Pope Francis reaches out to Catholics in Thailand and Japan

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.

The Yakuza have long been one of the biggest criminal organisations in the world. At the height of their power in the 1960s, the Japanese Yakuza had more than 180,000 members. This Japanese mafia was rich, much feared, and virtually untouchable. But now their numbers, money and power have dwindled. There are only 23,000 Yakuzas left today, and they are older and poorer.

Japan recently became the first country in the world to sell genome-edited tomatoes. This technology, which alters a crop's genetic information, does not involve adding outside genetic material – unlike with genetically modified foods. Experts claim that some genome-edited foods are healthier than their conventional counterparts. But environment campaigners are calling for more testing to be carried out amid safety concerns. Our correspondents Louis Belin, Rie Fukushima, Yuko Sano and Justin McCurry report.

Bullying at school, or "ijime", is a persistent problem in Japan. In 2020, there were 612,000 recorded cases at schools across the country – more than three times the number a decade ago. What begins as a joke among friends can end in insults and violence. Bullying leads to academic failure, isolation and, in some cases, suicide. Last year, 80 percent of Japanese schools reported bullying incidents. Our correspondents Louis Belin, Ryusuke Murata, Aruna Popuri and Justin McCurry report from Tokyo.

Military experts in South Korea are analyzing exactly what type of missiles were launched, but said they appeared to be cruise missiles. Pyongyang has increased weapons testing in the past few weeks.

Japan's government also reported the launch and condemned the tests as a threat to the region's peace and security. Nobuo Kishi, the Japanese defence minister, said the missiles appeared to have landed in the ocean near North Korea's east coast.

As dawn breaks on a weekend morning over in Thailand's southwestern Samut Songkhram province, 102-year-old Sawang Janpram gears up in his running shoes for a race he has been looking forward to throughout the past week.

Experts say that Tokyo's imposition of sanctions on Russia is almost certainly the final nail in the coffin of Japan's ambition to resume control of the disputed Kuril Islands.

Pope Francis delivered on the reforms promised years ago by allowing any baptized Catholic — man or woman — to lead major departments at the Vatican.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pushed for India to take a tougher line or Russia while meeting Narendra Modi in New Delhi. India has not directly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Pope Francis took an elevator to board his flight to Malta to "avoid unnecessary strain." The trip to Malta comes one day after he apologized to Canada's indigenous communities for abuses at residential schools there.

Only cannabis containing over 0.2% of the psychoactive ingredient THC remains illegal. The intent behind the move is to promote use of cannabis for medicinal purposes and build an industry around such products.