BBC OS Conversations: Colourism

It’s been called the priciest piece of tarmac in the world. In 2014 the government of Montenegro signed a contract with a state-owned Chinese company to build part of a 170 kilometre-long highway – a road that would connect its main port with the Serbian border to the north. The price-tag on the first 42 kilometres of asphalt was a staggering $1 billion - most of which has been borrowed from a Chinese bank. In Montenegro, questions continue to be asked about why the project went ahead when some experts said that it was not viable. The River Tara – a UNESCO protected site – has been impacted by the building works, and allegations of corruption and kickbacks have hung around like a bad smell. Meanwhile, the economy has taken a massive hit as a result of the pandemic, and some Montenegrins worry about the country's ability to repay the loan. Worse still, a clause in the road contract states that Montenegro may relinquish sovereignty over unspecified parts of its territory if there is a default. But is everything as it seems? Assignment investigates. Presenter: Linda Pressly Producer: Mike Gallagher Editor: Bridget Harney(Image: A slogan for Chinese construction workers adorns part of Montenegro’s new mountain road. Credit: BBC/Michael Gallagher)

13 Tammi 202227min

The Amazon is the largest area of rainforest on earth. Bursting with life, it provides us with a wealth of resources. But for each of its potential riches a potential threat is lurking beneath the canopy. Increasing deforestation allows what is hidden within to find a way out, and with it the possibility for wildlife to spread deadly pathogens.

8 Tammi 202249min

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is leading to record infection levels in several countries, and vaccination is a key part of the fight against the pandemic. Host James Reynolds brings together vaccination workers in South Africa, Australia, the United States and the UK to share what’s it like to be part of the global effort to vaccinate.We also hear from two people in the US and the UK who turned down a vaccination. After almost dying, they regret their decisions. “I had no idea what was going into me when they [health workers] were saving my life - the same as I don’t know what’s in the vaccine,” says Jade in the UK. “It’s silly isn’t it? You kind of overthink one thing but not the other.”

8 Tammi 202224min

The US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 has been described by President Biden as a dark day in US history. A year on since the attack, Ros Atkins examines the legal and political fall-out from it.

8 Tammi 202210min

It can be hard to choose how to spend our precious time. Imam Jamal Rahman, a Sufi spiritual teacher, offers a joyful perspective to Rebecca from the USA.

8 Tammi 202218min

A giant new canal for the world’s biggest ships is the most ambitious engineering plan yet proposed by Turkey’s President Erdogan, whose massive infrastructure projects have already changed the face of his country. The proposed waterway would slice through Istanbul, creating in effect a second Bosphorus, the busy shipping lane that is now the only outlet from the Black Sea. The president himself has called the project “crazy”. But he says it would “save the future of Istanbul”, easing traffic in the Bosphorus and reducing the risk of a terrible accident there. But the plan has met a storm of opposition. Istanbul’s mayor says it would “murder” the historic city. Critics claim the canal would be an environmental disaster, cost billions of dollars that Turkey can’t afford – and provoke severe tensions with Russia, which is determined to preserve existing rules on traffic into and out of the Black Sea. Will the canal go ahead? Who would lose – and who would benefit? Tim Whewell reports from a divided Istanbul.(Image: Turkish coastal safety patrol boats in the Bosphorus, Istanbul. Credit: Yörük Işık)

6 Tammi 202227min

Wafa Mustafa hasn't heard from her dad since he went missing in July 2013. She, like tens of thousands of others in her position, believes he is being detained by the Syrian government, and is searching for him. In this documentary, she explains how she uses the story of his life to campaign for justice in Syria, and how keeping the memory of her father alive is an act of protest and resistance.

4 Tammi 202227min

Another chance to hear from some of the BBC's acclaimed series examining the seismic events shaping Afghanistan before and after this year's return to power of the Taliban. After last week's episode featuring Taliban founder Mullah Zaeef and former President Hamid Karzai, the BBC's chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, hears from a younger generation. Shaharzad Akbar was raised in a refugee camp in Pakistan in the 1990s, became the first Afghan woman to get a degree at Oxford University, and went on to run the country's Human Rights Commission. Arson Fahim and Meena Karimi are both gifted composers with no memory of life before the advent of a US-backed democracy in the country. All see their lives shaped by it, and all three have had to flee Kabul since the Taliban took over. What now for the dreams they cherished?Hear the whole series at bbcworldservice.com/afghanistan

2 Tammi 202251min