SATURDAY 30 JANUARY 2021

SAT 00:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsq9r0h)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 00:06 The Real Story (w3cszcp6)
China's advance into Latin America

This month, in a highly unusual move, an American government agency bought nearly $3bn of debt from Ecuador that was owed to China. The aim – in the form of fresh loans – was to help Ecuador pay off 'predatory Chinese debt', strengthen its alliance with the United States and exclude Chinese companies from developing the country's telecoms network. Although the deal came at the end of the Trump presidency, it may encourage other South American countries to reach similar arrangements in the future. According to the UN, Chinese companies have invested $10bn a year in Latin America. Although the amount is far less than that of the United States, Chinese companies have made rapid inroads into the heart of Latin American economies, including in crucial sectors such as mining, power grids and telecommunications. There's speculation that many leaders find Chinese investment attractive because it's rarely tied to anti-corruption measures. Others say countries are walking into a Chinese-made 'debt trap' which will have negative economic consequences over the long run. So is China viewed by those across the region with suspicion, or as a welcome alternative to the United States - which has a controversial history operating outside its own borders? What's been the tangible impact of China's economic advances in Latin America, and will President Biden seek to cooperate with China in the region - or treat it as a strategic threat? Join Ritula Shah and guests as they discuss China's growing influence in Latin America.


SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsq9vrm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:06 Business Matters (w172x196rs232vj)
The WHO warns against health nationalism

As the EU moves to protect its vaccine supplies, the World Health Organization tells the West to think about those who are less fortunate: people in poorer nations and health workers around the world.

Also in the programme, as many countries struggle to balance their books is it time for the rich to pay more tax we head to Argentina which now has a wealth tax but will it work ?

And - has the coronavirus made the world more or less corrupt ?

Plus - why does New Zealand want people to take better photographs when travelling there?

PHOTO: People getting a vaccine/Reuters


SAT 02:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsq9zhr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3csz9qs)
Brazil's steady stream of grief

The city of Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, was hard hit by its first wave of Covid infections last year - now it's reeling from a second wave far larger and more deadly than many had predicted. Katy Watson has been there to hear from the bereaved and witness the struggles of the living to keep their health system even close to functioning.

Pascale Harter introduces this and other dispatches from correspondents, journalists and writers around the world.

You might think that a woman who'd survived the Taliban's rule, gone on to be the first female film-director in Afghanistan, braved social disapproval by working as an actor and then signed up to the Afghan police force would be fearless. But Saba Sahar is afraid now - because recently, she only narrowly survived an assassination attempt. Gunmen fired on her, her two bodyguards and her young daughter as they drove through Kabul. The BBC's Yogita Limaye talks to a remarkable woman about her enduring worries - for herself, her family and her country - after a string of targeted killings.

India's Republic Day ceremonies are usually full of pomp and ritual - but this year the official events were dramatically upstaged by a 'tractor rally' called by angry farmers. The protesters have been demonstrating in Delhi for weeks against moves to reform India's agricultural sector. The tractor rally overspilled its agreed route and was aggressively dispersed by police. Raijini Vaidyanathan asked some of the farmers, and their supporters, about the root causes of their discontent.

Child labour is illegal in the Democratic Republic of Congo - but all the same, there are tens of thousands of children at work in the country's mines. Near Luhihi, in the east of the country, Olivia Acland recently talked to a couple of teenage boys hoping to strike it lucky... as they spend what should be their schooldays sifting through the spoil from a local gold mine.

(Image: A gravedigger works at the Parque Taruma cemetery during the coronavirus outbreak in Manaus, Brazil, Credit: Reuters/Bruno Kelly)


SAT 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb0bs4)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:32 Stumped (w3cszhkg)
Burns on batting and babies

England opener Rory Burns joins us from quarantine in Chennai ahead of next week's first Test against England. He'll tells us how life has changed since becoming a dad, the competition for places in the English batting line upafter they won their fifth successive Test away from home, and whether India are currently the best Test team in the world. We ask whether travelling sportsmen and women should get Covid vaccines ahead of others.Plus we speak to Himanshu Vaid who has designed and re-constructed the biggest cricket stadium in the world.

