From Our Own Correspondent

Alan Johnston's been to the Italian towns shaken by a series of earthquakes and aftershocks. In Pakistan, monsoon season is approaching again: Aleem Maqbool meets victims of last year's disastrous flooding amid concerns it could happen again. Hamilton Wende, a longterm resident of Johannesburg, believes it's shaking off a reputation for violence and urban decay. James McConnachie is in Nepal, where Chinese influence is bringing new road-building projects to the world's most dramatic mountain landscapes. And Roland Buerk is in Tokyo, where pets are pampered like nowhere else on earth.