The Fifth Floor: Javier Milei's first year in power
Argentina's president Javier Milei famously campaigned with a chainsaw, promising he would cut public spending. Has he delivered? Verónica Smink of BBC Mundo will bring us the latest from Buenos Aires. Plus, how thousands of old portrait pictures were found and restored in Uganda, with BBC Africa's Christine Otieno.Produced by Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)
7 Dec 202423min
BBC OS Conversations: The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire
It is coming up to two weeks since a ceasefire was brokered between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since then there have been reports of minor violations on both sides. As the fragile truce continues, we hear from residents about their experiences, their fears and their hopes for peace. For one Israeli, after 13 months of conflict, some wartime habits are hard to break. We also hear from two women who decided to remain in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, throughout the war. “The ceasefire feels definitely bittersweet,” says Lea. “On one hand, there’s this sense of relief, knowing that for now the bombing has finally stopped...On the other hand, it doesn’t erase the trauma that we’ve been living...”
7 Dec 202423min
Heart and Soul: Should I change my name?
Personal names have spiritual and religious meanings in the Christian tradition. But what if you carry an inherited surname that you feel is profoundly unchristian? Should you keep it or change it? Robert Beckford is going through this dilemma. His surname is a slave name, a brand of ownership passed down from his enslaved African ancestors in Jamaica. Over time, Robert has grown deeply uncomfortable with the meaning of this name and now wants to find a more spiritual alternative. Robert embarks on a journey of self-discovery, considering whether he should change or keep his inherited name.
6 Dec 202426min
Over the fence: From Turkey into the EU
One way to reach the European Union is via the 'Eastern Mediterranean route' from Turkey into either Bulgaria or Greece. Back in 2015 millions of people reached Europe this way to flee conflicts in the Middle East. Since then, international deals have been struck and border security toughened across Europe to stem the flow of migrants. Yet, whilst other routes to Europe have seen a fall, the numbers travelling via this 'Eastern Mediterranean route' into the EU have increased since 2021. Presenter Nick Robinson hears from refugees in Turkey looking to leave and from those who have successfully made it across the land border into Bulgaria. He explores the success and limits of the Bulgarian border force’s efforts to police its border.
6 Dec 202426min
100 Women: Byline Afghanistan
Since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, eight out of 10 women journalists have stopped working. The few female journalists still working are subject to all kinds of restrictions, including no access to official sources, no travelling without a chaperone, as well as abuses such as harassment and low pay.Previously, approximately 17 percent of accredited journalists working in Afghanistan were women - so where have they all gone, and what are they doing now? The BBC’s Sana Safi investigates.
5 Dec 202423min
The Global Jigsaw: The rebels who retook Aleppo
A shock offensive on Aleppo turned Syria’s forgotten conflict into hot war. The group spearheading it, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has been at pains to present itself as a credible governing body, having renounced its jihadist past. With a bounty on his head, its leader, Abu Mohammed al Jawlani, has been spinning his propaganda machine in the northern province of Idlib, wearing western suits and taking selfies with the locals. We track his journey of transformation in this episode, first published in 2023. Producer: Kriszta Satori, Anne Dixey Presenter: Krassi Twigg
4 Dec 202426min
Assignment: France - trouble on the vine
Low harvests, economic and climate change and changing tastes have impacted French wine. The French wine harvest has dropped 18% in one year. For some famous French wine-making regions the reduction has been much more. A combination of factors, including climate, finances and changing drinking habits has brought some wine-makers to the brink. Thousands of hectares of vineyards are being pulled up. Others are struggling to survive. John Murphy travels to Bordeaux and Languedoc - the world’s biggest wine-making region - to find out what is going on with wine, France’s most symbolic of products.
3 Dec 202431min
Blood on the shelves
A year-long BBC Eye investigation has uncovered that Chinese tomato paste produced using forced labour in Xinjiang is likely to be being sold in major UK and German supermarkets. Runako Celina has teamed up with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Alison Killing to find out the nature and scale of forced labour in the tomato fields of Xinjiang, and follow a trail that shows the resulting puree might be ending up on European shelves. Using satellite imagery and shipping data, they track the route the tomato paste takes from Xinjiang to Europe, where they uncover evidence showing there’s a strong likelihood it is being sold on to some supermarkets. The supermarkets all said they took the allegations very seriously. But they disputed the BBC’s findings.
2 Dec 202437min
