EU urged to stop commercial trade in tigers

Cigarettes in Indonesia are already among the world's cheapest, but in times of economic hardship, a boom in illegal cigarettes is continuing.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Loire is France's longest river and the last that's still more or less wild. A unique set of flora and fauna live on its banks and islands. But this fragile ecosystem is threatened by climate change and invasive species. What is being done to face these dangers? We take a closer look.

A zoo in Guadalajara welcomes four Bengal tiger cubs that were born on July 3.

Beijing is seeking the elimination of US tariffs, while Washington sees the discussions as a test of bilateral engagement between the two major economic powers.

Less than a year since the EU and UK struck a post-Brexit deal, the sides are apparently preparing for a trade war. Tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol have pushed things to the brink.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a comprehensive in-principle free trade agreement with the UK, arrived at after 16 months of talks. London said the deal ends tariffs on British exports such as clothing, footwear, ships and bulldozers. It estimated that trade between the two countries last year was worth £2.3 billion ($3.2 billion, 2.7 billion euros).

The two countries join the ASEAN nations, China, South Korea, and Japan. The pact will cover 30% of the world's population and 53% of last year's exports.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke to his Chinese counterpart amid rising international concern over Beijing's recent military incursions into Taiwan's air defense zone.

Lawmakers in France have approved new animal rights legislation making it illegal to purchase, breed or sell wild animals for traveling circuses.

For years, Vietnamese children and teenagers have been disappearing in Germany. Those responsible are unscrupulous human traffickers whose networks span continents. The young Vietnamese are smuggled into Germany via Russia and Eastern Europe. Many end up in the world of crime, working as slaves for the Vietnamese mafia. This film tells their story. One high-ranking investigator describes the phenomenon as "modern slavery". This is how many children and young people are brought from Vietnam to Germany: They are crammed into vans, loaded into refrigerated trucks, on the road for months, held along the way in abandoned warehouses or apartments. They are beaten, raped, exploited, they fear for their lives. They are lured by the prospect of a better life, as promised to their families by the criminals.

More Afghans facing extreme poverty are turning to opium production as a means of survival. Despite promises to the contrary, the Taliban are unlikely to oppose cultivation of the narcotic cash crop.

In Thailand, cohabitation between humans and wild elephants is increasingly difficult, as the animals seek to expand their habitat. At least 20 people were killed by elephants last year. Meanwhile, out of fear or revenge for the damage to their crops, a dozen elephants are killed by humans in the country each year. But one NGO is trying to put an end to these incidents. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's James Vasina.