Our Focus programme brings you exclusive reports from around the world, followed by comment and analysis from our newsroom in Paris. Monday to Friday at 7.15 am and 11.15 pm.
Fears of child thyroid cancer after Fukushima nuclear disaster
Alerted by the precedent set after Chernobyl, Japanese doctors have set about testing all children who might have been exposed to radiation after last year's nuclear disaster at Fukushima. They're looking for signs of thyroid cancer, and out of the 100,000 children tested so far, 40% have shown some sign of abnormality. With parents struggling to get advice from the authorities, the Fukushima Medical University has had to organise meetings where information can be given out.
Sri Lanka organised Saturday the first vote since the government forces defeated the Tigers three months ago. However, the situation is still unsecured and the country still ethnically divided with 300 000 Tamils detained in refugee camps.
On August 7 2008, Georgia and Russia went to war over the small breakaway province of South Ossetia. One year on, tensions on the ground remain high, to the point that there are even fears in some quarters of another war.
Over one week after the end of deadly clashes between governmental forces and an obscure cult inspired by Afghanistan's Taliban, the city of Maidiguru in northern Nigeria is still under shock.
Last week, China's Supreme Court said it wished to drastically reduce the number of death sentences handed out each year - reportedly more than the rest of the world put together. But abolishing the death penalty altogether is not on the agenda.
Hernan Castillo, author of a book linking Hugo Chavez to the FARC rebel group, is one of a number of Venezuelan thinkers leaving a hostile country they feel now resembles a police state for fear of persecution for their political views.
React to the article
(0) Reactions