Podcast appearances and mentions of quentin sommerville

Kate Adie introduces dispatches from Mexico and the USA, Bangladesh, Syria and the Faroe Islands.Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with sanctions if it does not do more to halt the flow of deadly fentanyl into the US. Quentin Sommerville gained rare access to a Mexican drug smuggling operation, meeting the foot-soldiers of a prominent cartel as it prepares to send fentanyl north of the border.Bangladesh is homes to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, who have been living in refugee camps since fleeing pesecution in Myanmar back in 2017. The Rohingya's survival has been dependent on foreign aid – but that lifeline is now at risk, following cuts to the US aid budget. Samira Hussain visited one of the refugee camps.US negotiators proposed an immediate 30 day ceasefire in Ukraine this week. While President Zelensky accepted the proposal, President Putin said questions remain about the nature of the truce. Frank Gardner assesses the chances for a lasting peace.Back in 2014, swathes of north-east Syria came under the control of Islamic State - though when its fighters reached the city of Kobane, they met strong resistance from Kurdish forces. With the help of international allies, IS was eventually driven out, but local Kurds still worry that IS may one day return, reports Jiyar Gol.In the autonomous Danish territory of the Faroe Islands, locals have been keeping an eye on what's been going on in another Danish territory – Greenland. Donald Trump's proposal that the US might look to buy it has sparked fresh conversations over Faroese independence – and a growing sense of local pride, finds Amy Liptrot.Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill

Over the past decade fentanyl use has spiked, leading to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States. Most of the deadly drug enters the US via its border with Mexico, concealed deep within vehicles and even hidden inside food packages. The Trump administration has previously accused the Mexican government of colluding with the drug cartels. He's now hoping that the threat of import tariffs on Mexico will stem the flow of the deadly drug into the US. The Mexican government has responded to potential import tariffs by deploying national guard troops along its northern border. So can Mexico's new president Claudia Sheinbaum get the fentanyl crisis under control?Jonny Dymond is joined by the BBC's special correspondent Quentin Sommerville, who has been on the ground at the US-Mexico border and has visited one of the drug cartels' operations. He also speaks to the BBC's Mexico and Central America correspondent Will Grant.Producers: Richard Moran, Alice Aylett Roberts and Eleanor SlySound engineer: James Piper Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas Senior news editor: China Collins

In Ukraine drone technology is transforming the battlefield and the rules of war are being rewritten. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville travels to the frontlines in the northeast of the country, and meets some of the Ukrainian prisoners who could help solve a critical shortage of manpower in the country's war with Russia.

Quentin Sommerville, de la BBC, pasó un mes con las fuerzas revolucionarias de Myanmar en bases en la jungla y en el frente.

Myanmar is in the grip of a country-wide insurgency as armed resistance groups, including many young people from the cities, attempt to overthrow a military regime which seized power in a coup three years ago. As much as two thirds of Myanmar, mostly the countryside, may now be under the control of the resistance. Access is extremely difficult, hundreds of journalists have been jailed, but our correspondent Quentin Sommerville has managed to travel to Karenni and Shan states – in the east of the Myanmar - with young revolutionaries. Some have taken up arms, but others - doctors and teachers - are supporting the insurgency with skills of their own.Presenter: Quentin Sommerville Producer: Lindle Markwell Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Engineer: Andy Fell Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashmanimage: KNDF graduates in Myanmar. Credit: BBC

Kate Adie introduces stories from Myanmar, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Mexico.In Myanmar, tens of thousands of people have been killed since the military seized power in a coup in 2021, halting the country's tentative transition to democracy - a further 2.5m people have been displaced. Quentin Sommerville has spent a month in the east of the country, living alongside resistance groups fighting the junta the jungles of Karenni state on the border with Thailand, and Shan state, which borders China.In a visit to Kyiv this week, Germany's foreign minister urged Western governments to supply more air defence weapons to protect Ukrainians from what she described as 'the rain of Russian missiles.' Jonathan Beale met with a Ukrainian military unit known as The Peaky Blinders, which is defending territory near Kharkiv with armed drones.The world's largest inland body of water, the Caspian Sea, is shrinking at an unprecedented rate. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travelled to Mangystau, in western Kazakhstan, to find out why this is happening, and how it's affecting the people and the wildlife along its coastal communities.In the city of Tijuana. right on the Mexico-US border, 3,000 men are incarcerated in La Mesa Prison, living six to a cell, and sharing a tiny bathroom. It's a claustrophobic and monotonous regime, so any distraction is welcome - and that might come in the form of a visit from a group of mostly elderly nuns. Linda Pressly joined them on a mission to provide spiritual support – and some small comfort.Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Sophie Hill

