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FocusAsia airs on Star World every Sunday at 5:30 pm(IST).
IWFF attracted more than 200 entries worldwide vying for industry
recognition. FocusAsia's report was also aired on the National
Geographic Channel in the US. It uncovers a brutal sport in Pakistan
known as "bear baiting" in which dogs and captive Asiatic black
bears are forced to fight each other, leading to rapid decline in
the black bear population for more than a century. The report also
highlights the steadfast efforts of conservationists in Pakistan
to save the bear from extinction.
The annual IWFF, a wildlife film, television and media organisation
based in Montana, US, is the world's first juried wildlife film
competition. The awards are granted by a jury composed of experts
on wildlife media and the science of wildlife and habitat. Awards
are based on excellence in biological accuracy, technical achievement,
aesthetic presentation and educational value.
At the IWFF, National Geographic Channel's Vanishing Giants
also got a finalists award. The honouree list also included Animal
Planets' The Lost Elephants of Timbuktu . Its special Kabul
Zoo Rescue also won a merit award. Itc co-production with the
BBC Amazon Assassin was also cited.
An official release informs that FocusAsia explores a wide
range of social, economic and political issues across the Asia region
and provides an in-depth and investigative look at the issues shaping
Asia today. Since its launch in January 2000, FocusAsia's
team has travelled to 18 countries, filed more than 180 reports
and won numerous awards, including a finalist award for Best
News Magazine Programme at the 2000 New York Festival and Best
Current Affairs Programme award at the 1999 Asian Television
Award. FocusAsia correspondents have pocketed the first prize
in the English television category at the esteemed Annual Amnesty
International Human Rights Press Awards in Hong Kong successively
from 2000 to 2002.
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