28/07/2013 Reporters

of internet grooming. And now on BBC News it is time for reporters.

Welcome to reporters. From here in the world 's newsroom we send out

correspondence to bring you the best stories from across the globe stop

in this week 's programme, Brazil's new thalidomide generation. We

investigate a new study that said the drug is still causing birth

defects. Feeding the future -- we report on how wild plants could

protect our crops from the effects of climate change. We report on a

new wave of black cinema in the United States. He is the boy who

would be King but we question whether the wall has gone gaga over

Britain's Royal baby. And welcome to Birdland, we meet the couple who

live alone on an island with 150,000 birds. This is so much more than a

beautiful island. It was written very first word observatory. They

had been recording information about birds last year for more than a

century. In the 1950s it was billed as a new wonder drug. Thalidomide

was -- prescribed for women to overcome the morning sickness. But

the side-effects were severe and the drug was banned. A new scientific

study seen by the BBC indicate that the leader might is still causing

birth defects today. It has been re- licensing Brazil to treat leprosy

but millions of pills are distributed every year. But

researchers believe that a hundred babies have been born since 2005

with injury similar caused by Phyllida my. -- Mark thalidomide. We

were told this could never happen again. But this boy who is eight has

been horribly damaged by the leader might -- thalidomide. His injuries

do not want -- it tends to not want us to show his face. First marketed

in the late 1950s, thalidomide always prescribed for women with

morning sickness. The -- thalidomide never really went away. This factory

produces about 8 million pills per year. It is cheap and highly

effective at treating a disease that stalks Brazil's slums. Leprosy.

Here, health workers spread across a favela near Rio de Janeiro. They

were showing people how to spot signs of the disease and encouraging

them to come for free testing. This made from the national leprosy

organisation. TRANSLATION: Brazil is number one in the world for leprosy.

After Brazil it is Nepal, and East Timor. Brazil is just behind India

which has a much eager population. It varies around the country because

leprosy is a disease of forgotten populations. On the surface, Rozelle

may look like it's booming. It has the sixth biggest economy in the

world and a GDP of 1.6 trillion pounds. But it -- there is a very

different Brazil behind the playground. The gap between rich and

poor is immense. Brazil has as many billionaires as France and Spain put

together, 16 million people still have to live on less than a pound

per day. With poor healthcare and massive overcrowding, but the

conditions for leprosy to thrive. Such is the need for thalidomide

that the government has doubled its order from this factory.

TRANSLATION: if we inform people about the benefit of thalidomide, we

can dispel the myth that -- myths. It is tightly controlled, there are

regular pregnancy test for anyone who takes it. These are just some of

the forms a woman have to fill out. But there is evidence that the

system is not 100% effective. Researchers analysed 17 million

births between 2005 and 2010. In areas where thalidomide was used

most, it found a higher than average number of Burke -- birth defects.

TRANSLATION: we found after six years of research a strong

correlation, a positive correlation between the amount of thalidomide

and the type of congenital defects. No one is saying that thalidomide

should be banned. It is to import and a medicine for that. But this is

a deeply unequal society. It is the poor who suffer the most from

leprosy. Because of inadequate education and bad healthcare, it is

likely to be the children of the poor who suffer most because of

thalidomide. Children like Alan who must live with the consequences of

one small mistake made before he was even born. Commemorations have begun

to mark 60 years of the Korean War. The three-year conflict, which

brought in the United States and Chinese forces on opposite sides,

ended in a truce in 1953. But no peace deal has ever been signed so

the two sides remain technically, at war. We go to the South Korean

capital Seoul and will she looks back at six decades of limbo. 60

years on, some of the rawness of Korea's vicious war has faded. These

days it is the not blood on the guns of the cadets. But this man and his

comrades, the memories of those days are still fresh. TRANSLATION: he

shows me where he is unit of the first rounds of Korean fire. They

were forced to retreat to the river as mortars shook the ground around

him. 60 years on, he said it is still too soon for a peace treaty.

TRANSLATION: the very idea of a peace treaty is North Korean tricky

-- triggering. It has no debt... It still wants to spread communism

through the peninsula. By force if necessary. The irony is, this man is

North Korean. He was asked to fight with other men against his own

Korean relations ever since. Foremost, the most legacy of the

Armistice is the physical division of Korea into two nations. A four

kilometre buffer zone which begins just on the other side of this ridge

stop it does not just divide two countries, it divides families,

families from children, brothers from sisters. Stories of separation

and resettlement do not come stranger than this one. This man

arrived in the south during the war as a young North Korean gorilla --

gorilla fighter. He carried on fighting even after the Armistice

was signed. When I first. TRANSLATION: when I first heard

about the truce I was depressed. We went into the mountains to fight to

the death. Today, the North Korean against

against the south. One place where this man and his former coal --

comrades can embrace their former opinions. This time, North Korea

one. Could the wild ancestors of some of our most popular food crops

help us fight the future. The seeds of wild plants could help feed us

but also help protect crops from what they say are the devastating

effects of climate change. We report from Italy. The landscape of

northern Italy. An agricultural catch -- patchwork forged over

millennia of human endeavour. Modern bred to thrive in a highly specific

environment. But if the climate changes, our super specialised crops

may suffer or fail as weather patterns shift. It is then, a

question of food security. The answer may not answer -- may not lie

in cultivated areas but with our ancient ancestors. 20,000 -year-old

crops are still thriving. There is a treasure trove of untapped genetic

the hunt is on for the wild ancestors of our most important to

crops. The DNA of these seas is the the future of world farming. While

relatives of wheat, oats and corn. They contain characteristics which

may help our future. They might have a gene for drug tolerance or a gene

The first job is to find examples of the 450 species on the most wanted

list. It is painstaking work to collect the sea. It is a process

that engages scientist in dozens of some -- site is around the world.