Photo: Rory Burns of England during a nets session at the Bay Oval on November 20, 2019 in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)


SAT 03:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqb37w)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 03:06 The Fifth Floor (w3cszjjb)
Nigeria's 'Stingy Men Association'

BBC Pidgin has been reporting on the social media buzz around Nigeria’s Stingy Men Association, for men who want to avoid spending money on their wives and girlfriends. There’ve been jokes, spin-offs and celebrity members, but is it just a laugh, or is there a more serious side? Answers from Dan Ikpoyi of BBC Pidgin and Women’s Affairs journalist Azeezat Olaoluwa.

China’s controversial female comic
Yang Li has become a household name in China as a stand-up TV comedian. But a recent joke about men caused controversy, with critics accusing her of instigating hatred against men. Zhaoyin Feng of BBC Chinese tells us why some people in China find women making jokes at the expense of men a challenge.

Africa’s football pioneers
Today top African footballers playing for European clubs are household names. But their presence in Europe isn’t as recent as some might think. Ahmed Rouaba of BBC Arabic has uncovered fascinating stories of African stars from the early decades of the 20th century, many now forgotten.

Memories, identity and war
In January 1991, the Somali state collapsed into civil war after the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre. For those living in what used to be British Somaliland, the violence began in 1988, when government forces bombed Hargeisa. Thousands fled to neighbouring Ethiopia, including Ismail Einashe, then a young boy, now a contributor to BBC Africa’s Letter from Africa. He reflects on his memories of that time, and Hartisheik refugee camp, to which he returned in 2019.

David Amanor has left the building!
All good things come to an end, and this is David’s last programme on The Fifth Floor. Friends from over the years bid a fond farewell, and remember some of his “best bits”. Expect Russian horses, songs and poetry, bees and the pungent stench of durian fruit.



Image: Celebrity members of Nigeria's "Stingy Men Association"
Credit: DON JAZZY/DEBO MR MACARONI


SAT 03:50 Witness History (w3cszmw6)
The anthem of the Arab Spring

In December 2010, anti-government protests broke out in Tunisia after a young fruit-seller called Mohammed Bouazizi set himself alight outside a government office in the south of the country. At one of the huge rallies in Tunis, a young singer called Emel Mathlouthi sang a song called "Kelmti Horra" or "My Word is Free". A video of her passionate performance immediately went viral and inspired protestors to take to the streets in other parts of the Middle East in what became known as the Arab Spring. Emel Mathlouthi talks to Witness History.

PHOTO: Emel Mathlouthi performing in 2012 (Getty Images)


SAT 04:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqb700)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 04:06 The Real Story (w3cszcp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:06 today]


SAT 05:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbbr4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct19z6)
Coronavirus: Vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minorities

Millions of people across the world are currently being vaccinated against Covid-19. Black, Asian and Latino groups have been the hardest hit by the first wave of the pandemic and yet people within these groups are more reluctant to take up the offer of the coronavirus vaccine.

Two doctors in the United States and the United Kingdom counteract the misinformation and share their experiences of patients’ vaccine mistrust with host Nuala McGovern, and a British Imam explains how he promotes the safety of the vaccine among the Muslim community.

The pandemic has affected many people in numerous ways and the wearing of masks is causing particular problems among people who stutter or stammer. People from India, the UK and US with speaking difficulties explain how masks are affecting their communication.

(Photo: Pharmacist Bhaveen Patel gives a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca covid vaccine to Joshua Labor at a coronavirus vaccination clinic held at Junction Pharmacy in Brixton, London. Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)


SAT 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb0q0j)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:32 The Cultural Frontline (w3cszj9k)
Olafur Eliasson: Public art made virtual

The Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is celebrated for his playful and tactile works, from shining suns to melting ice installations. Yet with so many galleries closed in lockdown, he’s turning his attention to augmented reality. It’s now possible to download the imagination of the environmental artist to a street near you, via an app. But is it as good as the real thing? Reporter Anna Bailey pressed download and spoke to Olafur to find out.

Public art has long been the preserve of men but feminist artists Nikki Luna from the Philippines and Bahia Shehab in Egypt challenge the patriarchy, by taking up space on the street and online. Nikki Luna’s audio-visual installations confront gender-based violence with the voices of marginalised women, while Bahia Shehab’s street art foregrounds the female form and addresses consent.

Mexican-American portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum gives us a glimpse of the private moments behind public service. She talks to Nawal about why her latest project honours healthcare workers at the frontline of the battle against coronavirus.

