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Delhi smog: How India is tackling air pollution

Delhi smog: How India is tackling air pollution

Delhi is often described as the most polluted city in the world. Right now the air quality is so bad the government has ordered all primary schools to shut until 10th November.

We want to focus on what’s being done to improve things. Kamala Thiagarajan, a climate and science reporter from India, explains. We also hear about what’s working to improve air quality in Accra, Ghana. And the BBC’s Divya Arya tells us how women who were attacked in Manipur are coping six months on.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenters: Hannah Gelbart with Daniel Dadzie Producers: William Lee Adams and Mora Morrison Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Ukraine: Life in a warzone

Ukraine: Life in a warzone

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Nearly two years later, fighting is still going on. Lives are being lost and shattered.

The UN Refugee Agency says more than 6.2 million people have crossed into neighbouring countries and around 5.1 million people are internally displaced.

Jenny Hill is a BBC Correspondent in Ukraine. She takes us through what life is like in two places there: Odesa is on the coast; Avdiivka continues to see fierce battles.

And BBC Monitoring's Vitaly Shevchenko is from Ukraine. He speaks to friends there every day. What do they tell him?

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler and Alex Rhodes Editors: Simon Peeks

Asexuality: Is it the 'invisible' sexual orientation?

Asexuality: Is it the 'invisible' sexual orientation?

Asexuality – broadly defined as not experiencing sexual attraction — has been called “the invisible orientation”. Asexual people say they’re often misunderstood and that many people doubt that they can really be asexual. But awareness is growing thanks to online resources, social media and global campaigns like Asexual Awareness Week, which recently came to a close.

Sex is considered a central part of the human experience. So what’s it like not to have sexual desire? Two women who identify as asexual explain their experiences: Priyanka Chakrabarty, a lawyer and writer in India, and Yasmin Benoit, a model and writer in the U.K.

Plus, Colombia’s “cocaine hippos”: What are they, how did they go wild and why are they now being culled? The BBC’s Peter Goffin explains.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and William Lee Adams Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

How do you tackle toxic behaviour in gaming?

How do you tackle toxic behaviour in gaming?

Online multiplayer can be a toxic environment, especially for female players and people of colour. There are criticisms that not enough is being done by the gaming companies to address the abuse that some people face on a daily basis.

Now the developer behind Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, has brought out a “Good Game Playbook” to send to some of its players reported for harassment. But will people read it? We speak to two BBC reporters; Andrew Rogers, who’s been speaking to the gaming companies, and Laura Cress who describes her experiences of toxicity in gaming.

Also, as the BBC World Service launches an emergency lifeline radio service for people in Gaza, Hannah speaks to one of the team behind it.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart and Alex Rhodes Producers: Emily Horler, Mora Morrison and Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Are "super-shoes" giving some runners an unfair advantage?

Are "super-shoes" giving some runners an unfair advantage?

The Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum has just set a new marathon world record. He did it wearing “super-shoes”. Sports brands are racing to design new trainers which are lighter and have clever geometry to propel runners forward. Bobbie Jackson from BBC Sport and Celestine Karoney from BBC Sport Africa discuss whether they really make a difference - and is it fair if some athletes wear them? And in the week of Halloween and Day of the Dead, Mathias Clasen, Co-Director of the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark, answers our question; “Why do some people love scaring themselves?”

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

The secret life of Chinese social media apps

The secret life of Chinese social media apps

Canada has banned the all-in-one Chinese social media app, WeChat, on government devices. Even though TikTok has received loads of attention for potential security risks, many security experts think that WeChat is riskier. James Clayton, our North America Tech Reporter, explains.

And Kerry Allen, our China Media Analyst, takes us through how tightly controlled social media is in China itself. There’s even secret emoji code to avoid censorship.

(10:45) Also, what was Gaza like before this latest escalation with Israel? The BBC’s James Reynolds was previously a correspondent in Jerusalem and spent a lot of time in Gaza. He paints us a picture of what it was like when he was there.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler and Alex Rhodes Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

What’s behind the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

What’s behind the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

The United Nations says that the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing one of the world’s biggest displacement and humanitarian crises. Around 6.9 million people have fled their homes to escape violence caused by more than 250 rebel groups operating across the country. Emery Makumeno, a reporter in Kinshasa, explains the origins of the 30-year conflict and motivations of several rebel groups. And Byobe Malenga, a journalist with BBC Swahili, describes the difficult conditions he saw recently when visiting camps for displaced people in the Kivu region.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

More money, more problems: How do currencies work?

