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Feb 2024
28m 35s

Fear of Famine in Ethiopia

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Kate Adie presents stories from Ethiopia, Sweden, India, Australia and Ecuador. Ethiopia's Tigray region has already been devastated by war - now its people are facing starvation as swathes of land have been parched by drought. Our Diplomatic Editor, James Landale has been given rare access to the region, where he visited a clinic helping the hungry.

Rising gang violence in Sweden has wrecked the country’s peaceful image. Now the government plans to introduce so-called ‘police search zones’ allowing officers to frisk people or search vehicles, even if they are not formally suspected of a crime. Matilda Welin reports on the dramatic upsurge in bombings, shootings and arson.

In India, thousands of men, desperate for secure jobs, have been queuing at recruitment centres hoping to land work... in Israel. In a treaty signed last year, India’s government promised to send more than 40,000 workers to Israel, to help plug shortfalls in the construction industry there. Soutik Biswas has been talking to some hopeful recruits in India’s northern state of Haryana.

A convenience store in Sydney, Australia, offers more than the usual variety of groceries. Amongst the tinned tomatoes and toiletries is a full-size, working Airbus A320 flight simulator - so you can learn to pilot a plane while picking up a pint of milk. Eleanor Smallwood has been to meet the man behind the machine.

And, with its Elvis hairdo and eye-catching feathery necktie, we meet the rare, Long-wattled Umbrellabird. Stephen Moss trudges through the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, to make his acquaintance (just don’t forget the binoculars).

Producer: Sally Abrahams Production Co-ordinator: Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

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