stop we can have a genetic pool to have genetic material for breeders,

for agriculture. For the future. Once collected, the seeds are

bagged, and shipped out. They are -- arrived here. They receive shipments

from Tonga, from full -- the Falkland Islands, from Mexico. It is

to create new food crops. There is urgency. Human encroachment means

some of these species are endangered. The seeds must be taken

now before it is too late. The new award-winning film based on the

fatal shooting of a young black man by a police officer in California in

2009, opened in the US this week. Fruit rail station at film festivals

has been hailed by some critics as showing a real view of American life

rarely seen in Hollywood. It heralds a new way of black cinema, with ten

films telling black stories in the next few months. Fruit Vale station

chronicles the last 24 hours in the life of this 22 -year-old, leading

him being shot by a white police officer in California in 2009. Like

the tree on Martin case, it is another example of a young African

American being slain. The cast see it as a significant movie. It is

important because it is allowing us to have discourse about how we view

each other in our society and culture. It is important because it

is topical. Fruit Vale station is one of ten films from black

filmmakers that will be released in the US before the end of the year.

It is an increase since last year. Many of the songs come from the

independent searcher -- films come from the independent sector. There

is definitely a lot of movement in India like films now. -- Indy. This

new wave is made up of musicals and comedies, not just the crime and

drug stories. It is being called a renaissance of black cinema. Support

and new cheap production movie have helped black directors move

forward. We are a more accessible with new technology. It will lead to

more people getting into it. Black filmmakers still face challenges.

Their pitches off and do not reach broad audiences. The other -- and

the other hurdle is that black films do not sell beyond US shores, it

makes getting backing difficult. Even though it is more myth than

reality. There is a hope that this renaissance in black cinema can lead

to eight growing foothold in the market place. There is a firm

resolve that storytelling prevails. We need to start insisting that our

stories are told. It is important for our children, it is important

for ourselves. To see ourselves in cinema and to be celebrated. Black

cinema to make real headway, will have to do well commercially. That

is what executives are taking into account. Wherever you are on the

planet, you can't have turned on the news this week without hearing about

Britain's Royal baby. The birth of the new rents of Cambridge has

dominated headlines both here and around the world. There is plenty of

interest in the boy who is destined to be king, but there is also

criticism of just how much media coverage the arrival of the new

Prince has generated. Congratulations well and Kate. --

will. Make no mistake, the world media loves this story. I cannot

tell you how big it is, especially in the States. They do not have

anything equivalent to the royal family. They have gone crazy over

the story. They absolutely -- will absolutely love this young glamorous

couple. This is why we have been covering this closely. But how much

is too much Western mark as head of an antimonarchist pressure group,

you would hardly expect to Graham Smith to be draped in a union

player, but he believes the union coverage is not just Tyson, it is

irresponsible. It is over the top and inappropriate. It is all

1-sided. Lord casters have a responsibility to reflect the

general public mood, not celebrate. But there is a celebration, isn't

it? Most of them are tourists to have a look. Of course, some people

love the family, and wanted celebrate, they are free to do

that. That is not reflective of public mood. It is ironic. Here I

am, a TV reporter, reporting about the fact that there has been too

much reporting about the royal birth. This has been a classic case

of the media chasing its own tale. Given this baby will be king, this

level of fascination is justified. Monarchy is all about continuity,

looking for our roots in history, and looking forward. The media is

here because they realise that here we have a new generation of the

royal family, we can see this institution, for better or worse. It

reaches forward into the end of this century and into the next century.

Who knows what that will bring? focus of the cameras will shift for

some point, for now, fascination continues, amongst the need -- media

at least. How would you like to live on an island where you were the only

resident apart from a hundred and 50,000 birds. These two are the new

wardens of the first ever bird observatory in Britain, on a tiny

island off the coast of Wales. It is the sound you noticed first. The

island is just one square mile of rock, but it is home to 150,000

birds and two rather adventurous humans. Richard and Gisele argued to

monitor the bird population, so they keep a close eye on these checks.

The couple arrived in March. Since then they have left the island only

once. We miss family and friends. You need to be resourceful. In need

to make it on the islands, if you can. This is paradise for nesting

and migrating birds. Lots of food, keep it is. Even so, they take no

chances. It makes counting storm petrels tricky. They go down and

suitable crevasses. Three have started to respond. On a day like

this, the area is stunning. But this is so much more than just a

beautiful island. It is Britain's first bird observatory. They have

been recording information here for 100 years. These days, the job comes

with a lighthouse. There is water from a well, solar powered

electricity, and supplies arrived I've got. As do the visitors and

volunteers. -- arrive by boat. They are rarely alone. We have always

worked together, so we have always worked together. -- we're used to

it. It makes you stronger as a couple. You can get lost on the

islands are so easily. There is so much to look at. I would never feel

claustrophobic. Every job has its perks. The nightlife here is one of

them. After dark, something remarkable happens. Birds that

borrow all they emerge. Thousands of petrol 's and shearwaters, hunting