logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2022
29m 5s

Montenegro’s Chinese Road

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode
<p>It’s been called the priciest piece of tarmac in the world. In 2014 the government of Montenegro signed a contract with a state-owned Chinese company to build part of a 170 kilometre-long highway – a road that would connect its main port with the Serbian border to the north. The price-tag on the first 42 kilometres of asphalt was a staggering $1 billion ... Show More
Up next
May 20
Colombia's webcam women
Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín, is booming and one of the biggest industries revolves around the city’s live webcam studios which stream women performing sex acts.  It’s estimated there are hundreds of studios in the city employing thousands of women and turning over mi ... Show More
29m 11s
May 13
Syria - Return to Ruins
Thirteen million Syrians - half the population - left their homes during their country's 13-year civil war. Seven million were internally displaced. Six million fled abroad. Bringing them home is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Syria's new rulers. But many can’t return, beca ... Show More
29m 28s
May 6
Russia's Church in Texas
Not that long ago many church-going Americans saw Russia as a godless place, an “evil empire” in the words of Ronald Reagan. But in President Trump’s second term, US-Russia relations have been turned on their head. The White House sided with the Kremlin at the United Nations, vot ... Show More
29m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
Montenegro’s Chinese road
It’s been called the priciest piece of tarmac in the world. In 2014 the government of Montenegro signed a contract with a state-owned Chinese company to build part of a 170 kilometre-long highway – a road that would connect its main port with the Serbian border to the north. The ... Show More
27m 32s
Nov 2022
Stories from the New Silk Road: Mexico
The town of El Triunfo in Tabasco state is not far from the Mexican border with Guatemala. Translated from Spanish, ‘El Triunfo’ means ‘The Triumph’ and being miles from the nearest city, with just over 5000 inhabitants, it does not usually attract much attention. However, that c ... Show More
28 m
Nov 2022
Stories from the New Silk Road: Jamaica
From highways to hospitals, Chinese construction firms continue to work on a number of high-profile projects across Jamaica. In the face of soaring debts they have not proceeded without controversy, with particular criticism of the use of Chinese labour for jobs that Jamaicans mi ... Show More
27m 56s
Oct 2022
China’s media control
China’s communist party is preparing for a crucial meeting of the annual congress, which is expected to award President, Xi Jinping a third term in office. But amid the tightened security surrounding this event, economic storm clouds are gathering. And investigating and reporting ... Show More
28m 11s
Aug 2022
Moldova - East or West?
Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, the former Soviet Republic of Moldova has recently been awarded EU candidate status.In an echo of what happened in Ukraine, Moldova lost a chunk of its eastern territory to separatists in a short war 30 years ago. The separatists were backe ... Show More
26m 28s
Nov 2022
Stories from the New Silk Road: Panama
The Panama Canal is a great feat of engineering and a place of huge global significance for trade and shipping. An artificial waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, literally dividing North and South America, whilst saving thousands of miles of shipping time roun ... Show More
27m 50s
Nov 2023
The mighty Mekong’s last hope
Tens of millions of lives depend on the Mekong river for fishing and farming as it travels through China and South East Asia. But there are increasing signs that this river with one of the richest ecosystems on earth is being strangled. A cascade of dams, intensifying climate cha ... Show More
28m 16s
Sep 2023
Where next for China’s Belt and Road?
Xi Jinping announced a massive building project along the ‘New Silk Road’ to very little fanfare in Kazakhstan 10 years ago this month. Infrastructure including railways, roads and ports have been built in 165 countries to date, as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Bill ... Show More
18m 18s
Jun 2022
A Summit in the Bavarian Alps
The Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps hosted dignitaries as they tried to present a united front against Russian aggression and tackle the global food crisis. James Landale also found the castle had an interesting story of its own when he was reporting from the summit. Russian s ... Show More
28m 40s
Mar 2024
Surviving 'chemical detention' in Belarus
Kate Adie introduces stories from Belarus, Senegal, the US-Mexico border, Cambodia and Brazil.Political prisoners in Belarus attract less international attention than those in Russia - but there are far more of them, even in a smaller country. Many are women, held in a kind of ho ... Show More
28m 31s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami