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After Jenin Jul 13, 2023

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Kate Adie introduces stories from the Occupied Territories, the Mediterranean Sea, Ukraine, California and Algeria.

After violent clashes in Jenin last week, an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal seems as remote as its ever been. And with some Arab states now normalising relations with Israel, some observers say it is a sign some countries want to move on from the Palestinian cause. Jeremy Bowen hears one view that international support for a Palestinian state might eventually disappear from view, like the once ubiquitous Free Tibet movement has done in recent years. But, he says, a new generation of angry, desperate young Palestinians are driven to continue fighting their cause, whether the world is on their side or not.

Almost 2000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe this year. But as Alice Cuddy found on a ship that had just rescued young migrants from The Gambia, the deaths do not seem to deter desperate teenage boys and young men from seeking a better life.

The breach of the Karkhovka dam in Ukraine caused catastrophic flooding. But as the vast reservoir emptied, elements of the region's local history that had long been submerged began to see the light of day again. Vitaliy Shevchenko explores how Ukraine's fight for its future, is shedding new light on its past too.

Californian officials have recommended the payment of reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans, for slavery and for the effects of racial discrimination. Chelsea Bailey meets one family seeking justice, after local authorities in Palm Springs burned down their family home back in the 1960s.

Algeria boasts beautiful landscapes, old Kasbahs and well-preserved Roman ruins. But unlike other Mediterranean countries, it has hardly any tourists. Why not? Simon Calder has been to Algeria and has some answers.

Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

The Yazidis who survived Islamic State Jul 08, 2023

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Kate Adie introduces stories from Iraqi Kurdistan's Yazidi community, the streets of Marseille, the former USSR and the Caribbean island of Nevis.

From 2011 to 2017, the Yazidi minority in Iraq lived in terror, as the community was targeted by Islamic State's fighters for especially brutal repression. There were fears of genocide - that the whole community might be wiped out. That didn't happen - but as Rachel Wright has seen, Yazidis who survived captivity and slavery under IS are still finding life extremely tough today, trying to eke out a living in tented cities of refugees.

After the mass civil disorder across France, there's passionate debate over the root causes of the revolt on the streets, and what the rioters really wanted. Jenny Hill reports from Marseille on what she heard from residents of the city's vast and decaying Frais Vallon housing project.

Ibrat Safo reveals a personal story of childhood in the former USSR - and making contact again with the woman who helped to raise him. His family were Uzbek, while his nanny was of Uzbek and Ukrainian descent. They grew up together speaking Russian in a provincial Soviet town. So when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, he felt an urgent need to track her down, and find out where life has taken her.

And Rob Crossan reveals why the Caribbean island of Nevis hasn't turned much of a profit from its connection with one of America's Founding Fathers - the celebrated Alexander Hamilton.

Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-Ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Grief in France's banlieues Jul 06, 2023

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The bereaved mother of Nahel M., who was killed by police in Paris. And stories from Brazil, Somalia, Finland and Sicily.

Last week French police killed a 17-year old young man of North African origin during a traffic stop. This led to angry rioting and looting in Paris and other cities. But what underlies the anger and what does the death mean for the mother who lost her only child? Katya Adler has been to the Paris suburb where Nahel died.

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted of abusing his power for casting doubt on the country's voting system, and banned from running for office for 8 years. But, says Camilla Mota, political divisions remain deep. There's even a dating app for those who don't fancy a Bolsonarista.

Somalia has a large diaspora that fled the civil war of the 1980s and 90s and the instability, even famine, that have afflicted the country since. At least 100,000 live in Britain. Many are second-generation Somalis who have never been to Somalia. Among them, Soraya Ali - until now. So what was it like to go "back"?

As a consequence of the war in Ukraine, Finland joined NATO this year. It was a big turning point, because Finland’s history has long been intertwined with Russia. And so as Emilia Jansson found, the pivot to the West brought many changes. But not the giving up of paskha, a Russian cheesecake.

