What in the World

In March 2011, pro-democracy protests erupted in the southern Syrian city of Deraa, after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. Violence escalated and the country descended into civil war as rebel brigades were formed to battle government forces for control of cities, towns and the countryside. Fighting reached the capital Damascus and second city of Aleppo in 2012. The devastated city of Aleppo tells the story of its people, the dead and the injured, those who left and those who have remained. A city destroyed and a people dispersed.

The rate of elephant poaching in Eastern Africa has increased, in recent years, rising to levels that could threaten the local population. In the last seven years, an estimated 144,000 African elephants were illegally killed for their ivory. On average, one elephant was killed every 45 minutes in Tanzania alone causing their population to decline by 60%, to 43,000 animals. The ivory trade in Africa has been associated with the arms trade. Across Africa, the struggle against poachers costs the lives of around 100 wildlife rang¬ers per year.

Ghana has become one of the world's digital dumping grounds.

Sierra Leone is officially Ebola free. But memories of the disease and the devastation it caused are still fresh.