Plus, we hear how a group of artists have been inspired to create a giant painting that highlights growing insecurity and political instability in Nigeria.

Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi

(Image: Olafur Eliasson, Caring Northern Light and Lucky Stone. Augmented reality. Courtesy of the artist and Acute Art.)


SAT 06:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbgh8)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 06:06 Weekend (w172x7d8q528trz)
The war over COVID-19 vaccines

The vaccine wars heat up as the WHO criticises countries for squabbling; the EU says it is merely enforcing contracts.

Also, the French town bequeathed a large amount from the Jewish man they saved in 1943.

And Amsterdam's push to close one of its most famous attractions.

Joining Celia Hatton to discuss these and other issues are Loretta Napoleoni, Italian-born author and economist; and Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a corporate strategist, investment banker, and commentator on China based in the US.

(Picture: A syringe with the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Credit: Reuters)


SAT 07:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbl7d)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 07:06 Weekend (w172x7d8q528yj3)
Italian politics: The prime minister quits, but battles to remain

Why the prime minister of Italy is fighting to keep his job even though he resigned just four days ago.

Also, the vaccine wars heat up as the WHO criticises countries for squabbling, but the EU says it is merely enforcing contracts.

And the German member of the European Parliament who thinks the European Commission has presided over a disaster.

Joining Celia Hatton to discuss these and other issues are Loretta Napoleoni, Italian-born author and economist; and Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a corporate strategist, investment banker, and commentator on China based in the US.

(Picture: Caretaker Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte in Rome. Credit: EPA)


SAT 08:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbpzj)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:06 Weekend (w172x7d8q529287)
Vaccine nationalism

The World Health Organization strongly condemns the world's richer countries for squabbling over coronavirus vaccine supplies.

Also, enterprising New Yorkers have been seeking alternative pandemic-friendly recreational activities - bird-watching has become the city’s hottest new pastime.

Joining Celia Hatton to discuss these and other issues are Loretta Napoleoni, Italian-born author and economist; and Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a corporate strategist, investment banker, and commentator on China based in the US.

(Picture: European Commission Vice President Dombrovskis and Health Commissioner Kyriakides at a news conference in Brussels. Credit: Reuters)


SAT 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb127x)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:32 When Katty Met Carlos (w3ct1c55)
America’s loneliness epidemic

Even before Covid, four out of every 10 American adults admitted to feeling anxiety and depression, and up to 70% of young Americans said they were lonely. Now amid growing concerns of an emerging mental health crisis because of the coronavirus pandemic, Carlos Watson and Ritula Shah (standing in for Katty Kay) tackle the subject with the help of two leading health experts - Dr Altha Stewart, former head of the American Psychiatric Association and Dr Deepak Chopra, a prominent alternative medicine advocate. Together they explore how loneliness affects people of a different age, race and gender, and offer some solutions and advice as to how Americans can learn to cope, even after the pandemic has passed.


SAT 09:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbtqn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct19z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:06 today]


SAT 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb1601)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:32 Two Minutes Past Nine (w3ct1cx0)
Two Minutes Past Nine

30/01/2021 GMT

On April 19th 1995 a 26-year-old named Timothy Mcveigh steered a yellow rental truck into downtown Oklahoma city. Inside was a two-ton homemade explosive.

The Oklahoma City Bombing killed 168 people and leaving 680 injured. Journalist Leah Sottile investigates the legacy of the attack in a series that gets into the heart of America’s far-right today.
Recorded over some of the most divisive and turbulent months in recent American political history, Two Minutes Past Nine explores and questions the changing face of far right extremism in all its chaos and conspiracism.


SAT 09:50 Over to You (w3cszf5l)
The issues around good, impartial reporting

What are the issues around good, impartial reporting when facing an internet blackout and charges of vote rigging and intimidation? BBC correspondents in Uganda faced many challenges to ensure balanced reporting during the recent presidential elections in Uganda.
Plus we say goodbye to one of the best known voices on the BBC WS, Emilio San Pedro.

Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Howard Shannon


SAT 10:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqbygs)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 10:06 Sportshour (w172x3c7nxcvr8h)
“Racism strips you entirely of your dignity'

“It strips you entirely of your dignity, of your feeling of any kind of self-worth” – Shaka Hislop on receiving racist abuse

Former Newcastle United and Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop joins us in the week that Show Racism the Red Card launched in South Africa. The organisation is the UK’s largest anti-racism educational charity and it was formed twenty five years ago following a donation from Hislop. He recalls his own experiences of racism and discusses the abuse Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial suffered this week. Hislop is joined by Ged Grebby from Show Racism the Red Card and Busisuwe Nkosi from their new partners in South Africa – the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. Together the three of them discuss their hopes for the new partnership and Nkosi gives us an insight into how racism still pervades a post-apartheid South Africa.

With the Winter X Games underway in Colorado, we hear from Olympic gold medallist Anna Gasser on her hopes for the Big Air competition. The Austrian snowboarder competes in the event on Saturday and tells us she may attempt a cab triple underflip, which has never been done in competition before.

Australian tennis player Li Tu joins us to talk about his hopes of replacing Andy Murray in next month’s Australian Open. Tu was a top junior player and represented his country in Davis Cup before falling out of love with the sport and taking a six year break. The 24-year-old returned to competition in August and is the in-form domestic player in Australia after winning a number of tournaments. He doesn’t have a world ranking, but that hasn’t stopped people in Australia calling for him to receive the wildcard that Murray has given up.

British Para Powerlifter Zoe Newson tells us about forming a support bubble with her parents so she can continue to train ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics. The two-time medallist also discusses her journey into the sport, how she balances competing and motherhood and how she’s trying to ignore all the noise around a possible cancellation of the games.

In Sporting Witness, we go back to 2004 when Mianne Bagger of Denmark became the first transgender woman to play in a professional golf tournament. Bagger reflects on playing in the Australian Women's Open in Sydney, in what was a landmark moment for trans sport and made headlines around the world.

And – the BBC’s Vicki Sparks joins us live from Goodison Park ahead of the early game in the Premier League between Everton and Newcastle.

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper Shaka Hislop dives for the ball during a training session at " In der Ahe " stadium in Rotenburg, northern Germany, 18 June 2006. Trinidad & Tobago will face Paraguay on 20 of June for their last game in the first round of group B for the 2006 Fifa World Cup. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)


SAT 11:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqc26x)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:06 The Newsroom (w172x7bmtpvxtn1)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb1fh9)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:32 Global Questions (w3ct1pxn)
Global Questions

Social media: More powerful than government?

After social media suspended Donald Trump, some have questioned the power of the Silicon Valley giants: Alexei Navalny and Angela Merkel, among others, have wondered whether it was a step too far. The big five of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google and Twitter may have had humble origins but they're now among the biggest companies in the world, wielding enormous global influence. Has big tech gone too far, with this kind of censorship removing more content and threatening freedom of speech, or is it long overdue? And in the age of these new media monoliths, do we want them to be mere platforms or must they accept that they're publishers, responsible for content and democratically accountable?


SAT 12:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqc5z1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 12:06 Music Life (w3csz6v4)
The courage to be disliked with BŪJIN, Desire Marea, Lynn Daphne Rudolph and Jackie Queens

South African artists BŪJIN, Desire Marea, Lynn Daphne Rudolph and Jackie Queens discuss why the collective experience of creating is better, their biggest failures, and getting into trouble.

Cape Town-based artist BŪJIN makes music that blends East African techno with funk, bass and classical orchestrations. Her work incorporates performance, sound installation and research into the realms of sonic theatre.

She is joined by Desire Marea, a multi-disciplinary artist born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. They’re one half of the music and performance duo FAKA, along with Fela Gucci, and at the start of 2020 they released their first solo album, Desire, on their label Izimakade Records.

Also joining them is one of South Africa’s leading classical violists, Lynn Daphne Rudolph. She switched to viola from the violin in 2014, and won the Mabel Quick prize for Best Instrumentalist in 2015. She studied performance at Nelson Mandela University and is a part of the Alternative Orchestra SA. Jackie Queens is a South African songwriter and vocalist born in Zimbabwe. She makes Afro-house and tech and set up her own record label, Bae Electronica, which provides a platform to new and emerging artists through projects such as GIRLS and Women of House.


SAT 13:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqc9q5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 13:06 Newshour (w172x2z59b71hbr)
Europe's vaccine row intensifies

The European Union has reversed a decision to override a key part of the Brexit deal amid an ongoing row over vaccine supplies. So are the EU's increasingly robust actions a display of prudence or panic? We get a view from a member of the European Parliament's Public Health Committee.

