SATURDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2021

SAT 00:00 BBC News (w172x5p96212wmb)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 00:06 The Real Story (w3cszcp7)
Cryptocurrencies: Fad or the future?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been back in the news this week after the endorsement of SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk. His comments prompted the price of bitcoin to rise sharply. It’s thought that a perfect storm of inflationary coronavirus stimulus spending by governments, plus eroding trust in financial markets is pushing investors towards the volatile investments. Hundreds of so called ‘alt-coins’ have followed Bitcoin into the highly unregulated cryptocurrency marketplace and worthless coins are being marketed on social media with prices rocketing hundreds of percentage points in minutes. It all has institutional investors wondering whether to dip their toes in for fear of missing out - and regulators scratching their heads about what to do next. New US treasury secretary Janet Yellen says cryptocurrencies are of ‘particular concern’ and the Indian government is now seeking to prohibit private cryptocurrencies altogether. So what are they and how have they evolved since the early days of Bitcoin a decade ago? Ritula Shah and a panel of guests discuss cryptocurrencies and what should be done about them.


SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172x5p962130cg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:06 Business Matters (w172x19741cw7gc)
Japan's Kirin brewery ends Myanmar joint venture

The Japanese brewer has terminated the partnership following Monday's military coup. We get the perspective of Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which promotes human rights in the country. And Vasuki Shastry, associate fellow of the Asia-Pacific programme at the research group Chatham House, tells us what wider impact the move is likely to have.
Rupert Murdoch will launch a news streaming service in the UK in the spring. We speak to James Warrington of the City AM newspaper about what the channel will offer.
The US House of Representatives has voted in favour of President Biden's coronavirus relief plan. We get the latest from the BBC's Michelle Fleury in New York.
Vishala Sri-Pathma is joined throughout the programme by Sarah Knight of ABC News in Perth, Australia.

(Picture: A Myanmar woman holds a placard against the military coup. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 02:00 BBC News (w172x5p9621343l)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:06 From Our Own Correspondent (w3csz9qt)
Myanmar: The Lady and the Generals

Aung San Suu Kyi once seemed set to put Myanmar on a new path after years of military dictatorship. But her refusal to acknowledge the army’s persecution of Rohingya Muslims damaged her standing abroad. And although her party, the NLD, won a landslide victory in elections last year, it may prove to have been a pyrrhic one, says Jonathan Head, after this week’s military coup.

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

In recent weeks, Lebanese cities have seen a new wave of public protest - but this time it wasn't about politics, but the harsh facts of survival. Six months after the huge blast in its capital city, Lebanon is still struggling to rebuild. Its people are finding whichever means they can to survive a devastating economic crisis, and meanwhile, authorities imposed one of the world's most stringent lockdowns to try and limit the spread of Covid-19. Leila Molana-Allen reports from Tripoli and Beirut.





In September 2017, a ferocious Category 5 hurricane swept through the eastern Caribbean. The islands of Dominica, St Croix and Puerto Rico were battered by winds of up to 280 kph - ripping the roofs from buildings, stripping every leaf from plants, and leaving many families homeless. On Dominica, Hurricane Maria left a trail of devastation and death; but this island and its people have shown both ingenuity and resilience in building back better. Mark Stratton recently visited, and found a place determined to stare down a new, global storm front: coronavirus.

South Africa has been battling to control a new variant of Covid, detected in the country last year. More than 45,000 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic. For those who are grieving, the usual customs surrounding mourning and funerals have been abruptly curtailed. Many people are now restricted to watching live-streamed funerals online, while closest family grieve alone, says Pumza Fihlani.


"No coup.” Credit: EPA/Narong Sangnak)


SAT 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmshcz)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:32 Stumped (w3cszhkh)
India v England: The clash of the Test titans

The Stumped team preview one of the biggest clashes not just in cricket but in world sport as India face England on home soil. We hear from former India player Suresh Raina on where he thinks the key battles will be. Plus as Joe Root is set to play in his 100th test we hear from the man himself and ask whether he could ever surpass Sachin Tendulkar's tally of runs?

Plus with the news coming this week that Australia have pulled out of their tour of South Africa later this month because of coronavirus concerns, we speak to former South Africa all-rounder Robin Peterson on how this will impact cricket in the country.