Three seasoned correspondents discuss the challenges of covering prolonged conflicts, in particular, the issue of “news fatigue”. Chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, international editor Jeremy Bowen and the BBC's Quentin Sommerville talk about their experience of reporting in places like Bosnia, Afghanistan, and now, Ukraine - and how to keep you, the audience, interested and engaged… They also discuss President Zelensky's visit to the UN and the US and the latest developments in Ukraine's counter-offensive. Today's episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Arsenii Sokolov, Alix Pickles and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The series producers are Tim Walklate and Daniel Wittenberg. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480 You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast's Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord TOPICS: 00:05 - "News fatigue" and Ukraine 02:51 - How to cover a war 17:50 - Listener questions 18:53 - Zelensky's US visit and UNGA 23:34 - Counter-offensive update

Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, Malawi, Switzerland and Germany. Bakhmut has long been a prize for Russian forces since it invaded Ukraine a year ago. Tens of thousands of troops have died in a protracted fight for the city, in what is the longest battle of the war so far. Quentin Sommerville has been travelling through the front line, and reveals the changing nature of the war. A 14-day period of national mourning is underway in Malawi, after more than 200 people died when the country was hit by Cyclone Freddy. More than 200,000 people have been displaced. Rhoda Odhiambo visited Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, which is among the worst-affected areas. South Korean pop culture has taken the world by storm in recent years, with K-Pop superstars like BTS and BlackPink scoring number one hits around the world. Korean TV dramas have also been a huge hit - and Sophie Williams says one show in particular has put a small village in Switzerland on the map. In Germany public nudity has a long tradition, but the question of whether the freedom to go naked in public was a legal right was unclear until two women challenged orders asking them to cover up in a public swimming pool. Jenny Hill reports from Berlin. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Researcher: Beth Ashmead Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Shamima Begum loses British citizenship appeal. While the ruling said it was possible she was a victim of trafficking, the judge found the government still had a legal right to take her citizenship away. Also on the programme: the BBC Middle East correspondent Anna Foster at a relief centre in the city of Adana; and mixing olive oil and coffee. (Picture: Shamima Begum during her interview with BBC's Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville, at al-Hawl refugee camp in north-eastern Syria. Picture credit: BBC News.)

In Syria, more than 3,500 people are so far known to have been killed by last week's earthquake. But in the worst-affected area, opposition-controlled Idlib, little aid has arrived. The UN has sent in aid trucks, but Syria has received a tiny fraction of the help neighbouring Turkey has secured. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville and cameraman Robbie Wright gained access to the region. Also in the programme: Why the French defence minister has criticised the latest 'Black Panther' film; and rapper David Jolicoeur from the pioneering hip hop group 'De La Soul' has died. (Picture: A volunteer among the rubble, in the aftermath of an earthquake in Idlib province, Syria. Credit: White Helmets/Handout via REUTERS)

Kate Adie presents a selection of stories from correspondents who have covered the war, from the invasion of Kyiv to the present day. Fergal Keane remembers the beekeepers of the Donbas who he met in 2014, following Russia's annexation of Crimea. As he witnessed the throngs of Ukrainians fleeing war in February of this year, he wonders if he will meet his friends again. Quentin Sommerville reported close to Russian lines in Kharkiv as it came under attack. He reflects on the realities of war and the decision to show dead bodies in his television reporting - to not show them would be a lie, he says. Yogita Limaye writes on the atrocities which emerged in Bucha after Russian forces withdrew, and her encounter with Irina - a woman trying to rebuild her life after she lost her home, and her husband. In July, Orla Guerin reported on the effects of Russia's propaganda machine, and its influence within Russian-speaking communities in Ukraine. Suspicion and mistrust left some locals wondering on whose side their neighbours were on. And acclaimed Ukrainian writer, Andrey Kurkov reflects on his return to Ukraine to celebrate Christmas after several months in Europe and the somewhat muted festivities as the unpredictability of the war continues. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond

Ukraine saw further indiscriminate attacks across the country this week, including an attack on a theatre sheltering civilians in Mariupol. The city of Kharkiv, like Mariupol, has been under constant attack; bodies line the streets as its often too dangerous to bury them. Quentin Sommerville reflects on the horror unfolding on the ground. The tactics the Russians are using in Ukraine are familiar to countries not just in the former Soviet domain – but also Syria. Vladimir Putin's military support for President Assad in the country's civil war helped raise cities to the ground. Leila Molana-Allen spoke to some of the people who have lived through that war Western intelligence sources have expressed concerns about Russian activity in Moldova, which neighbours Ukraine. Moldova is also a former Soviet state, with a Russian-speaking separatist insurgency in the east. Newsnight's Sima Kotecha spoke to Moldova's Prime Minister about her fears for what may lie ahead and how the country is struggling to cope with the influx of refugees. In rural Kenya, most of the population live and work on the farms that are the backbone of the country's economy. But access to electricity is sparse. So in one village, a young entrepreneur decided to give himself a crash course in engineering, so he could supply power to the residents in his village. Mercy Juma went to Kenyanjeru. Last year, Chile elected a radical left wing, ex-student leader who won a landslide victory. The new President, Gabriel Boric, keen to diverge from the style of his predecessors, has embarked on a property hunt in a working-class district in downtown Santiago. Jane Chambers went to explore his new neighbourhood. Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling and Polly Hope Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Anu Anand talks to Quentin Sommerville about the rise, fall and potential re-emergence of the Islamic State group.

Anu Anand talks to Quentin Sommerville about the rise, fall and potential re-emergence of the Islamic State group.

Wafa Mustafa is a Syrian refugee currently living in Berlin. Her father was arrested in Syria on July 2nd 2013 and has not been heard from since. Wafa is just one of many Syrian women, who are part of Families for Freedom, a woman-led movement searching for family members who were detained or 'disappeared' by the Syrian regime, ISIS and other armed groups during Syria's brutal civil war. She joins Jane to explain why she has been sitting outside a court in Koblenz with over 60 framed photographs. They are joined by the BBC's Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville. A new BBC podcast, The Orgasm Cult, looks into a wellness company called One Taste and it’s co-founder, Nicole Daedone, who believed that orgasm would one day sit alongside yoga and meditation as the self-care practice for the modern empowered woman. One Taste taught orgasmic meditation or Om-ing as it’s called by those in the know. Reporter Nastaran Tavakoli-Far talks to Jane. Do you and your other half bicker? Has lockdown brought out the bickerer in you? Or maybe you see it in others, especially couples who’ve been together for a long time. We speak to Penny Mansfield, expert on relationships from One Plus One and Deborah and Gary Marshall. Elle Kaye specialises in bird taxidermy. Aged 27, she is one of a growing number of young women who have made taxidermy their trade. Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Dianne McGregor

After the US killed one of Iran’s senior generals in a drone strike some people were worried we were on the brink of World War 3. Iran threatened revenge, and fired on a US air base in Iraq. But in doing so it made a colossal mistake, downing a commercial aircraft and killing the 176 passengers and crew on board. The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville, who has just returned from the Al Asad air base in Iraq, and the BBC Persian Service’s Rana Rahimpour join us to explain how Iran’s strike has had consequences they weren’t expecting. Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

President Trump’s order to pull US troops out of northern Syria last week was a little like pushing over a domino: it meant that Turkey could start an offensive against the Syrian Kurds who live in that region and who they see as a terrorist threat; it meant that the Kurds, who have been a crucial ally of the West in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, had to refocus on defending their own people against the Turkish onslaught, and it has plunged an already volatile part of the world into further chaos. IS thrives on chaos. So, could the increasing unrest in the region allow the group to re-emerge? Quentin Sommerville, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, joins us to discuss. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Eight years ago, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad began his brutal crackdown on opponents of his regime. Air strikes have long targeted hospitals, and in the last rebel stronghold of Idlib medics are being forced underground to survive. Waad Al-Kateab is a Syrian journalist who lived through this in the city of Aleppo. She filmed what it was like surviving as bombs rained down, living in her husband’s hospital and bringing her daughter, Sama, into a war-torn world. Now, with co-director Ed Watts, she’s made a documentary called “For Sama”. They came into the Beyond Today studio to share her story, while the BBC's Middle East correspondent, Quentin Sommerville, explains why this war crime is still happening. “For Sama” is now in cinemas nationwide and will be broadcast on Channel 4 in October. Thanks to Channel 4 News and ITN Productions for some of the audio featured in this episode. Producers: Harriet Noble and Seren Jones Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