Sicily’s capital Palermo prides itself in its UNESCO world heritage-listed old town, with monuments from the times of Byzantine, Arab and Norman rule. And now there is a square marking the stay of an Irish debutante, Violet Gibson, who almost killed Mussolini. Richard Dove has her story.

Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius Editor: China Collins Credit: Photo by YOAN VALAT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Tracing Syria's Captagon Trade Jul 01, 2023

Show notes

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' and writers' despatches from Lebanon and Jordan, Ukraine's battle fronts, the Caribbean island of Grenada, the BBC's bureaux abroad and the streets of the South Bronx in New York City.

Captagon is a small, amphetamine-like pill which has become one of the most popular illegal drugs in the Middle East. There is increasing evidence that large amounts of it are being manufactured inside Syria in collusion with allies of the ruling Assad family - then brought out into neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan by Bedouin smugglers. Emir Nader joined the soldiers and lawmen trying to choke off the drug supply routes.

Despite the Wagner Group's apparent mutiny last weekend, Russia's war in Ukraine has not stopped - or even abated. Along the front line, Andrew Harding saw how Ukrainian soldiers and medics are continuing their fight, eavesdropping on Russian troops, and treating the wounded.

It's been nearly 40 years since the US invasion of Grenada - triggered by a chaotic power struggle within the island's avowedly Marxist-Leninist New Jewel Movement. On Grenada's "Bloody Wednesday" 1983, there were more than a dozen firing-squad executions - and there are still enduring questions about the events. Mark Stratton asked why some of the bodies are still missing - including that of the island's widely admired leader Maurice Bishop.

Simon Wilson has worked abroad for the BBC for more than twenty years, in some of its most prestigious bureaux, including Jerusalem, Brussels and Washington DC. But his foreign news career started out in much less promising conditions - at the notoriously dismal office in Bonn. He pulls back the curtain on some of the more unexpected features of the BBC's premises overseas.

And in the South Bronx, there are signs of creeping gentrification on what used to be some of New York City's meanest streets. Not everyone is a fan of the changes, though. Writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns has been exploring today's cultural scene in the Boogie Down - including a thriving Black-owned bookshop.

Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross

The Wagner mutiny in Russia Jun 29, 2023

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The Wagner mutiny in Russia; and other stories from Russia, Peru, Bangladesh and Denmark.

The mutiny by Russia's Wagner mercenaries ended as quickly as it started. The fighters had taken the southern Russian city and military hub Rostov-on-Don, and were heading for Moscow, when their leader called it all off. How do the capital's residents view these events?

Russia says it has lost 6000 soldiers in Ukraine, but the true figure is thought to be 40,000 to 60,000. Olga Ivshina has been tracking her country's military fatalities with other volunteers, and has so far counted 25,000. Sometimes their relatives didn't even know they had died.

Peru is suffering its worst outbreak of dengue fever on record, following unusually hot and wet weather conditions. The viral disease is carried by mosquitoes and can cause severe joint and muscle pain, even death. Dan Collyns travelled to the centre of Peru's epidemic in Piura in northern Peru.

Bangladesh used to have high rates of pregnancy or childbirth-related deaths, and of children dying in infancy due to low rates of vaccination. But now illness and deaths have been drastically reduced, thanks to the "disease detectives" scheme - women offering healthcare to millions. Peter Young went to see how it works.

Denmark's small prison population has been growing due to harsher sentencing, but the number of prison officers is falling, leading to concerns about overcrowding, and the quality of the prison regime. Polina Bachlakova found the impact is even felt in a prison’s choir.

Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Vadon Photo: Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaving Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Copyright: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Ghana's healthcare brain drain Jun 24, 2023

Show notes

Kate Adie introduces stories from Ghana's hospitals, the Chinese-Russian border, Syrian refugees in Lebanon, a research station on Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the streets of Limerick in Ireland.

Ghana is one of several African countries which say their health services are being sapped by a slow bleed of doctors and nurses going abroad - to earn vastly better salaries in the UK and elsewhere. Naomi Grimley spoke to medical staff in rural Kwaso and in the city of Accra about the push and pull factors on their minds.

After a drastic contraction during the periods of pandemic lockdown, China-Russia trade is on the rebound, and China's government is bullish about the prospects for recovery. At ground level things may not look so rosy. Ankur Shah reflects on the cross-border relations he saw reflected on the streets of the city of Manzhouli.

There's been a backlash in Lebanon against the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees still living in the country - twelve years after the start of the civil war in Syria. Recently there was an outcry over the case of a seven-year-old schoolgirl whose parents had been deported back to Damascus - while she sat in a Lebanese classroom. Carine Torbey went to meet her and hear her story.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most-studied coral formations on Earth - and Australia's government often claims that it's also one of the best-protected and best-managed. Marine scientists who've been working there over the long term have seen some changes, and are concerned about the future - especially if ocean temperatures continue to rise. Michelle Jana Chan hear about the state of the science on Lizard Island.

And: is keeping horses in a lockup garage in a major city - or driving them with two-wheeled carriages on a main road - a public nuisance, or a wholesome pastime? Bob Howard has been talking to the "sulky racers" of Limerick, and hearing why the sound of horses' hooves seems unlikely to disappear from Ireland's urban landscapes.

Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-Ordinator: Janet Staples

Life and Death in North Korea Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Kate Adie introduces stories from North Korea, Canada, Guinea-Bissau, Peru and Jamaica.

North Korea sealed its borders when the pandemic struck, and little news from the isolated, oppressive state has leaked out since. The BBC's Jean Mackenzie, with Daily NK, an organisation with sources inside North Korea, has managed to make contact with North Koreans who reveal lives defined by fear - and the growing threat of starvation.

Canada is on course for its worst year for wildfires on record. Unusually, there have been many blazes in Quebec - a province not used to wildfires, and which subsequently lacks the specialist firefighters needed to tame forest fires. Nadine Yousif hears how they're already exhausted - and it's still only June.

Guinea-Bissau is a major hub for drug traffickers from South America transporting drugs to Europe - and this has fuelled high levels of addiction to crack cocaine. Yet the country has only two drug rehab centres - one of them run by a Pentecostal pastor, who claims to cure addiction through prayer. Sam Bradpiece paid a a visit, and found evidence of staff cruelty and residents being chained to bars and cages.

Peru has become the world's largest exporter of blueberries - a fruit native to the northern hemisphere, where it thrives in colder temperatures. So how do they grow it in tropical Peru? Stefania Gozzer has been to a blueberry plantation along Peru's arid Pacific coast to find out.

The Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in Essex 75 years ago. On board were 802 people from the Caribbean, who had made the voyage to find better jobs, and build a better life - but the Windrush Generation also faced hostility and prejudice. Horatio Clare recently visited Jamaica, and found that amid the warm welcomes was a demand for a different relationship between the UK and its former colony.

Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Photo: painting of the sealed border of North Korea. Copyright BBC.

Donald Trump's courtroom drama Jun 17, 2023

Show notes

Kate Adie introduces dispatches from the USA, Pakistan, Germany, Japan and Italy.

In Florida this week, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges relating to unauthorised possession of classified material, obstruction of justice and making false statements to law enforcement. Nomia Iqbal was outside the federal courthouse in Miami where the arraignment took place, and spoke to some of the former president's supporters.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan was once omnipresent in the country's media - from the headlines to the fiery evening TV talk shows. But since his removal from power in a vote of no confidence, his public profile has almost disappeared, as his political party and its supporters are being silenced. Caroline Davies reports on a new climate of apprehension in the Pakistani media.

How should a German town with a steady stream of tourists deal with an antisemitic sculpture in public view? In Wittenberg, home town of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, the answer is not straightforward. What to do with a medieval carving on the side of a church has stoked some serious debate, says John Kampfner.

Kesennuma, in northeastern Japan, was one of many coastal towns devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 which triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident. Ellie House recently visited the city, and saw lasting signs of the damage done. Yet despite the ever-present risks, some younger people in Japan seem far less prepared for disaster.

And as Italy mourns the late Silvio Berlusconi, David Willey remembers a visit to the media magnate and politician's palatial villa in Milan - when he went to see the almost pharaonic mausoleum where Mr Berlusconi planned to be buried, along with family, friends... and some business associates.

The Myanmar soldiers refusing to fight Jun 15, 2023

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Kate Adie introduces stories from Myanmar's civil war, Iran, Moldova, Denmark and South Georgia.

Since the military overthrow of the democratically elected government in Myanmar in 2021, the country has slid into civil war. When initial, peaceful demonstrations against the military coup failed, civilians took up arms. Now, some of the soldiers they are fighting are deciding to defect - refusing to fight against their own people. Many have fled to Thailand, where Rebecca Henschke spoke to them.

When an Iranian former political prisoner goes missing, who should his family turn to for help? The daughter of Ebrahim Babie was rightly reluctant to contact the Iranian authorities who had targeted her father, and instead she called the BBC's Persian Service. Jiyar Gol tells the story of his search for a missing dissident.

Moldova shares a large border with its much larger neighbour Ukraine, and since Russia's invasion, Moldovans have been on edge. Disinformation about the war have widened the unease between pro-western and pro-Russian factions in the country. But Moldova's president has big plans for a future in the EU, and was boosted by a recent European summit held in the capital, Chisinau. Stephen McGrath reports.

Hidden in a forest in northern Jutland, nearly 250 miles from Copenhagen, the sprawling REGAN Vest complex was built at the height of the Cold War. This huge nuclear bunker is where the Danish government and queen would have sheltered in the event of nuclear attack. Adrienne Murray paid a recent and discovered a remarkable time capsule that continues to resonate.

The island of South Georgia, eight hundred miles north of Antarctica, was plundered by Antarctic explorers, with its whales, seals and penguins killed for their oils, furs and meat. But now the island lies within a vast nature reserve, and on a recent visit Mark Stratton found an island restored.

Producer: Claire Bowes Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-ordinator: Janet Staples

The Taliban's Opium War Jun 10, 2023

Show notes

Kate Adie introduces stories from Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, Ukraine and Panama.

Opium poppies from Afghanistan have provided the raw materials for the world's heroin trade for decades, with successive governments failing to curtail this illicit crop. Now back in power, the Taliban have decreed a new ban on opium cultivation, sending patrols to destroy crops across the country - often leaving poor farmers with no other means of income. Yogita Limaye joined a patrol in Nangahar province.

When Nigeria's new President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was sworn in at the end of May, he called the occasion 'a sublime moment'. Few people expected any revelations or surprises in his inaugural speech - but when he went off-script, there was a scramble for petrol across the country. Mayeni Jones weighs up the mood as Mr Tinubu took power.

The scale of the recent rail disaster in Orissa state in India was shocking: nearly three hundred people died and more than a thousand more were injured. Amid the chaos of the aftermath, Archana Shukla reported on the human losses, and spoke to many families desperate for news of relatives who'd been travelling that day.

The forcible removal of children from Ukraine to Russia, or Russian-controlled territory, has been a sinister element of Moscow's tactics during the invasion and occupation of the country. Sarah Rainsford has spent months tracing what really happened to these children - and met Ukrainian mothers and grandmothers who ventured into Russian territory to get them back.

One swallow doesn't make a summer - but how many swifts make a spring? Stephen Moss is a passionate naturalist who's travelled around the world to spot some of its most threatened species. On a recent visit to Panama, he was worried to hear that climate change is now affecting the timing of huge seasonal bird and wildlife migrations.

Producer: Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Co-ordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross

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