Kyrgyz cyanide leak

The Kyrgyz Environment Ministry says it's planning to seek damages from a joint venture company over a cyanide spillage last week.

Nearly two thousand kilos of cyanide spilled into a river feeding Lake Issyk Kul when a truck belonging to the company Kumtor Operating Company, which has a large Canadian input crashed into the water.

Sixteen local people have been taken to hospital with suspected poisoning as a result of the accident.

But the ministry says there will be no long-term damage to the environment as the cyanide will dissolve away naturally over the next few days.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service