The Caribbean nation of Haiti is in the grip of gang violence, with armed groups controlling much of the country. The lawlessness came to a head after gangs stormed two jails, freeing thousands of prisoners. Meanwhile Prime Minister Ariel Henry is being prevented from returning after a trip abroad. Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring in Miami tells us about the key players in Haiti, and the background to what’s happening.
The women saving a river A group of women in Bangladesh have been mobilising to save the Moyur river from land grabbers. They have successfully recovered parts of the river and protected them from pollution. Shahnewaj Rocky of BBC Bangla went to meet them.
Women running in Iraq Women competitors in a recent 13-kilometre race in the Iraqi city of Basra were banned just days before it took place. Organisers decided to exclude them after comments by Muslim clerics that the participation of women would 'deprive them of their chastity and honour'. Dima Babilie of BBC Arabic has spoken to women who had been training for the race.
Filming the Mayor of Freetown When she took office in 2018, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr was the first democratically elected female mayor of Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown. During her successful re-election campaign last year, she was filmed for a BBC Africa Eye documentary, which set out to follow her environmental work, but became a record of a fiercely contested election, as we hear from Africa Eye’s Abdul Brima.
Baraye: the protest anthem that Iran has tried to suppress Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour became famous after his song Baraye became widely popular in the country, and went on to win a Grammy award for Best Song for Social Change. He has now received a prison sentence after being charged with "spreading propaganda against the establishment". Taraneh Stone of BBC Persian has been looking into Shervin’s story.
(Photo: Tyres on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 3, 2024. Credit: Luckenson Jean/AFPTV/AFP)
One country, two refugee experiences
Why women vote for Modi
Celebrity vlogger or traitor?
Who’s advising Zelensky?
Why Afghan girls remain out of school
Ukraine: Reporting war at home
How Russia makes war: Syrian memories
Sunflowers, sanctions and state media
Ukraine around the world
A tale of two Olympians
No guns on the Ferris wheel
Teenage mums back at school in Tanzania
Myanmar coup: One year on
India's problem with sacred cows
Journalism under Taliban rule
The tale of the Gilgamesh Dream tablet
Iraq 2021
Songs and social media
Becoming a ‘foreign agent’
Reporting the Channel migrant tragedy
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins