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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

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

Japan has pledged to work more closely with African countries at global summit on economic development. How can Africa benefit from stronger ties with Japan?

The former prime minister of Chad is facing a 20-year prison term after being convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. Who is Succès Masra and what sparked the intercommunal violence that led to the charges against him?

And did you know there are four distinct species of the African giraffe? We find out why that discovery is important for conservation.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga
Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar, Nyasha Michelle and Stefania Okereke
Technical Producer: Pat Sissons
Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

Focus on Africa: Exploring Africa-Japan trade ties

Two prominent journalists in Ethiopia, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, have been missing for more than a week after being abducted by what reports say, were men wearing masks and military uniforms. There has been no news about their whereabouts but their disappearances have raised concerns about a crackdown on media freedom in the country. 

Aid agencies warn that a surge in the number of people with the respiratory illness diphtheria is becoming 'the most urgent and dangerous threat' to public health in Somalia. Why are cases of the disease increasing?

And how the conflict on the ground in Sudan is affecting migratory birds in the sky.

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Tom Kavanagh and Nyasha Michelle in London. Richard Kagoe in Nairobi
Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne
Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne
Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

Focus on Africa: Increased concerns over missing Ethiopia journalists

This month marks ten years since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in north eastern Nigeria when militants abducted nearly 300 girls. Most of the girls have either been freed or escaped but dozens remain unaccounted. 

In the years since, kidnapping for ransom - for profit- by criminal gangs has also become the norm, even in places like trains or in the capital Abuja, which used to be considered relatively safe.

In today’s episode Alan Kasujja speaks to a woman who was kidnapped twice on her way home from work, and hears more about the approach by Nigerian police to kidnappings.

Some listeners may find some of the descriptions of kidnapping in this episode distressing.

What is it like to be the victim of a kidnapping in Nigeria?

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