A world confined: FRANCE 24 reports from Senegal to Japan

Japan coast guard officers rescue a drowning dog in a river near the central city of Nagoya. They rushed to the site on a boat after receiving an emergency call from the dog's owner and safely rescued the Sheltie from the cold water.

As candidates jostle for the top leadership, analysts fear the country's challenges are too big and voters too impatient for any leader to remain in office long enough to make a tangible difference.

Taro Kono may be the favorite with members of the Liberal Democratic Party, but factional politics mean that Fumio Kishida is likely to emerge as Japan's new prime minister, say experts.

Fumio Kishida belongs to the ruling party's establishment but is a stronger advocate for change than his predecessor Yoshihide Suga, Martin Fritz reports from Tokyo.

New Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces many economic challenges, not least the impact of the pandemic. However, major policy changes are not expected, at least in the short term.

In the northern Senegalese city of Saint-Louis, excavators are ripping up the beach to lay giant blocks of basalt, to keep the sea at bay. Dire warnings about the risk of rising sea levels due to climate change are already a grim reality in Saint-Louis, where seafront residents in the historic fishing quarter are abandoning their homes to the encroaching Atlantic Ocean.

As climate change contributes to more powerful Pacific storms, a new research center wants to better understand the threats they pose and utilize the energy they generate to help Japan reach zero carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is seeking a mandate for his policies in the October 31 parliamentary election. Meanwhile, the opposition has vowed to close Japan's income gap.

Amnesty said that many governments had used the pandemic as an opportunity to further restrict freedom of expression. It also cited the role of social media in the spread of misinformation.

Mount Aso volcano spews a giant column of ash thousands of metres into the sky, after the late-morning eruption in southwest Japan. The active volcano ejected hot gas and ash as high as 3,500 metres (11,500 feet), and sent stones tumbling down its grassy slopes.

A Netflix-funded anime academy in Tokyo trains the next generation of cartoon artists as global demand for the genre soars. Japan is facing a shortage of skilled animators, in part because most face years toiling in low-paying jobs to learn the ropes, meaning much of the painstaking frame-by-frame drawing work is outsourced overseas.

Japan is holding a parliamentary election, which is the first big test for the new prime minister. A poor showing for the ruling party could threaten a return to the country's history of revolving-door premiership.