(Photo: Joe Root of England shakes hands with Virat Kohli of India prior to Day One of the Specsavers 1st Test match between England and India at Edgbaston on August 1, 2018 in Birmingham, England. Credit: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)


SAT 03:00 BBC News (w172x5p962137vq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 03:06 The Fifth Floor (w3cszjjc)
Myanmar: Reporting the coup

It’s less than a week since a military coup in Myanmar, staged as a new session of parliament was set to open. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than tells us about events leading up to the coup, and reactions in Myanmar, where the transition to democracy has proved short-lived.

My Home Town: Changwon, South Korea
Julie Yoonnyung Lee of BBC Korean takes us to her hometown of Changwon in South Korea to ride bicycles and admire the cherry blossom.

Unwitching Assam
Birubala Rabha grew up in India's north-eastern state of Assam believing in witches and witchcraft. But after encounters with witch-doctors she lost her belief, and has become a campaigner, helping establish tough anti-witch hunting laws. Soutik Biswas of BBC Delhi tells her story.

Possibly Putin's palace
President Putin has categorically denied ownership of a splendid palace and estate revealed in a video made by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Olga Ivshina of BBC Russian describes the stand-out details of the property, and the reaction of Russians to the story.

Lost Dreams
An Algerian teacher who sits exams alongside his students to support them, and a Syrian refugee in Austria who made Christmas cards for her neighbours to break down barriers. These are two stories from a BBC Arabic series called Lost Dreams, as we hear from Shereen Nanish at BBC Amman.


(Photo: Pro-coup marchers in Naypyitaw. Credit: Reuters)


SAT 03:50 Witness History (w3cszmw7)
General Robert E Lee: US Civil War rebel

The US Civil War of 1861-65 left 700,000 troops dead. The Southern Confederate states rebelled against the Union of the North because the Confederates wanted to protect the right to own slaves. The hero of the rebel cause, General Robert E Lee, was charged with treason and had his citizenship revoked. So why did Congress reinstate his citizenship in 1975 more than one hundred years after his death? Claire Bowes has been speaking to former Democrat Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman who was one of just ten members of Congress to vote against the rehabilitation of General Lee and to John Reeves author of the book, The Lost Indictment of Robert E Lee. They describe how the proposal, put forward by a pro-segregationist Senator from Virginia, passed without even the mention of slavery.

Photo: General Robert E Lee courtesy of the Library of Congress


SAT 04:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213clv)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 04:06 The Real Story (w3cszcp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:06 today]


SAT 05:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213hbz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct19z7)
Coronavirus: Guilty mums

Many parents are finding it hard to be a teacher and a parent at the same time during this pandemic. Two mums - Priya in India and Mpulte in South Africa - share their experiences.

Host Nuala McGovern also hears the urgent appeal being sent to medics to help in Portugal’s intensive care units, as the country undergoes a worrying spike in cases. “We need you,” is the message sent to one nurse, who is being drafted into ICU for the first time.

Plus, three women in Germany, Australia and the United States come together to explain why the pandemic has led them to sell naked images and videos of themselves online.

(Photo: Mputle Dikobe Credit: Mputle Dikobe)


SAT 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmsvmc)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:32 Mayday (w3ct1cxk)
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 05:50 Ros Atkins on ... (w3ct24jd)
Trump impeachment: The Republicans' dilemma

As Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial approaches, Ros Atkins looks at the decisions that Republicans face over the former US president’s role in the storming of the Capitol and in the future of their party.

(Photo: President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the Republican National Convention, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Credit: Jessica Koscielniak/Getty Images)


SAT 06:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213m33)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 06:06 Weekend (w172x7d92fd1zct)
Thousands protest in Myanmar

A large protest is underway in Myanmar’s main commercial city Yangon. Hundreds of workers have joined young activists and local residents, condemning the military coup. We hear the latest from the ground and from a foreign advisor to the detained Premier Aung Sung Suu Kyi.

Also on the programme, protesters are detained in Russia for supporting opposition leader, Alexei Navalny and we hear from the widow of Lokman Slim, a prominent Lebanese journalist and critic of Hezbollah, who was shot earlier this week.

To talk about these stories and others we are joined by Celia Szusterman who is the director of the Latin America Programme at the Institute for Statecraft in London and James Lynch, the founding director of FairSquare Research and Projects, which provides expert analysis on a range of human rights issues.

(Photo: Protestors gather in Yangon today; Credit: EPA/LYNN BO BO)


SAT 07:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213qv7)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 07:06 Weekend (w172x7d92fd233y)
International anger over Russian expulsions

European leaders condemn Russia's decision to expel three diplomats, in a growing row over the treatment of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

Also on the programme: a plea to allow aid into Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region, we hear from the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland and as LGBT+ history month is marked, we hear about the struggles some people still face in coming out about their sexuality.