Right now Shamima Begum is in a sprawling internment camp in the Syrian desert, stripped of her British citizenship and unable to leave. Buried there is her son Jarrah, who died last week of pneumonia. He was under three weeks old. The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville has interviewed her twice in the past few weeks and spoke to us about what happens to her now, and who’s to blame for the death of her child. Producers: Harriet Noble and Jessica Beck Mixed by: Nicolas Raufast Editor: Philly Beaumont

Quentin Sommerville considers the last days of the Islamic State in Baghouz, Syria - and examines the question of what to do with its fighters and sympathisers once the battle is over. The case of Shamima Begum has dominated the headlines, but there are many more like her. Kate Adie introduces his report and other stories from around the world. The Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya is one of the largest refugee settlements anywhere - with nearly a quarter of a million people living there, nearly all Somalis fleeing violence and insecurity. But Kenya's government, and the UNHCR, which runs Dadaab, don't want them there forever, and have offered them incentives to return home to Somalia. Sally Hayden heard how that can be easier said than done. The campaigning for Ukraine's Presidency is heating up: voters will choose a leader for the country at the end of March, and they have a plethora of choices with over 44 names on the ballot paper. Jonah Fisher got to meet some of the candidates, and was left both intrigued and perplexed. "Rural depopulation" may sound rather abstract, but in one of Spain's fast-emptying villages, Linda Pressly saw what it means in practice to be part of a community of only three people, surrounded by reminders of a more bustling past. And Tim Ecott revels in the rugged tastes of the Faroes - from lightly mildewed air-dried lamb to roast gannet - as a restaurant near Torshavn gathers its second Michelin star.

*** PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded about 8 hours before it was announced that Shamima Begum had been denied entry back to the UK and was stripped of her British citizenship.***This week, we discuss the most flammable news story of the week: the return of Shamima Begum, the 19 year old Londoner who fled to the Islamic State 4 years ago and returned to have her 3rd baby in the UK. Home Secretary Sajid Javid wants to deny her entry - but should a humane society seek to rehabilitate? We also discuss the idea that “young women do not know their own minds” and why vulnerability does not negate agency. Also this week, we discuss the allegations against singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, and why the ‘tortured artist' trope is tired and misogynistic. Plus, Jenna Coleman's interview gone viral, creepy finger grapes and Dolly's favourite new musical.I Met Fear On A Hill, by Leslie Jamison for The Paris Review https://www.theparisreview.org/letters-essays/7318/i-met-fear-on-the-hill-leslie-jamisonIn Search of Equilibrium, by Theresa Lola http://ninearchespress.com/publications/poetry-collections/in%20search%20of%20equilibrium.htmlThe Sisterhood, by Daisy Buchanan https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-sisterhood/daisy-buchanan/9781472238856Roma, on Netflix now The possibility of redemption is central to a humane society, by Kenan Malik for The Observer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/17/possibility-of-redemption-is-central-to-a-humane-society-shamima-begumShamima doesn't look like anyone's victim, by Janice Turner for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shamima-doesn-t-look-like-anyone-s-victim-whtkc9qlnAnthony Lloyd discusses Shamima Begum https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/shamima-begum-isis-brideShamima Begum interview with Quentin Sommerville for BBC News https://youtu.be/TGAxm6KJTWEA Love Letter to realism in a time of grief: https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pollock_and_simone_george_a_love_letter_to_realism_in_a_time_of_grief?language=enRosita Boland's investigative piece on Ann Lovett's boyfriend Richard McDonnell for The Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/i-was-ann-lovett-s-boyfriend-1.3484311?mode=amp Daisy Jones and The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daisy-Jones-Taylor-Jenkins-Reid/dp/1786331519/ref=nodl_ Anna Leszkiewicz on Johnny Depp for The New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/film/2018/10/johnny-depp-gq-cover-domestic-abuse-allegationsLaura Snapes on Ryan Adams for The... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When the British teenager Shamima Begum ran away from East London to join IS, the caliphate was at the peak of its powers. It waged war with the West by beheading hostages and carrying out deadly attacks on European soil, while establishing a sophisticated state infrastructure in Syria and Iraq. IS at one point controlled an area the size of Britain. But now, as Shamima Begum waits in a Syrian refugee camp to see if she’ll be allowed home, IS is on the brink of military defeat. Does that mean that the threat is over? In the first of two special episodes, the BBC’s Quentin Sommerville takes us through the rise and fall of IS. Producers: Harriet Noble and Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

