NGO Handicap International has recorded 725 accidents and nearly 1,400 victims of landmines...
Should ultra-Orthodox Jews have to do military service? Israeli society divided
Israeli society is split over the issue of compulsory military service for the ultra-Orthodox community. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who represent 15 percent...
British voters divided over immigration as Reform UK soars in the polls
In the UK, one of the key architects of the campaign to leave the EU is currently the favourite to become the next prime minister. Nigel Farage and hi...
Gender-based violence in Pakistan: Female influencers targeted
In Pakistan, some women are murdered simply for having a TikTok account, one of the most popular social media platforms in the country. On July 11, in...
Violence in eastern DR Congo: Ituri plagued by ethnic conflict
The province of Ituri, in eastern DR Congo, has been devastated by decades of ethnic conflict. Violence has exploded since the 1990s, with the Hema an...