Also in the programme: Why the US Air Force is clamping down on hair-based discrimination; and Amsterdam's plans to ban foreign tourists from sparking up in its famous cannabis cafes.

(Photo credit: A man receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a coronavirus disease vaccination center in Nantes, France, January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe)


SAT 14:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqcfg9)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 14:06 Sportsworld (w172x3lmngt1z3m)
Live Sporting Action

Sportsworld brings you live Premier League commentary as Manchester City host Sheffield United. We'll also keep you up to date with the day's other matches as Crystal Palace take on Wolves and West Brom take on Fulham.

We'll have reaction to the day's early kick-off between Everton and Newcastle United.

Lee James is joined by former West Ham and Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, Minnesota United and Sierra Leone forward Kei Kamara and South Africa captain Janine van Wyk to discuss the Premier League's big talking points - including the appointment of Thomas Tuchel to replace Frank Lampard at Chelsea.

Elsewhere, we'll bring you the latest from the African Nations Championship as the quarter-finals get underway in Cameroon and the World Men's Handball Championship in Egypt.

In golf, we'll keep you up to date with the men's Farmer's Insurance Open and Dubai Desert Classic. And in cricket, we'll have reaction as the first men's Test between South Africa and Pakistan comes to a close.

Photo: Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan (Getty Images)


SAT 18:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqcxft)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:06 The Newsroom (w172x7bmtpvynvy)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 18:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb28q6)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:32 Mayday (w3ct1cxj)
On 11 November 2019 James Le Mesurier was found dead in a street in Istanbul. He was the latest casualty in a very unusual war – one fought not on the battlefield, but online.

Le Mesurier was a mysterious figure with a taste for the finer things who served in the British Army in several of the world’s hotspots before focusing his energies on war-ravaged Syria from 2014. He co-founded the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defence force who filmed themselves pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble of bombed out buildings.

Soon, the White Helmets - and Le Mesurier - found themselves at the centre of a global race to control the narrative in the Syrian War. In this investigative series Mayday, presenter Chloe Hadjimatheou talks to the people who knew James, including his widow Emma, his ex-wife and former army colleagues, as well as those on the ground in Syria still working as White Helmets today in an effort to piece together James’ story and that of the White Helmets. She speaks to some of the White Helmet’s detractors and follows up accusations about the organisation to try and understand the truth surrounding them.

Chloe Hadjimatheou says: “Making this series has been an extraordinary experience, as listeners will discover. It started out being an investigation into the story of a man with an astonishing life and a mysterious death but it ended up taking me on a bizarre journey down rabbit holes of misinformation. Ultimately this is a story about how truth functions in modern warfare.”


SAT 18:50 Sporting Witness (w3cszh65)
Mianne Bagger - Golf's transgender pioneer

In 2004, Mianne Bagger of Denmark became the first transitioned woman to play in a professional golf tournament when she played in the Australian women's open in Sydney. It was a landmark moment for trans sport and made headlines around the world. Mianne Bagger talks to Robbie Wojciechowski.

PHOTO: Mianne Bagger in action in 2010 (Getty Images)


SAT 19:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqd15y)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:06 The Evidence (w3ct205h)
Coronavirus: The Evidence

The Shapeshifting Virus

News that at least three new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged in three separate continents have sent a chill throughout the scientific community. All viruses mutate but the speed and scale of the changes and the fact they occurred independently, is seen as a wake-up call.

Genetic sequencing in South Africa first raised the alarm about the version of the virus that was racing through populations in the Eastern and then Western Cape.

Scientists at the country’s KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, KRISP, were struck by the sheer number of genetic mutations, many of which were on the all-important spike protein. This is where the virus binds to human cells and where neutralising antibodies, our immune system’s defences, also mount their defence. Any changes there, researchers knew, could be bad news.

Genetic sequencers in the UK also identified a new lineage which shares just some of the mutations in the South African variant. Named B.1.1.7 this version tore through populations in the South East of England and is now the dominant strain throughout the country and beyond. Latest estimates suggest is between 30 and 50% more infectious, although exactly how it is more transmissible is still being worked out.

In Brazil too, news earlier this month of another troubling variant, the P.1. tearing through populations in Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state, where so many were infected in the first wave of the pandemic. Like the version identified in South Africa, this variant also has mutation called E484K on the all-important spike protein. This could make the virus better at evading antibodies, with huge implications for re-infection rates and the new vaccines.