More money, more problems: How do currencies work?

Nigeria’s currency has seen a big drop in value over the last few months. The BBC’s West Africa correspondent, Mayeni Jones, helps us find out why. We also take a wider look at currency in general with our North America Business Correspondent, Erin Delmore. Why do some countries see such big fluctuations? And how on earth do you manage a currency successfully? Hannah gets tested to see if she could make it as the head of a country’s bank.

Plus Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz’s parents were abducted at the weekend. The BBC’s Mimi Swaby talks about Columbia’s kidnapping problem.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart with Alex Rhodes Producers: Emily Horler Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Why are some Caribbean nations demanding slavery reparations?

Why are some Caribbean nations demanding slavery reparations?

Across the Caribbean, governments are demanding that former colonial powers, like the U.K., France and The Netherlands, pay reparations for their involvement in slavery.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter in Trinidad and Tobago, explains what forms reparations can take and describes the specific demands that Caribbean nations have put forward.

We also hear from Akeem Chandler-Prescod, a member of the Barbados National Task Force on Reparations and his country’s Poet of The Year. He describes how the legacy of slavery still impacts people in Barbados centuries later and how the racial justice movement in the United States has inspired many Bajans to join the reparations movement.

Many European governments have refused to pay reparations. However, some individual families with historic links to slavery have decided to make payments. Laura Trevelyan, a former BBC reporter, explains why her family donated £100,000 ($120,000) to establish a community fund for economic development on the impoverished island of Grenada.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams, Chelsea Coates and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Reasons to be climate cheerful, with Bill Gates

Reasons to be climate cheerful, with Bill Gates

Bill Gates, the tech billionaire turned philanthropist, invests huge amounts of money in the climate crisis - and he’s pretty optimistic about how we can avoid the worst impacts.

But why? Graihagh Jackson, from The Climate Question, helps unpack some potential solutions.

We also hear from Nissa Bek, a climate activist and the founder of Project Mulan in Libya, about ways to get involved - from art to architecture.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes with Graihagh Jackson Producer: Mora Morrison Editor: Verity Wilde

Dengue fever: What is it and why is it spreading?

Dengue fever: What is it and why is it spreading?

The World Health Organization has warned that mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever are spreading to new regions. One reason is that warmer temperatures are allowing disease-carrying mosquitos to push into new areas. And wetter monsoons are giving them more time to reproduce in countries like India. According to the WHO, the number of reported cases around the world has jumped from around 500,000 in the year 2000, to 4.2 million in 2022. It’s now found in around 130 countries. So what is dengue fever? And should we be worried about it? The BBC’s global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar gives us an overview of the symptoms and discusses what treatments are available. Zain Hasan, a doctor in Los Angeles, explains just how painful the symptoms can be in severe cases. Makuochi Okafor, a reporter at the BBC’s Lagos bureau, looks at how officials are responding to an outbreak in Burkina Faso. And Pramila Krishnan, a reporter from BBC Tamil, tells us how India is coping with dengue through a technique called fogging. She also describes efforts by Indian scientists to develop a vaccine.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes Producers: William Lee Adams and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

An empty airport, a railway to nowhere and China’s trillion-dollar plan

An empty airport, a railway to nowhere and China’s trillion-dollar plan

China is pouring billions of dollars into other countries’ infrastructure projects - some of which have been hugely successful. In this episode we’re asking why and also take a look into some of the plans that haven’t quite panned out. Nikhil Inamdar tells us about a Sri Lankan airport with no travellers and Anne Soy takes us onboard Kenya’s “railway to nowhere”.

Plus we here from Celestine Karoney about the hopes and dreams for the brand new African Football League.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes Producers: Emily Horler and Mora Morrison Researcher: Dan Eboka Editor: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Shafaq Live
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