It's time for zoo-goers to forget pandas! Moo Deng, the adorable endangered pygmy hippo who's become an internet sensation in Thailand, now has an official song available on streaming platforms in multiple languages. The track's viral success has sparked a marketing frenzy around the endearing baby animal. We take a closer look.

On this week's Access Asia we speak to Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, who tells us what officials in Beijing really think of Donald Trump's US presidential victory. He discusses the risk of a full-blown trade war erupting. We also get a check on how New Delhi is reacting. Former Indian ambassador to France, Dr Mohan Kuman, tells us that India hopes the US president-elect can bring the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to an end.

China has declared its latest space mission "a total success", after the Shenzhou 19 spaceship carried three astronauts to its space station. The young crew includes the country's first female space engineer. The launch comes some 21 years after China conducted its first manned space flight and takes the country a step closer to its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030. We take a closer look.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first bilateral talks in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia this week. In this edition of Access Asia, we look at the source of the tensions and find out how the apparent thaw is being viewed in China and India respectively. Plus, we speak to North Korea specialist Hazel Smith to find out what Pyongyang stands to gain by sending troops to Russia.

With the festival of lights just around the corner, Mattel has unveiled the first "Diwali Barbie", co-created by Indian fashion designer Anita Dongre. The recently released doll has been embraced by little children around the world. Dongre opens up about how representation matters and where Indian fashion is headed. Plus, we bring you a special report from Cambodia, where online scam centres have generated modern-day slavery conditions for workers.

An 88-year-old Japanese man who had fought to overturn a murder conviction for decades has finally been acquitted. Iwao Hakamata was arrested in 1966 and spent 46 years on death row. In a landmark retrial, a court declared him innocent in late September, and while rejecting the verdict, the prosecution this week announced it would not file an appeal. "I’m so happy, it's as if the past 58 years have just blown away," Hakamata's sister Hideko tells FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer, adding that she'll...

Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has called for "fundamentally bolstering" the country’s defences in the face of rising regional and global threats. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Robert Ward, Japan Chair at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, about the challenges ahead for the Japanese leader.

On this week's Access Asia, we focus on the elections underway in Indian-administered Kashmir. It’s the first vote to take place in the region in a decade. New Delhi has allowed diplomats to observe the polls, however foreign journalists were kept out. We speak to Anuradha Bhasin, Managing Editor of the Kashmir Times, to find out more about the vote and the climate the elections are taking place in.

Global coffee prices are soaring to record levels but in Vietnam, one of the largest coffee producers, many farmers are switching to other – and more heat-resilient – crops. Yuka Royer speaks with Fairtrade International's Monika Firl. Also, regional elections are underway in Indian-administered Kashmir for the first time since the territory lost its semi-autonomous status in 2019. And we'll visit Indonesia's "Forgotten Island", a hidden gem in the Indian Ocean that's still untouched by mass...

In this week's show: Bangladesh's International Crime Tribunal says it's begun the process to request the extradition of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India. While Dhaka and New Delhi enjoyed warm relations under Hasina's watch, we ask if relations between the two neighbours have now started to cool since her ouster in August.

It's a story that has gripped the Philippines for months. Alice Guo, the fugitive former mayor of the city of Bamban, has been deported back home after being caught in Indonesia. She faces accusations ranging from shady business dealings involving illegal gambling, to human trafficking as well as questions over her identity and links to China. Yuka Royer and Aurore-Cloé Dupuis discuss the case.    

It's been three years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. Their policies have rolled back women’s rights. Newly enforced laws require women to veil their faces in public. They are also now prohibited from singing or raising their voices. Afghan artist and activist Fatimah Hossaini reacts to the devastating new laws. 

On the show this week, we speak to Kiran Rao, director of "Laapataa Ladies," a film set in rural India and packed with subtle feminist messages. She tells us what inspired her to make the movie and how comedy was used as a tool to talk about female experiences. She argues the men portrayed in the film aren't meek, but empathetic. We also look at a new controversial canal project in Cambodia and head to Thailand, where the "Boys' Love" TV drama is making a splash. 

After multiple pre-wedding festivities, the son of India’s richest man ties the knot. Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant, married Radhika Merchant in India's financial capital Mumbai. The event draws international stars and raises some eyebrows. On “Access Asia” we ask Time Magazine's journalist Astha Rajvanshi why Mukesh Ambani is going all out to create such a fuss.

Authorities in India have arrested six people following a deadly stampede in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. 121 women and children were killed at a religious event where nearly 250,000 had gathered to listen to a guru. To understand what caused this human tragedy, we talk to Sanjay Srivastava, professor of Anthropology at SOAS University of London.   

China has become the first country to land a probe on the far side of the Moon and bring samples back to Earth. What does this new milestone mean for science, and how are geopolitics affecting human space exploration? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks to Martin Barstow, professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester.

Will India's democratic backsliding continue? Following recent elections which weakened Prime Minister Narendra Modi, FRANCE 24 discusses the latest foreign journalist forced to leave, as well as the prosecution of author Arundhati Roy, with author and professor Alpa Shah. 

Tensions have flared up again between North and South Korea in recent weeks, with both sides reviving Cold-war style propaganda campaigns. North Korea has sent hundreds of balloons carrying rubbish and even animal faeces across the border. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks to Sung-Yoon Lee, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 

In this edition of Access Asia we're dissecting the results of the world's largest election. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a historic third term in office. However, things will be markedly different this time around as he finds himself with his wings clipped. Modi has been forced into a coalition after his BJP party failed to win an absolute majority for the first time in a decade. FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza is joined by social activist and lawyer Trisha Shetty and Ashutosh...

Fourteen prominent pro-democracy activists have been found guilty in a landmark subversion trial in Hong Kong. They were among the 47 opposition figures arrested under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law and charged with trying to overthrow the government by organising an unofficial primary for the 2020 legislative election. While Beijing and the Hong Kong government welcomed the verdict, rights groups have voiced deep concern. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks to Sarah Brooks, China...

As more and more countries around the world seek to close their borders to asylum seekers, we speak to the founder of an online language platform designed for refugees. She tells us how she hopes Chatterbox will redress the demeaning manner in which she feels refugees from around the world are received. But first, we look at the ongoing Indian elections. The campaign rhetoric remains feisty in the final stretch, and the ruling BJP is banking on influencers to boost the youth vote. We finish...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has wrapped up his two-day visit to China, where he and his counterpart Xi Jinping pledged a "new era of strategic partnership". The two leaders had tea together and celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations at a gala, with the Chinese leader giving his guest a warm hug. Moscow has increasingly turned to Beijing for support in the face of Western sanctions and the trip aimed at deepening their military and economic ties. 

As India's marathon election rolls on, FRANCE 24 speaks to expert Mitali Mukherjee, who tells us that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP is running its campaign on anti-Muslim rhetoric. Also, Thailand's opposition leader speaks about his efforts to reform lese majeste laws. And we bring you the latest on the heatwave that has broken temperature records across Asia, from India to the Philippines.

India's mammoth general election is well under way, with the first two phases of voting over and five more to go. FRANCE 24's Leela Jacinto looks at online campaigning and some controversies that are flaring up. Next, we speak to PEN America about their latest Freedom to Write Index. Writers are increasingly at risk around the world, and China tops those jailed for expressing their opinions. Lastly, what do Olympic stadiums tell us about the times we live in? We meet the architect behind...