To talk about these stories and many more we are joined by Celia Szusterman, who is the director of the Latin America Programme at the Institute for Statecraft in London and James Lynch, founding director of FairSquare Research and Projects, which provides expert analysis on a range of human rights issues.

(Photo: Russian police detain protestors in Moscow; Credit: EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV)


SAT 08:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213vlc)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:06 Weekend (w172x7d92fd26w2)
Large rally in Yangon

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Myanmar to protest against this week's military coup. We'll hear from the biggest city Yangon. We also hear from an Australian advisor to the country's deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, just after he was detained in a hotel in the capital.

Also on the programme: we'll get the latest on the developments regarding vaccines against Coronavirus from a leading virologist; and hear about the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, who was back in court on Friday, this time accused of defaming a World War II veteran.

To talk about these stories and more we are joined in the studio by Celia Szusterman who is the director of the Latin America Programme at the Institute for Statecraft in London and James Lynch, the founding director of FairSquare Research and Projects, which provides expert analysis on a range of human rights issues.

(Photo: Protestors showing three fingers in defiance; Credit: EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING)


SAT 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmt6vr)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:32 When Katty Met Carlos (w3ct1c56)
Immigration in America

America was built on immigration, but is it still a good place for immigrants? Katty Kay and Carlos Watson discuss immigration, acceptance and assimilation with a top chef and a hip hop music manager.

Marcus Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia but brought up in Sweden by his Swedish adoptive parents, before moving to America in the 1990s. He now has a chain of restaurants across the US, including the famous Red Rooster in Harlem.

Sophia Chang was born in Canada to Korean immigrant parents. She moved to the US in her twenties and has been living in New York for more than three decades. She is known as “the first Asian woman in hip hop.” Amongst others, she has managed three members of Wu Tang Clan.

Both discuss their journeys and reasons for coming to America, their experiences of trying to fit into American society, and what they feel about America’s attitudes to immigrants. They also talk about America’s cultural mosaic, opportunities, what immigrants bring to the US, and racism.

This is a co-production between BBC World Service and Ozy Media.


SAT 09:00 BBC News (w172x5p96213zbh)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct19z7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:06 today]


SAT 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmtblw)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:32 Two Minutes Past Nine (w3ct1cx1)
Two Minutes Past Nine

06/02/2021 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 (w3cszf5m)
Reflections on money, work, family and business in India

It’s a show that reflects on money, work, family and business - we get listeners’ thoughts on Work Life India. Is it picking the right topics and only focussing on big cities? The shows’ host and producer respond..
Plus what’s happened to sports commentator Alan Green? And feedback for Voices from the Ghetto.
Presenter Rajan Datar
Producer Howard Shannon.


SAT 10:00 BBC News (w172x5p9621432m)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 10:06 Sportshour (w172x3c815pmwwb)
Sportshour at the Super Bowl

This week’s Sportshour focuses on Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The BBC’s Blaire Toedte is on the ground in Florida for us as the Bucs aim to make history by becoming the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Seven and a half thousand vaccinated health care workers have been gifted tickets for the game as a thank you for their work during the covid pandemic. RJ Gardner is an ICU nurse with Aya Healthcare and tells us about running a covid ward in New Jersey at the start of the pandemic and the pressures involved with his current role in Atlanta. He discusses losing a patient he got close to, being away from his family and his shock at being told he’d be going to the Super Bowl.

Brad Johnson was Tampa Bay’s quarterback when they won their first and up to now only Super Bowl in in 2003. He tells us the Bucs were known as “the yuks” when he joined the team, such was their lowly reputation. Johnson also reflects on winning the Super Bowl and gives us his thoughts on Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.

The Mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor tells us how she’s been confident from the outset that the Bucs would win the Super Bowl, discusses rumours the city could be renamed in Tom Brady’s honour and tells us about a bet she has on the game with the Mayor of Kansas City.

John Biever will make history on Sunday as he becomes the only photographer to have worked at every Super Bowl. He recalls shooting his first, alongside his father, as a fifteen year old and how they worked together at the first thirty five Super Bowls before ill health and age forced his father to stop. He also talks about the importance of keeping his streak going and why he has a soft spot for the Kansas City Chiefs going into this game.

We hear from Bucs assistant defensive line coach, Lori Locust. She made history when she joined the team as she became the first woman position coach in the NFL and is part of a diverse coaching staff at the organisation. Jay Ajayi also gives us his thoughts on diversity in the NFL. Ajayi won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He was born in London and has Nigerian heritage.

