Newsline 23 February 2010: Is the death toll from Haiti's earthquake really as high as the government claims? Concern in the West as Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai grabs control of the country's electoral body. How a Dutch teenager discovered the hard side of soft drugs.

Listen to the programme here:

Haiti's death toll exaggerated?
Research carried out by Radio Netherlands Worldwide suggests that the death toll in January's Haiti earthquake may be far lower than the government estimate of 217,000. Our correspondent Hans Jaap Melissen believes the real total will not exceed 100,000.
 

Karzai seizes control over electoral body
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has infuriated the international community by seizing control of the country's electoral watchdog, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). It's the body that rejected nearly a million votes in last year's elections. Western observers now fear Mr Karzai may sack the three UN-appointed foreign members of the ECC, including its Canadian chairman. We speak to Afghanistan expert Gareth Price.
 

The hard side of soft drugs
Some Dutch researchers say that more and more youngsters are becoming addicted to cannabis, as this 'soft' drug is becoming more addictive. We hear from a Dutch therapist who says soft drugs aren't soft anymore and from 18-year old Alex, who turned to hard drugs and alcohol after he began smoking cannabis at the age of 13.

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