USA - The Fukushima disaster that occurred six years ago last month continues to plague Japan and the rest of the world to this day. Heavily damaged by a massive tsunami caused by an equally destructive earthquake, radioactive problems persist without any relief in sight.

SWEDEN - Sweden could be set for a political earthquake as the Sweden Democrats, which is calling for the liberal country to be given a referendum on EU membership, is leading the polls. The Eurosceptic party, which has seen its popularity surge in recent months, shot ahead of its political opponents with a record 27.2 per cent saying they would vote for the Sweden Democrats, according to figures from News Today.  Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk Mattias Karlsson, the group leader in the Swedish Parliament, said euroscepticism among Swedes was growing because people were starting to see their state’s sovereignty was being compromised. 

LIBYA - Africans trying to reach Europe are being sold by their captors in "slave markets" in Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. Victims told IOM that after being detained by people smugglers or militia groups, they were taken to town squares or car parks to be sold. Migrants with skills like painting or tiling would fetch higher prices, the head of the IOM in Libya told the BBC.

NIGERIA - The recent meningitis outbreak, which has so far claimed almost 450 lives in Nigeria's north, may have exposed one of the reasons why that region of the country continues to have some of the grimmest statistics in almost every area of development. Even before the Boko Haram militant Islamist insurgency, there were alarmingly high figures on infant and maternal mortality, poverty, child marriage, children out-of-school, to mention but a few. The region is also one of the few in the world that is yet to be certified free of polio, the infectious disease that often cripples children. When it comes to the meningitis outbreak, Zamfara state has suffered the most deaths and hospitalisations out of all those affected.

UK - Diets which cut out dairy food could be a "ticking time bomb" for young people's bone health, a charity is warning. A National Osteoporosis Society survey found a fifth of under-25s are cutting out or reducing dairy in their diet. It said it was concerned many young adults were putting their health at risk by following eating fads.

USA - The United States has concluded that Russia knew ahead of time that Syria would launch a chemical weapons attack last week, a senior US official says.

USA - The administration of Donald Trump has done little to dispel the question mark still looming over the American missile strike against the Syrian airbase on Friday – a showy one-off retaliation with no follow-up or just the beginning of a wider escalation?

CHINA - While the catalyst is unclear, it appears the market dropped as headlines of further sanctions against Russia appeared and reports of China deploying 150,000 troops to its North Korea border. According to Korean news agency Chosun, the "Chinese army has deployed about 150,000 troops to the North Korean border in two groups to prepare for unforeseen circumstances." The reason: the prospect of "military options", such as preemptive attacks on North Korea, like the one the United States launched on Syria.

NORTH KOREA - North Korean state media warned on Tuesday of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression as a US Navy strike group steamed toward the western Pacific. US President Donald Trump, who has urged China to do more to rein in its impoverished ally and neighbor, said in a Tweet that North Korea was "looking for trouble" and the United States would "solve the problem" with or without Beijing's help. Tension has escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula amid concerns that reclusive North Korea may soon conduct a sixth nuclear test and after Washington said at the weekend it was diverting the aircraft carrier strike group Carl Vinson toward the Korean peninsula in a show of force.

CHINA - With everyone putting down new and/or revised "red lines", be it on Syria or North Korea, it was now China's turn to reveal its "red" or rather "bottom line", and in a harshly worded editorial titled "The United States Must Not Choose a Wrong Direction to Break the DPRK Nuclear Deadlock on Wednesday". Beijing warned it would attack North Korea's facilities producing nuclear bombs, effectively engaging in an act of war, if North Korea crosses China's "bottom line." The editorial in the military-focused Global Times tabloid, owned and operated by the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper, said that North Korea’s nuclear activities must not jeopardize northeastern China, and that if the North impacts China with its illicit nuclear tests through either "nuclear leakage or pollution", then China will respond with force.

CHINA - A viral video showing an army of little orange robots sorting out packages in a warehouse in eastern China is the latest example of how machines are increasingly taking over menial factory work on the mainland. The machines are cheaper than human workers and are also more efficient and accurate in sorting out parcels, spokesman says. The machines can sort up to 200,000 packages a day and are self-charging, meaning they can operate around the clock.

MIDDLE EAST - A statement issued on Sunday by a joint command centre consisting of forces of Russian, Iranian and allied militia alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar al Assad said that Friday's US strike on the Syrian air base crossed “red lines” and it would "respond with force" to any new aggression while increasing their level of support to their ally.

USA - In his annual letter to shareholders, the chairman of America’s biggest bank expressed his concern about the consequences of Brexit, as well as the financial deregulation promised by Donald Trump’s administration. Jamie Dimon’s weighty letter is read every year by the planet’s top financiers, including multi-billionaire Warren Buffet. The boss of JP Morgan Chase this year focused on the increased geopolitical risks faced by the financial sector, particularly in Europe, still reeling from Brexit. The head of the world’s biggest bank by market capitalisation is concerned about the effect the UK’s exit from the EU will have on JP Morgan’s 20,000 UK employees, mainly based in the City of London.

USA - China and Russia are coming into the final stage of replacing the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The first step is to trade with each other in their own currencies. This will greatly reduce the impact of the current US economic sanctions against Russia. The US dollar will lose $59.5 billion in foreign-exchange support – and that is just the beginning.

USA - The US military has ordered a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula, amid growing concerns about North Korea's missile programme. The Carl Vinson Strike Group comprises an aircraft carrier and other warships. US Pacific Command described the deployment - now heading towards the western Pacific - as a prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region. President Trump has said the US is prepared to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea. "The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," US Pacific Command spokesman Dave Benham said.