A hostage and captor meet again in Syria, anger grows amid Assam's floodwaters and young people take to the barricades in Nicaragua. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world. Quentin Sommerville was wary of interviewing two former members of the so-called Islamic State: he didn't want to give them any kind of platform. But in Syria he did get to talk to them - and witness their reactions when a man whom they'd once held captive got to ask the questions. As monsoon storms lash the subcontinent and flood waters rise, Nick Beake speaks to farmers and families who feel exhausted and marginalised by an endlessly repeating cycle of disaster and rebuilding in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. In the past week, Argentina's Senate voted NOT to decriminalise abortion in the first three months of pregnancy - despite a vocal and vigorous campaign, led by women, to change the law. Katy Watson hears from both sides of the debate. Arturo Wallace returns to Nicaragua, his homeland, and is unnerved by echoes of history in this year's political crisis there - as street protests, state repression, and unidentified assassins return to the streets of Managua. And there's a football match in Agadez, Niger - a major stop-off on the migrant routes funnelling people from West Africa over the Sahara desert to the Mediterranean, and (they hope) to Europe. Jennifer O'Mahoney watches from the sidelines as local talent play newcomers, and even the kit is shared.

It's as if doomsday had arrived early in Raqqa as bats swoop over the remains of the city. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories and analysis from around the world. In Syria, Quentin Sommerville finds a city which had been occupied and terrorised by the so-called Islamic State and is now being destroyed by a thousand blows from coalition airstrikes. In Colombia, Katy Watson reports from the border bridge which 25,000 Venezuelans cross each day. Most do so in search of food and medicine, but more and more are deciding to stay. In South Africa, Milton Nkosi worries that history is repeating itself with the recent spate of political killings in KwaZulu Natal. In America’s Deep South, Fleur Macdonald joins fellow MacDonalds, Alexanders, Johnsons, MacSweeneys and MacWhannells as they celebrate their Scottish heritage and their allegiance to Clan Donald. And in Spain, Chris Bockman visits what was Europe's second-biggest train station, but was left to rot and rust. Today the terminal in Canfranc attracts more curious visitors than it ever did passengers. Producer: Joe Kent

Human stories behind the headlines: Fergal Keane is on the frontline in Ukraine with a husband and wife who are determined to stay on in their home even as war consumes their town. Two boys talk to Quentin Sommerville about life, death and indoctrination in an ISIS-held town in Syria. Grace Livingstone is in the Venezuelan countryside finding that livelihoods are being hit hard by the financial crisis. On Mafia Island, off the coast of Tanzania, Hannah McNeish finds there are two principal topics of conversation - the performance of the new president and a fish called Jesus which, so the story goes, is as big as a car. And it is now official: the very best baguettes in the world are baked by Koreans. Steve Evans, in Seoul, talks of changing tastes in a young market with a global, fashionable appetite for the trappings of European culture and cuisine

Story-telling from the world of news and current affairs. In this edition: Shaimaa Khalil on the mood in Peshawar after the Taliban attack on a school in which more than a hundred children were killed; Barbara Plett-Usher on how Cubans are reacting to the prospect of improved relations with the United States; Quentin Sommerville visits the Iraqi army frontline as it tries to stop the militants from Islamic State seizing strategic Anbar province; Malcolm Billings is in a little-known Anglican place of worship hidden away in a web of cobbled streets in Istanbul and Hugh Schofield's doing some seasonal research involving whisky and chocolate biscuits in a remote corner of central France.

