As the Olympic flame begins its journey to Paris and the French capital prepares to host some 15 million tourists in less than four months' time, more than 80 NGOs are denouncing a form of "social cleansing". Authorities in the French capital has been relocating people from the streets in the city centre and around the Olympic sites. These vulnerable populations include homeless people, migrants and drug addicts.

This Thursday marks three years since Myanmar's military seized power in a coup, and the country is still beset by a civil war between the ruling junta and armed ethnic groups. On January 7, residents and officials of a small village in western Myanmar said the air force had conducted air strikes killing 17 civilians, but the official state media called the claim "fake news."