Focus FRANCE 24 English

When he was elected president of the Philippines in 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed to legalise divorce. The Catholic nation is the only country in the world, along with the Vatican, to ban it. Yet two years on, legislation has still not been passed. That could happen by the end of next year, now that a bill has been tabled in parliament. The move would be a dramatic one in this conservative country where the Catholic Church remains a powerful presence. It could bring freedom to tens of thousands of couples who want to end their marriage. Currently, they can only obtain an annulment – a process that takes several years and can sometimes cost more than $10,000. Legalising divorce could also bring an end to the ordeal faced by women who have suffered physical and psychological abuse from their husbands. Our team on the ground reports.

A new EU regulation aims to ban the import of several products, including palm oil, that come from plantations linked to deforestation. While the bloc hails the law as an important way to protect the world's forests, Southeast Asian countries say it threatens their livelihoods and is difficult to implement. Malaysia is one the world's top palm oil producers and farmers there are worried they could lose out on earnings. Our team reports from the island of Borneo.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which broke out on April 15, 2023, has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and the displacement of over 9 million people. More than 650,000 of them have now fled to neighbouring South Sudan. These survivors have escaped atrocities, only to reach one of the world’s poorest countries, where aid workers are struggling to cope. Our regional correspondent Olivia Bizot met with refugees at the Sudan-South Sudan border. 

The town of Geel, in Belgium's Flanders region, is home to a surprising centuries-old tradition, where patients with mental health issues live with host families. It's said to date back to the 14th century, when the city attracted pilgrims praying to Dymphna, the local patron saint of mental illness – and locals began opening their doors to them. Nowadays, families in Geel do the same, with the help of the city's psychiatric hospital. Doctors there say many patients are better off with host families than in a closed medical environment. This unique care model has gained recognition well beyond Belgium's borders. Our correspondent reports.

Authorities in Japan have been raiding "host bars" since the start of the year. These are clubs whose male employees trick women into spending large sums of money to drink and spend time in their company. Victims, who believe they're in love with their host, are left with massive debts, forcing some to turn to prostitution to pay them off. Authorities have already visited around 700 clubs and ordered some of them to close. Our correspondents report from Tokyo.

From a payment card that does not allow cash withdrawals, to mandatory community service, Germany is introducing measures to make the country less attractive to migrants. The country remains the destination of choice for asylum seekers within the EU. More than 330,000 people sought asylum there last year: almost a third of all applications in the EU, according to the European Asylum Agency. But the new measures – agreed by the government and regional leaders last November – are beginning to appear in municipalities across the country, especially in eastern Germany, where regional elections are due in September. The far-right AfD party is leading the polls there and its main campaign theme is immigration. Our correspondents report.