Africa Today

There are concerns that an international US foreign aid cut will reverse gains, especially in the fight against HIVWho are the M23 - the group operating in eastern DR Congo?And how a non-alcoholic bar in Ghana is challenging the drinking culturePresenter Charles Gitonga Producers: Frenny Jowi in Nairobi with Yvette Twagiramariya and Bella Hassan in London. Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

A group of prominent Zimbabwean war veterans, including a senior figure from the ruling Zanu PF party, have issued a rare rebuke against the country's president Emerson Mnangagwa. They've accused him of seeking to violate the country's constitution by pushing for a third term in office. What does this mean and how significant is this?Also, we return to the story of the Malawian women facing abuse as domestic workers in Oman.And who are the Lukurawa and why have they been designated a terrorist group? Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Nyasha Michelle in London and Frenny Jowi in Nairobi Technical Producer: Frank McWeeny Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Rwandan-backed rebels have taken over most of the city of Goma in eastern DR Congo. There are reports of Congolese and Rwandan troops exchanging fire across the border. Calls for European Union member countries to respect the human rights of migrants in North Africa. Plus, we remember one of the forgotten black victims of the Holocaust.Presenter : Audrey Brown Producers : Yvette Twagiramariya , Bella Hassan and Amie Liebowitz in London.  Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical producer: Jack Graysmark Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi.

The UN refugee agency says more than 200,000 Sudanese have arrived in Libya since the start of the war. Women are amongst those hoping to find a better life there. Instead, the women say they have faced abuse and raped. Five women have told the BBC they were tortured and sexually abused in "rape rooms", and worse, children have not been spared. Also, why are children not going to school in Nigeria? The country has some of the largest numbers of children out of school in the world. Why is that?And is smoking tobacco really in decline in South Africa? It was amongst the first countries in the world to heavily tax tobacco and introduce controls to rein in smoking in the early 90s.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Nyasha Michella and Yvette Twagiramariya Technical Producer: Craig Kingham Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

Nigeria's telecoms regulator has approved a tariff hike by operators-customers are groaning.   A year after ground-breaking malaria vaccination campaigns were launched in Africa-we assess the progress.   And why is Benin granting citizenship to descendants of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade?   Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Blessing Aderogba. Yvette Twagiramariya and Blessing Hassan Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Can Mozambique’s newly sworn in President Daniel Chapo and the main opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, put their differences aside for the benefit of the country’s future? The United Nations estimates that more than 50m children globally do not have birth certificates – and most of those children live in Africa. Why does having a birth certificate matter? And a special memorial has been unveiled in South Africa to remember the black soldiers who took part in the first World War.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Alfonso Daniels, Nyasha Michelle and Victor Sylver in London. Frenny Jowi was in Nairobi Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Nigeria approves Shell's watershed exit from oil-rich Niger Delta-but activists are not pleased.Tanzania's Samia Suluhu Hassan receives an early nomination for being the ruling party's presidential candidate.And why are some African countries moving towards banning wigs in court?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Bella Hassan and Sunita Nahar in London, Charles Gitonga in Nairobi and Blessing Aderogba in Lagos Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Why has the case against the Kenyan police officers allegedly involved in the death of six-month old Samantha Pendo been delayed yet again? Seven years on, her parents are still seeking justice after a court hearing into the case was adjourned for the third time. What happens to stolen funds and assets when they are recovered and repatriated to the country where they were taken from? And as President Trump begins his second term in office, will he make it a mission to end wars in Africa?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Stephania Okereke, Nyasha Michelle and Kaine Pieri in London. Charles Gitonga was in Nairobi Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Canadian mining giant Barrick halted its operations in Mali after the government seized gold stocks worth $245 million.What's the story behind the Nigerian words added to the Oxford English dictionary ? And what the death of the warlord turned politician Prince Yormie Johnson means for Liberia.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Frenny Jowi in Nairobi with Victor Sylver, Blessing Aderogba, Rob Wilson, and Nyasha Michelle in London. Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer:Craig Kingham Editors : Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Mozambique’s new president, Daniel Chapo, has been sworn in, after winning a violently disputed election held in October last year. Many people have been killed in clashes with the police and the opposition is still calling for protests. So what next for Mozambique under President Daniel Chapo? How will the China-based online giant Temu, now operating in Nigeria, affect similar local companies? Also in the podcast, we hear from the Kenyan woman who spent eight years in a Malaysian prison – more than three of them on death row – after being convicted for trafficking drugs, but was released when an appeals court accepted she was an ‘innocent carrier’.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Stephania Okereke, and Sunita Nahar in London. Frenny Jowi was in Nairobi Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Gabriel O'Regan Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Dozens of survivors and dead pulled from an abandoned South African gold mineHow Russia is expanding its partnership in Africa's nuclear sector And ice hockey gains popularity in Kenya. Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Victor Sylver, Nyasha Michelle, Priya Sippy and Sunita Nahar Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi .

Kenya's high court has struck down a law that criminalised the act of attempting suicide. We hear from one of the petitioners who brought the challenge, on why the judge's ruling is important.Also in the podcast, we revisit the dumpsite in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, that collapsed and killed more than 30 people last August. How is the city managing its waste problem?And a shop owner tells us about the devastating impact of a fire at one of the biggest open air markets in Ghana, and efforts to rebuild the area.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Bella Hassan and Sunita Nahar in London. Frenny Jowi was in Nairobi Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Gabriel O'Regan Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) pulls out of the largest free hospital in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Fears over a cargo of explosive fertiliser in a harbour in Ivory CoastAnd who are the Baye Fall muslims in Senegal?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Amie Liebovitz and Nyasha Michelle in London and Blessing Aderogba in Lagos. Senior Producer : Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Benin forces have suffered heavy losses in an attack which the military chief described as 'a heavy blow'. The assault happened at one of Benin's most well-equipped military positions. So who was behind the attack and what does it tell us about Benin's security preparedness?Also in the podcast, after São Tomé and Príncipe's president fired the prime minister accusing him of failing in his job, are political tensions on the verge of being ignited in the central African island nation?And why is the South African government not able to provide better reliable water and sanitation? We hear from the deputy minister responsible for Water and Sanitation.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Amie Liebowitz and Sunita Nahar in London Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical Producer: Frank McWeeny Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

What can be done to tackle a water crisis in South Africa's largest city Johannesburg?Can Somalia's army tackle jihadists when peacekeeping forces withdraw? After space debris landed in a Kenyan village we ask : will this become more common?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Sunita Nahar, Yvette Twagiramariya, Nyasha Michelle and Bella Hassan in London.  Frenny Jowi in NairobiSenior Producer :Paul Bakibinga Technical Producer: Gabriel O'ReganEditors :Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

The M23 rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have captured the key town of Masisi in the in the mineral-rich North Kivu province, in renewed, intense fighting. Why has there been an upsurge in the the violence and why is seizing control of Masisi so significant? Also in the podcast, why does Nigeria have the highest rates of neonatal jaundice? And we hear from two farmers in Sierra Leone - who are both amputees - about a project called Farming on Crutches, that is aimed at helping people with missing limbs find a new way to make a living.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Sunita Nahar and Kaine Pieri here in London Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Will increasing tax in South Africa help stop excessive drinking?Why are Nigeria's rice farmers struggling despite government policies to boost local production.And as more athletes break records we ask: just how long will records continue being broken?Presenter :Audrey Brown Producers: Blessing Aderogba in Lagos, Susan Gachuhi and Frenny Jowi in Nairobi with Bella Hassan and Nyasha Michelle in London. Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Technical producer: Jack Graysmark Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi.

55 African airlines have been banned from EU skies after a newly revised blacklist was released. Which airlines are they and why the ban? Also why are some Kenyan farmers resisting government plans to vaccinate their livestock?And the legacy of Dada Masilo, the young South African dancer who died at the age of 39.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya and Aime Liebowitz in London. Susan Gachuhi in Nairobi Technical Producer: Jack Graysmark Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Egypt once had the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world, but has now almost completely wiped out the liver attacking virus in less than 10 years. How did they do that?Could the African mealworm be a solution to tackling plastic waste? Kenyan researchers say the larvae of the darkling beetle species native to Africa can digest plastic in their guts and degrade styrofoam, one the most harmful materials to the environment.Also in the podcast, how Nigerian pet owners are having to make heartbreaking decisions about their animal companions as the high cost of living continues to squeeze finances.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Nyasha Michelle, Stefania Okereke, Aimie Liebovitz and Bella Hassan in London. Blessing Aderogba in Lagos Technical Producer: Philip Bull Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

Ivory Coast has confirmed, French troops stationed in the region for decades, will begin withdrawing from Ivorian soil this month. This marks another shift in the growing trend across West Africa, where France is seeing a reduction in their military presence.  An analyst explains the genesis of this resentment.Also, French President Emmanuel Macron was recently heckled during his visit to cyclone-hit Mayotte.  What's France's relationship with Mayotte?And will the rights of the Kua people in Botswana, also known as Bushmen, be better under new President Boko Duma's government ? Presenter: Audrey Brown Producer: Sunita Nahar in London Technical Producer: Jack Graysmark Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard