Scammed, robbed, traumatised – life after war for Russian soldiers

In Freetown, Sierra Leone, we join a group of African-Americans who have all taken a DNA test and discovered their ancestors came from this country on the West Coast of Africa, before they were trafficked to the US and enslaved. Over their two week trip, we explore the bustling city of Freetown, a very different experience to the US. They travel to remote villages where their ancestors may have lived. Here they are each adopted by a local family and given a traditional name according to the ethnic group indicated in their DNA test. There is also a boat trip to Bunce Island, where they find the ruins of a slave fort where men, women and children were held captive in appalling conditions. And we meet other returnees who have come back to Sierra Leone to make a difference.

12 Jan 202552min

Eunice Yang from BBC Chinese reports on the closure of over 400 maternity wards across China. Plus, South Korea's illegal tattoo parlours with BBC Korean's Yuna Ku, and why Ghana's traditional kente fabric has been recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, with BBC Africa's Jelilat Olawale. Yuna's documentary is part of the BBC 100 Women series. To find out more about the other inspiring and influential women on this year's list go to bbc.co.uk/100women. You can also follow BBC 100 Women on Facebook and Instagram. Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Caroline Ferguson, Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

11 Jan 202525min

Over the past decade, cars and trucks have been used as lethal weapons in an increasing number of attacks. Fourteen people died and at least 35 were injured when a driver of a pickup truck targeted crowds in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. Less than a month earlier, a nine-year-old child and five adults were killed in a similar incident in the eastern German city of Magdeburg where a car was driven through a crowded Christmas market. Kathy was dancing in a Christmas parade in the town of Waukesha in the US state of Wisconsin in 2021 when a car rammed into the performers, killing six people and injuring dozens more. Donna was watching the parade: “I remember it like it was yesterday,” she tells host Mark Lowen. Donna and Kathy are joined by Astrid in Germany, whose father was killed in a 2016 attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

11 Jan 202523min

Sahar Zand follows young Hindu activists Banamali and Sukanto, who are documenting the violence they say authorities and media are ignoring. She joins them as they respond to a new attack on a Hindu-majority village, where a mob set fire to a yet another building. The attacks are not just aimed at buildings. Sahar meets victims, including an elderly village doctor recovering from an attempted murder and a grieving mother whose 14-year-old son was killed trying to escape the country. In a tense interview, Sahar confronts Mahmudul Hasan Gunovi, a far-right Islamist leader accused of fueling the violence with his inflammatory rhetoric. She experiences the violence first-hand during a volatile encounter when Banamali and Sukanto visit a sensitive site, where a Hindu crematorium has recently been destroyed, and a make-shift mosque built on its ruins.

10 Jan 202526min

Since humans have been on earth, the night sky has caused many to gaze upwards, open-mouthed in astonishment. Beyond its beauty, it has facilitated both the development and advancement of human and animal life on Earth. Celestial navigation guided humans across the seas, forming new trade routes and civilisations. The constellations also signalled when winter or summer was approaching so people would know when to sow their crops. But for decades, the night sky has been changing dramatically. Thousands of satellites now blink in amongst the stars and planets, doubling in number in the past few years largely due to the existence of companies like SpaceX. As objects continue to be launched into space with sparse environmental regulations in place, astro-photographer Monika Deviat asks: what do we stand to lose?

9 Jan 202526min

In the city of Goma, former child soldiers are being rehabilitated using capoeira, the Brazilian martial art. Since the start of the conflict in 1996 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, child soldiers have been recruited to fight. After they are demobilised from armed groups, many suffer from mental health disorders like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The demobilised child soldiers are housed in transit centres while they wait to be reunited with their families. While they wait, Social Capoeira is one of the therapies offered to them. It is a form of capoeira where the fighting is non-contact and dialogue, and wellbeing are prioritised. Congolese journalist Ruth Omar explores the impact of this unique approach.

8 Jan 202522min

The people of Valencia are still trying to come to terms with the events of 29 October - in a matter of hours, the Spanish city was hit by flash floods, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. But, as news of the floods began circulating on social media, so did rumours about the supposed causes behind the torrential rain. “This is not normal weather”, suggested one tweet seen more than a million times, “This is weather warfare manipulated by HAARP.” Claims that the weather is being manipulated through the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an atmospheric research programme first developed by the US military, are not new. And yet, as many extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, these lies appear to be finding new audiences. So, what is the truth about HAARP?

8 Jan 202518min

Why feminism has become a dirty word in South Korea. In South Korea being a feminist is now something that can only be admitted in private, thanks to a fierce backlash against feminism. Anti-feminists accuse women who advocate for equality as being man-haters, worthy of punishment. Online witch-hunts - spearheaded by young male gamers - target women suspected of harbouring feminist views, bombarding them with abuse and demanding they be fired from their jobs. Jean Mackenzie investigates how these witch-hunts have silenced women. She asks what this means for the future of women's rights in a country where gender discrimination is still deeply entrenched.

7 Jan 202529min