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories from around the world. This week, with American and British combat troops soon to leave, the author and historian William Dalrymple gives his assessment of where the latest military intervention into Afghanistan fits into the country's troubled history. Quentin Sommerville attends the court hearing of some Al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt and finds the prosecution less than convincing. Linda Pressly is in Uruguay to see if legalising marijuana will help tackle the problem of hard drugs. In India, Ed Butler spends time with sleuths of a special kind - the wedding detectives. And Stephen Smith re-visits Italy's Renaissance with its ruffs, doublets and, of course, cod-pieces.

Global despatches. Today: it was Gabriel Gatehouse's local shopping mall but now the Westgate Centre in Nairobi has become known as a place of fear, suffering and death; did Angela Merkel do TOO well in the German election? Chris Morris on why forming a new government there could be a protracted business. As the Egyptian authorities move to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, Quentin Sommerville talks of the country's increasing polarisation. China's wealthy elite have found their own solution to the country's girl shortage - Lucy Ash has been meeting 'The Love Hunters' in Shanghai. And John Pickford has been finding out if there are still beachcombers to be found in the faraway islands of the South Pacific. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant

Quentin Sommerville talks to protestors on Cairo's streets; Andrew Harding returns to Burma and this time he doesn't need a disguise! Linda Pressly visits a unique community of sex offenders in Florida, Leo Johnson is blasting for gold in Ecuador and David Chazan learns how to be a cyber-hacker in Lille.

Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says an early and substantial drawdown of British troops in Afghanistan is being privately considered David Willey wonders who else at the Vatican - besides the butler on trial for stealing Papal documents -- is dissatisfied with the way the church is being run Frances Harrison meets survivors from the civil war in Sri Lanka as officials there hope cricket will help restore the island's image as a holiday paradise Pascale Harter in Barcelona on the Chinese finding business opportunities amidst the recession in Spain Mattia Cabitza charts Peruvians' relationships with their cats: some revere them as furry family pets, while others think they make a tasty meal.

SITREP August 30th How will this week's green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan affect post-2014 withdrawal? As the US Presidential election campaign heats up - what is the foreign & defence policy strategies of the Democrat and the Republicans parties? Why there's growing concern over Mali in Africa. And why there's such a close bond between the Paralympics and the military. PRESENTER:  Glen MansellSTUDIO GUEST:  BFBS's defence analyst, Christopher Lee     Interviews:BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul on AfghanistanPatrick Smith, Editor of Africa Confidential, discussing MaliMatthew Jamison from RUSI talking about the forthcoming US electionsBritish Forces News reporter Tim Cooper on the Paralympics ............................................................................................................You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)Alternatively listen again on the website.

SITREP August 30th How will this week’s green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan affect post-2014 withdrawal? As the US Presidential election campaign heats up - what is the foreign & defence policy strategies of the Democrat and the Republicans parties? Why there’s growing concern over Mali in Africa. And why there’s such a close bond between the Paralympics and the military. PRESENTER:  Glen MansellSTUDIO GUEST:  BFBS’s defence analyst, Christopher Lee     Interviews:BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul on AfghanistanPatrick Smith, Editor of Africa Confidential, discussing MaliMatthew Jamison from RUSI talking about the forthcoming US electionsBritish Forces News reporter Tim Cooper on the Paralympics ............................................................................................................You can listen on BFBS Radio 2 at 1630 (UK time) and on BFBS Radio at 1830 (UK time)Alternatively listen again on the website.

The British soldiers in Afghanistan have lost faith in their mission, there are fields full of opium poppies and the Taliban are everywhere. Quentin Sommerville talks of the mood among the troops as they prepare at last to return home. After Charles Taylor, who'll next be taken to court to face charges relating to war crimes? Fiona Lloyd Davies has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo meeting one former rebel commander who is wanted for trial. Ian Pannell has been talking to an English scholar in Syria whose library was destroyed as the struggle continues between protestors and the security forces. What makes Kenyan athletes such fine distance runners? Claudia Hammond's been jogging through the Great Rift Valley learning some of the answers. and Stephen Sackur went to Cairo to report on how the people's uprising there was faring but instead found himself captivated by a revolutionary TV chef whose recipes are being lapped up throughout the Middle East!