Claudia Hammond and her expert panel consider what the new shapeshifting virus means for the global goal of herd immunity and an end to the pandemic. And they answer your questions. Please do keep your virus queries coming in to the.evidence@bbc.co.uk and your question could be included in the next programme.

Claudia’s guests include Dr Richard Lessells, infectious diseases specialist from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and part of the team that identified the South African variant; Dr Muge Cevik, clinical lecturer in infectious diseases and medical virology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and a member of the UK’s expert committee NERVTAG (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group); Dr Shane Crotty, Professor for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research at la Jolla Institute for Immunology, University of California San Diego in the USA and Dr Margaret Harris from the World Health Organisation in Geneva.

Produced by: Fiona Hill, Samara Linton and Maria Simons
Editor: Deborah Cohen
Technical Support: Donald McDonald and Tim Heffer


SAT 20:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqd4y2)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 20:06 The Arts Hour (w3cszk43)
Author and poet Ben Okri

Scottish director Kevin MacDonald tells us about his latest films, Life In A Day 2020 and The Mauritanian

American novelist Raven Leilani explains the difficulties of getting the right title for her debut Luster

British actor Paul Bettany, star of WandaVision, on how things have shifted for him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

We hear from poet Amanda Gorman, whose recital at Joe Biden’s inauguration wowed the world

Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani looks at taboos and traditions in her movie Adam

Kenyan musician Muthoni Drummer Queen explains how the Covid 19 pandemic affected her relationship with music

And joining Nikki Bedi is essayist, critic, and broadcaster Bilal Qureshi and author and poet Ben Okri, who’ll also be talking about his latest collection of poetry A Fire in My Head.


(Photo: Ben Okri. Credit: David Levenson/Getty Images)


SAT 21:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqd8p6)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 21:06 Newshour (w172x2z59b72g9s)
Calls for UK PM to replace Northern Ireland Brexit deal

The First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, has urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to invoke part of the Brexit agreement to deal with problems in the movement of goods between GB and NI. Her comments came after a row in which the EU said it would halt vaccine supplies travelling into Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. Also: Why Latinos in Los Angeles are disproportionally affected by Covid; and moves to end a very personal form of discrimination, especially for women of colour - we hear about hair.

(Photo: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster at Hillsborough Castle during the Prime Minister’s visit to Belfast on 13/08/2020. Credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire).


SAT 22:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqddfb)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:06 The Newsroom (w172x79tcz88vf5)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 22:20 Sports News (w172x3fq035z4d0)
BBC Sport brings you all the latest stories and results from around the world.


SAT 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q38jb2rpq)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:32 Heart and Soul (w3ct0w3g)
Redemption in recycling

In Philadelphia, husband and wife George and Mimi Limbach sit down in an old warehouse with 15 men who have recently been released from prison. Surrounding them are hundreds of old computers, which these former inmates will soon recycle as part of a rehabilitation programme underpinned by the couples Christian faith. They feel by offering these former offenders work they are keeping true to values such as forgiveness, love and second chances. “No one is here to judge. We are all on the same level,” George tells the young men.

In this programme, Colm Flynn travels to the computer recycling centre in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Philadelphia to meet some of the former inmates who are building a better future "one computer tower at a time." We hear their raw stories, and hear why George and Mimi feel these people deserve a chance despite their past crimes.

Presenter: Colm Flynn


SAT 23:00 BBC News (w172x5p8tsqdj5g)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:06 Business Weekly (w3ct0spv)
Combating Covid: Closed borders and quarantine hotels

The UK has said it will impose strict restrictions on people travelling to the country in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Travellers from a list of countries deemed 'high risk’ will be put into hotels to quarantine. It is a scheme used in Australia, where cases have remained relatively low. We hear how the economy there was able to open up after the first wave of infections. The end of the Google Loon project means very little in practical terms to people in rural Africa who need internet access. It never managed to deliver on its promise to connect up more of the continent. So, what’s next? Will Elon Musk’s Starlink project be the answer?

Plus we get the latest on the farmers' protests in India after this week’s rally turned violent. And the director of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo tells us how he had to protect the area from exploitative companies as well as armed militias. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

(Photo: Police at Frankfurt Airport. Credit: Getty Images)