The NFL is the focus for Sporting Witness on this Super Bowl weekend as we bring you the story behind a landmark policy for diversity in sport. It's called the Rooney Rule and it was introduced by the NFL to require its teams to interview minority candidates for jobs as head coaches.

And – we’re joined live by fans of the Bucs and the Chiefs.

Photo: Tom Brad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Getty Images)


SAT 11:00 BBC News (w172x5p962146tr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:06 The Newsroom (w172x7bn5z5pz7w)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmtl34)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:32 Comedians Vs. The News (w3ct21md)
Tumi Morake and Joanne McNally

Comedians vs the News is back! Comedy couple Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini are ready to bring laughter to 2021.

This week, Jess and Eman are joined by the South African queen of comedy Tumi Morake and Irish stand-up sensation Joanne McNally. They’ll be finding out why a South African politician is in trouble for her killer outfit, and hearing all about the Irish Health Minister’s favourite emoji…

Join Comedians vs the News for the headlines as you’ve never heard them before.


SAT 12:00 BBC News (w172x5p96214bkw)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 12:06 Music Life (w3csz6v5)
History in the making with Mickey Guyton and Jimmie Allen

Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton, Abby Anderson and Twinnie discuss issues around the country music industry, how they tell stories in their songs, and the importance of being yourself and speaking your mind.

Jimmie Allen is an artist from Southern Delaware, USA, who mixes country, rock, R&B, and pop. He released his debut album Mercury Lane in 2018, a tribute to the street he grew up on, which led him to be labelled “one of the hottest rising stars in country”. His latest EP, Bettie James, is a collaborative projective released last year.

On that EP is Mickey Guyton, and she’s also on the show today. She’s a singer-songwriter from Texas described as “the unapologetic voice country music needs right now”. Her debut single, Better Than You Left Me, broke the record for being added to more country radio stations in its first week of release than any other debut single. She also recently made history as the first Black female solo artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country category.

Abby Anderson is also from Texas, where she learned to play the piano from the age of 5. She moved to Nashville at 17 before releasing her debut EP I’m Good in 2018. Since then, she’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in country, and is getting ready to release her debut album.

And finally, Twinnie is a singer-songwriter from Yorkshire, England, with strong ties to Nashville. Her career started in acting, and she performed in film, TV and theatre, before releasing her debut album Hollywood Gypsy in April 2020.


SAT 13:00 BBC News (w172x5p96214gb0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 13:06 Newshour (w172x2z5nljtmyl)
Myanmar: Thousands demonstrate against military coup

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, to protest against the military coup and demand the release of elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Britain's ambassador in Myanmar says the protesters are taking a risk.

Also on the programme: A year on from his death from Covid-19, we remember the Chinese doctor who inspired an outpouring of anger and grief on the internet; and we talk to a British doctor caring for terminally ill patients in a time of pandemic.


Photo: Protesters hold placards and flash the three-finger salute, a symbol of resistance, during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar Credit: EPA/LYNN BO BO


SAT 14:00 BBC News (w172x5p96214l24)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 14:06 Sportsworld (w172x3ln0r3v3qg)
Live Sporting Action

Sportsworld brings you live Premier League commentary as Newcastle United take on Southampton, who are looking to bounce back from their shock 9-0 defeat to Manchester 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 former Everton and England defender Lindsay Johnson to discuss the Premier League's big talking points.

We'll have reaction to the day's early kick-off between Arsenal and Aston Villa.

Elsewhere, it's a busy weekend of men's Test cricket. We'll be in India to reflect on day two of their first Test against England in Chennai. We'll also keep you across the second men's Test match between Pakistan and South Africa in Rawalpindi and Bangladesh vs. West Indies in Chittagong.

After the build-up was dominated by a huge quarantine row, we'll preview the Australian Open as the first tennis grand slam of the year finally gets underway in Melbourne.

In rugby union, it's also the start of the men's Six Nations with Italy hosting France and England facing Scotland on the opening day.

And we'll look ahead to Super Bowl 55 as Tom Brady targets a record seventh success - this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the defending champions Kansas City Chiefs.

