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BBC World Service

Africa Daily has now come to an end. But do listen to Focus on Africa for all the big stories and for the African perspective on major global news. Hosted by Audrey Brown and ready by late afternoon every weekday. Search for Focus on Africa, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Africa Daily

An elite military unit says it has seized power in Madagascar from President Andry Rajoelina following weeks of youth-led protests. Where did it all go wrong for the entrepreneur and former DJ, who first became president in 2009 when he was just 34.

Being a park ranger in Africa can be one of the most dangerous professions in the world. We hear from a ranger at Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, who, with a group of others, has picked up an international award for his work.

And Ghana’s iconic kente cloth has been officially recognised and granted protected status as a national heritage fabric.

Presenter: Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Mark Wilberforce, Alfonso Daniels and Ryan Johnson
Technical Producers: Chris Kouzaris and Sarah Kimberley 
Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: What led to the downfall of Madagascar's president

Mali's military government is reportedly engaged in talks with the militant group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) amid an ongoing blockade which has paralysed a key trade route for fuel, food, and essential goods. Could the crisis also threaten Mali’s stability and governance?

A BBC Africa Eye investigation in Cape Town, South Africa, reveals how self-appointed healers and shamans are openly using psychedelic drugs as part of treatment for mental health issues.

And if you are in a relationship, do you have 'a swag gap'? We hear more about the new phrase that is going viral on social media and whether being more stylish and confident than your partner can be a deal breaker.

Presenter: Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Stefania Okereke, Mark Wilberforce and Joseph Keen
Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris
Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Militants' blockade paralyses Mali-Senegal trade corridor

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Waihiga Mwaura, Botswana's President Duma Boko, outlines his plan to reduce his country's reliance on the diamond industry amid falling global demand, and how he is pushing for a 0% tariff deal with the US.

Guinea is showing signs of economic progress under the military-led regime. What is driving the country's economic growth?

And more than 200 million people worldwide are infected by schistosomiasis - also known as bilharzia - which is a disease caused by parasitic worms. The majority of those affected live in sub-Saharan Africa. How can the disease be prevented?

Presenter : Nyasha Michelle
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Mark Wilberforce and Stefania Okereke in London. Makuochi Okafor was in Nairobi
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Pat Sissons
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Can Botswana continue to depend on its diamond industry?

The International Criminal Court concludes hearings into war crime charges against the Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and will decide whether he should face trial. But who is Joseph Kony and what are the charges against him? 

How some South African schools are fighting childhood obesity. 

And as Malawi gears up for elections, how can the participation and representation of women in the country's politics be increased?

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Sunita Nahar and Priya Sippy in London
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Pat Sissons
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Who is Uganda's Joseph Kony?

Ethiopia opens Africa's largest hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile river deepening a rift with Egypt and Sudan.

Authorities in the US have arrested two suspected leaders of the Cameroon separatists' military wing. We find out more about the charges against the two men, and why Cameroon has been blighted by a conflict between armed separatists and government forces in the country's mainly anglophone North West and South West regions. 

And following the canonisation of London-born teenager Carlo Acutis in a ceremony presided over by Pope Leo in Vatican City, what is the process of becoming a saint?

Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Producers: Mark Wilberforce, Sunita Nahar and Yvette Twagiramariya in London. Makouchi Okafor in Lagos and Jewel Kiriungi in Nairobi
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Nick Randell
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Ethiopia opens huge dam despite outside opposition

Zambia's former Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji has been sentenced to four years in prison with hard labour after being convicted, along with a co-accused of corruption. President Hakainde Hichilema promised to root out corruption when he swept to power four years ago, is he now delivering on that pledge?

In Egypt, dozens of teenage TikTok influencers have been arrested in recent weeks on charges such as violating family values, indecency and money laundering. We hear more on why authorities are getting tough with digital content creators.

And the Congolese word Liboke is a new entry in a French dictionary, but why has the given definition upset people in the DRC?

Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Producers: Mark Wilberforce, Sunita Nahar and Yvette Twagiramariya in London. Ayuba Iliya was in Lagos
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Craig Kingham
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Is the jailing of a former Zambian minister a watershed moment?

A landslide that followed days of heavy rain, has killed hundreds of people in the remote Marra Mountains in western Sudan, and many survivors may still be trapped in deep valleys. How do aid agencies help people hit by a natural disaster but also caught in the middle of a war?
 
A new report details an increase in disappearances, kidnappings and torture in Tanzania. We hear from relatives looking for their family members.
 
And a new study warns that people are using digital platforms like TikTok to sell the meat of endangered animals. 

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Mark Wilberforce, Sunita Nahar and Priya Sippy in London. Charles Gitonga and Jewel Kiriungi in Nairobi 
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris 
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Sudan landslide: Race to find survivors

Two years on from the devastating fire at an abandoned building in Johannesburg that was occupied by squatters, how much has changed? We revisit the scene of one of South Africa's worst tragedies, in which more than 70 people - including children - died, to find out what happened to the survivors.

Scientists warn that global warming and climate change could be making flight turbulence more frequent. Will bumpier skies put people off air travel?

And lawyers are arguing for easier divorce laws in Uganda. So what are the pros and cons of no-fault, as opposed to, fault divorces?

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Alfonso Daniels, Sunita Nahar and Priya Sippy in London. Makuochi Okafor in Lagos
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Ricardo McCarthy
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: South Africa building fire: What happened to survivors?

A new Human Rights Watch report says the EU's and Spain’s outsourcing of migration control to Mauritania has worsened abuses against asylum seekers and migrants heading for Europe, but the Mauritanian authorities reject those claims. 

Why are cybercrimes on the rise in Africa and how can you stay safe?

And we find out why the population of one of Kenya's iconic tourist attractions - flamingos - is in decline.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Mark Wilberforce and Priya Sippy in London
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Mauritania accused of widespread abuses against migrants

There are fears that the mass starvation cult in Kenya is still active after the discovery of new bodies in fresh graves near the site of the Shakahola forest massacre. So far, eleven people have been arrested in connection with these new exhumations. We hear from a Rapid Response Officer, working with a human rights organisation, who has been helping people track down missing relatives.

Why are African students ending up on the battlefields of Ukraine after applying to study in Russia?

And France returns the remains of a Malagasy king who was beheaded during the colonial era. 

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Alfonso Daniels, Tanya Hines, and Nyasha Michelle in London. Charles Gitonga in Nairobi
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne 
Technical Producer: Pat Sissons
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Focus on Africa: Kenya's starvation cult: New bodies found

On the podcast in November last year we heard the terrible stories of South Africans who’d lost their loved ones to cholera. Then, the disease was sweeping across Southern Africa and was causing a public health crisis in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique and Cameroon. Now, just two months later – Zambia is scrambling to contain the disease with more than 9,500 people affected.

Since 2023, 13 countries in the region have battled one of the worst cholera outbreaks to hit the region in years and, as of 15 January 2024, more than 200,000 cases, including over 3000 deaths, have been reported.

Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja discusses with BBC Africa’s Health Correspondent Dorcas Wangira why this preventable disease is proving so hard to control.

Why is cholera proving so hard to control in Africa?

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