The parents suing over Gambia’s cough syrup scandal

09/09/23 • 28 min

Kate Adie introduces stories from The Gambia, Iran, the USA, Chile and Hungary.

Dozens of bereaved families in the Gambia are taking legal action against an Indian drug manufacturer and Gambian health authorities, after more than 70 infants died after taking apparently toxic cough remedies. Sam Bradpiece heard their stories and traces how these medicines came to market.

As Iran approaches the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the authorities are already cracking down on signs of public dissent. She was a young woman arrested for "incorrect hijab", whose fate triggered a wave of protest across Iran. Lois Pryce speaks to some of the generation of young women who took to the streets a year ago, and now say they're ready to do so again.

The Capitol riot on the 6th of January 2021 is still roiling American politics - as some high-profile Republican politicians say the people who were involved were patriots who shouldn't be punished. But the courts have issued verdict after verdict against the architects of the disorder. Mike Wendling reports from Washington DC on the sentencing of a leading figure in the chaos - Enrique Tarrio, former leader of activist group the Proud Boys.

In Chile there's been heated debate over how best to mark the fifty years since General Pinochet's military takeover. These days few people deny the killings, torture and disappearances were committed during his dictatorship - but up to a third of Chileans are willing to say the coup was necessary. Jane Chambers considers the nuances of a country torn between left and right.

It's been a terrible year for fruit in Hungary - so Nick Thorpe was prepared to go without his usual annual ritual of making his pear crop into homemade brandy. But as it turned out, an unexpected windfall of 200kilos of sour cherries would fuel an even more potent brew...

Producer: Polly Hope

Editor: Bridget Harney

Production Co-Ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Kate Adie introduces stories from The Gambia, Iran, the USA, Chile and Hungary.

Producer: Polly Hope

Editor: Bridget Harney

Production Co-Ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Previous Episode

The press under pressure in Indian-administered Kashmir

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' dispatches from Kashmir, Russia, Nigeria, Slovakia and Paraguay.

Understanding the complexities of politics and identity in Indian-administered Kashmir is not easy - and so the Kashmir Press Club was not just a social spot for local reporters, but an informal university for visiting journalists from elsewhere. It was recently closed down by the Indian government: just one sign of the narrowing margins for media freedom in the region. Yogita Limaye reflects on the challenges to reporting on Kashmir in such a climate.

Amid the fog of war, it's harder than ever to separate truth from misinformation about public opinion in Russia. So Will Vernon took to the streets of Moscow to ask members of that public what they think. In their answers, there were words of resignation and nervousness as well as of patriotism. He also heard from an anonymous Russian military analyst and people within the "ever-shrinking world" of opposition politics.

The recent coup in Niger was roundly condemned by the regional trade and diplomatic bloc ECOWAS, led by Nigeria. ECOWAS threatened military action and immediately suspended trade with Niger. That had immediate effects for the truckers and traders who regularly cross the border between Niger and Nigeria - as well as the families and religious groups with extensive networks in both countries. Catherine Norris Trent hears of their concerns over the crisis.

The double murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova in 2018 caused outrage in Slovakia. It set off a wave of public protests which eventually brought down a government. So how has it happened that five years later, the legal cases to convict all the killers is still ongoing, and that Robert Fico, who was unseated by that protest movement, is a contender to be re-elected Prime Minister? John Kampfner investigates a story of secrets and lies.

By some estimates, a language dies, along with its last speaker, around every 40 days; a loss of human knowledge and worldviews we might not come to regret until it's too late. All over the world, indigenous languages are disappearing fast. But in South America there's a notable exception: Guarani, which is widely spoken in Paraguay and beyond - and not only by people of Guarani descent. Grace Livingstone listens to some of the language's most passionate defenders and promoters, who say they'd like their mother tongue to get a little more respect.

Next Episode

Morocco: Tragedy in the High Atlas Mountains

Stories from Morocco, Gabon, Pakistan, Norway and Canada

A community in the High Atlas Mountains grapples with the devastation wrought by the strongest earthquake to hit Morocco in more than one hundred years. James Copnall visited Amizmiz where several lives were lost and homes destroyed and a harsh winter lies ahead.

The West African country of Gabon has become the latest in the region to witness a military coup, overthrowing the government of President Ali Bongo, scion of the Bongo dynasty. Catherine Norris-Trent encountered jubilation on the streets of Libraville - but asks whether pledges of democratic elections will be fulfilled.

In Pakistan, we followed the search in the country for three relatives of Sara Sharif, the ten-year old who was found dead in Woking. Her father, step-mother and Uncle have now been charged with her murder since they returned to the UK. Caroline Davies visited Sara's grandfather in his village in Punjab.

On the Norway-Russian border, there used to be a steady stream of visitors, but the war in Ukraine changed that. It remains open but Norwegians have introduced more checks on those coming over. John Murphy found a more active border in the waters of a river nearby where locals are battling to keep out a different kind of visitor.

As he returns from paternity leave, our Rome correspondent, Mark Lowen, recounts his experience of becoming a father using a surrogate in Canada, even as Italy moves to ban its nationals from engaging a surrogate abroad.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Bridget Harney