In Indonesia, nearly 750,000 people suffering from psychiatric problems receive no medical treatment. At the People and Society Foundation, they are chained up for an indeterminate length of time and given lessons on hygiene. For many it's a shocking way to treat mental disorders, but for their families, it's the only way they can afford to help them.
In the past few months, heavy rain has brought some of the worst flooding Australia has ever seen. Thirty-five people lost their lives and the damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros. The town of Rockhampton, in Queensland, was particularly hard hit. Our correspondents went to find out what life was like for those trying to maintain some sort of normality.
On December 16th, a boat carrying around 90 asylum seekers was swept onto jagged rocks off the coast of the Australian island of Christmas Island – some 300 km out of Indonesia. We may never know exactly how many people were on board but it’s estimated around 50 died following the incident. The tragedy shocked Australians and pushed the thorny question of boat people back on the political agenda.
Tanna, on the Vanuatu archipelago. Villagers here dream of the coming of their god...Prince Philip. According to local legend, Queen Elizabeth’s husband was to return to their shores this year, on his 89th birthday. The Prince’s disciples prepared to welcome him.
Critics call it Australia’s great firewall: a filter that would block out harmful content and protect children. The Australian government wants to make the filter secret and compulsory, a proposal that has triggered some public outrage.
Thousands of migrant workers were attracted by the booming industry 'down under' but the global crisis could put an end to that. The Australian government has recently announced thay it will reduce the intake of migrant workers by 14%.
A rare sort of cancer has killed almost half of Tasmania's devil population in more than 10 years. Recently, scientists have come across one specimen who seems immune to the disease, giving hope for the discovery of a vaccine.
For a long time the Tasmanian forest was untouched but now bulldozers have started exploiting this huge stock of wood while environmental activists have started their own blockade of the loggers.
Fanou FILALI 