Photo: Jan Bednarek reacts to scoring an own goal in Southampton's 9-0 defeat at Manchester United (Getty Images)


SAT 18:00 BBC News (w172x5p9621521n)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:06 The Newsroom (w172x7bn5z5qtgs)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 18:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmvfb1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:32 When Katty Met Carlos (w3ct1c56)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:32 today]


SAT 19:00 BBC News (w172x5p962155ss)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:06 The History Hour (w3cszkq6)
The Burma protests of 1988

In August 1988, people took to the streets of Burma, or Myanmar, to protest against the country's military government. The bloody uprising would lead to the rise of Aung San Suu Kyi as the country's pro-democracy leader. Also, the epidemic of drug use among US troops in Vietnam in the 1970s, the first Eurostar train service and the launch of the spectacular Moscow State Circus in 1971

PHOTO: Protestors in Rangoon in 1988 (Getty Images)


SAT 20:00 BBC News (w172x5p962159jx)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 20:06 The Arts Hour (w3cszk44)
Author Angie Thomas

The White Tiger director Ramin Bahrani and two of its stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Adarsh Gourav discuss their new movie.

New Zealand actress and comedian Rose Matafeo explains how comedy can get lost in translation.

Nadia Nakai, South Africa’s biggest female rapper, talks about her evolving career in music.

French actress Camille Cottin, star of the hit comedy show Call My Agent, tells us how close to reality it is.

Novelist Monique Roffey explains some Trinidadian vernacular from her 2020 Costa Award-winning novel The Mermaid of Black Conch.

And there’s music from Québécois band Le Vent du Nord from this year’s Celtic Connections Festival.

Nikki Bedi’s studio guests this week are British-Lebanese writer and film producer Nasri Attalah, and bestselling American author Angie Thomas joins us down the line from Jackson, Mississippi to discuss Concrete Rose, the prequel to her chart-topping novel The Hate U Give.


(Photo: Angie Thomas. Credit: Valerie Schmidt)


SAT 21:00 BBC News (w172x5p96215f91)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 21:06 Newshour (w172x2z5nljvlxm)
Myanmar coup: crowds protest against military

Myanmar's military rulers have shut down the country's internet as thousands of people joined the largest rally yet against Monday's coup. Civil society organisations urged internet providers and mobile networks to challenge the blackout order.

Also on the programme: President Brden’s Yemen policy switch; and the 50th anniversary of women’s right to vote in Switzerland.

(Photo: A protester wearing a face mask with the flag of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: EPA).


SAT 22:00 BBC News (w172x5p96215k15)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:06 The Newsroom (w172x79tr7l2010)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 22:20 Sports News (w172x3fqcchr8zv)
BBC Sport brings you all the latest stories and results from around the world.


SAT 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172x5q3msmvx9k)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:32 Heart and Soul (w3ct1fq8)
Three months to save my son's life

Veer is four years old. He has a genetic disorder called Fanconi Anaemia affecting his bone marrow. In 2019, his parents were told they would need to find a lifesaving stem cell donor for him. Doctors estimated that Veer could expect to live for between two to five years before needing a transplant, depending on how quickly his bone marrow depletes. However, after one of Veer’s recent general check-ups, the Doctors said things were deteriorating faster than expected and Veer was only three to six months from needing the transplant. The challenge is to get people to register. Currently, only 2% of the UK’s population are stem cell donors. A donor could come from anywhere around the world but misconceptions about becoming a donor means registrants are low. In the end, all it involves is a procedure similar to giving blood.

Rajeev Gupta follows Veer’s parents as they dramatically ramp up efforts to save their son's life. In this emotional story, we get to know the charming little Veer and his family as they battle limitations placed by the coronavirus pandemic to try and find a match for him. Rajeev hears how Veer’s mum, Kirpa and dad, Nirav have increasingly turned to their Jain faith to help deal with the emotional traumas placed upon the family. Kirpa believes their faith inevitably guides them through this and will help Veer find his match. With exclusive access, this programme follows Veer and his family to what could be a joyous or equally heart wrenching conclusion.

Presenter/producer: Rajeev Gupta

(Photo: Veer. Credit: helpveernow.org)


SAT 23:00 BBC News (w172x5p96215ns9)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:06 Business Weekly (w3ct0spw)
Following the money in Myanmar

As protests continue against the military coup in Myanmar, Business Weekly hears how the army controls the country’s economy. Jeff Bezos has announced that he’s stepping down as Amazon chief executive so he can concentrate on other projects. We think about the good he could he do if he really put his mind - and his money - to it. And it’s a dog’s life - we hear how the trade in lockdown pets is booming. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

(Image: University teachers in Yangon protest against the military coup, STR/AFP via Getty Images)