Both the outgoing chancellor and her would-be successor, Armin Laschet, have congratulated Scholz. The center-left SPD emerged as Germany's largest party in the Bundestag following Sunday's election.

Simple, sweet, and fictionally fatal: the stallholder who makes the traditional South Korean children's treat featured in the global cultural phenomenon "Squid Game" -- a snack once associated with post-war poverty -- has hit a real-life jackpot.

In a hot and stuffy room at her house in Hanoi, Tran Thanh Thuc holds up a delicate silk scarf and begins snipping it into tiny pieces, ready to paste onto her works of art. For four decades, Thuc has been recreating Vietnamese landscapes using vibrant shades of fabric cut from scarves, traditional ao dai -- or whatever material she could find during years of poverty in the 1980s.

In the space of just a few years, the small Central American nation of Costa Rica has become a global laboratory for decarbonisation. Costa Rica is the world's only tropical country that has managed to reverse the process of deforestation: forests now cover more than half its surface. It’s also one of the few countries to get almost all its electricity (99 percent) from renewable sources. Costa Rica's inspiring and bold example reflects badly on major world powers, which have considerably more resources available to achieve their climate goals. Our regional correspondents Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin report.

The robotics startup Exotec has become France's 25th unicorn company, valued at $2 billion after its latest fundraising round. The firm makes robots for e-commerce depots, and counts big names like Carrefour, Uniqlo and Decathlon among its customers. Exotec's CEO Romain Moulin told FRANCE 24 the inspiration for the company actually came from online retail giant Amazon.

Happiness may breed success rather than the other way around, according to a new study. Researchers found happy people are generally successful in relationships, work, and health; this success is more often than not a result of their positive emotions rather than vice versa.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted viral videos claiming military success on both sides. But can you trust the images of drone strikes, snipers and ambushes?

Some 300 million pairs of socks are sold in France every year. Although most are made in China, some small French firms are carving out a market with their "made in France" offerings. One of them is Broussaud. For three generations, this family-run business based in the Limousin region has been constantly innovating, with increasingly complex designs. FRANCE 24 went to find out the secret of its success.

After graduating from school, Barbara Ssanyu was rejected by several employers, so she decided to start her own business. Today, she’s an inspiration to many Ugandan girls.

Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region on September 6. This operation surprised Russia and led to the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from several strategic cities in eastern Ukraine, such as Izium. Our reporters Gulliver Cragg and Gwendoline Debono met with Ukrainian soldiers who took part in the counter-offensive and spoke to two of the operational commanders.

More and more athletes are using mental training to improve their performance. But what do pens and rulers have to do with it? And can the brain train muscles?

We talk to film critic Tanul Thakur in New Delhi about the Golden Globe-winning movie "RRR". We ask him if the film's runaway success could give a boost to India's film industry internationally.