大象传媒

Dotun Adebayo with stories from around the world.

Kofi Annan has acknowledged that his Syria peace plan isn't working and he's calling for stronger action from the international community. There's been strong language from UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, too. He says there's imminent danger of civil war. Bassam Bitar, a former Syrian diplomat, says that for the last 14 months there's been no international reaction to what's happening in Syria, and that the Assad regime has survived thanks to support from Iran.

More than two thousand former American football players are suing the NFL due to the head injuries they say they've suffered. Will Carrol who writes for Sports Illustrated tells us that helmets worn by footballers weren't designed to prevent concussion, and it's causing more people to stop playing the sport. The NFL says it's made strenuous efforts to improve the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussion.

In America, notes have been discovered belonging to the first doctor on the scene at the theatre when President Lincoln was shot. They were found by the British researcher, Helena Iles Papaionnou. She tells us about how the doctor pushed his finger into the wound to try to move the bullet, and explains why the Lincoln shooting has become such a well-known story in the USA.

If you're in the middle of taking exams, spare a thought for students in China. University entrance exams there are known for being very difficult - and it brings shame on your family if you don't pass the test. Parents are even giving their kids energy-boosting injections. But Xu Gan, an educational consultant in Shanghai, tells us that students these days have it easy and they were much tougher tests 15 years ago when he took the exams.

Plus we look ahead to Euro 2012 in our Friday phone-in, and Jamie Stangroom's new music hears from Sir Christopher Lee talking about his heavy metal singing career. We kid you not.