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Reporting From an Ebola Hotspot

Reporting the Ebola outbreak, tackling fear and rumours in Sierra Leone; India plans the world's first Orwell museum; Forbidden love in Afghanistan; Togo's role in World War I

91热爆 Africa's Umaru Fofana in Freetown, Sierra Leone has been reporting on the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. He describes how the virus has affected the atmosphere of his city and the precautions he has to take when covering this story. And as the death toll rises to over 700 across West Africa, so has the panic, misinformation and fear. Also from Freetown, 91热爆 Media Action's Musa Sangarie reflects on how radio can tackle the spread of life-threatening rumours.

Also in the programme:

Searching for George Orwell in Bihar
A bungalow in Motihari in the Indian state of Bihar where George Orwell was born is set to become the world's first museum dedicated to the writer. 91热爆 Urdu's Suhail Haleem travels to Motihari to find out whether people there have ever heard of this famous former resident.

Forbidden love in Afghanistan
Ali and Zakia met when they were child shepherds herding their flocks in the fields of Afghanistan's mountainous Bamiyan province. Ali is an ethnic Hazara and Shia, while Zakia is Tajik and Sunni, but these cultural differences didn't stop the young couple from falling in love. When rumours about their courtship got out, the couple feared Zakia's family might kill them both. In March, they eloped in secret and have been living in hiding since. 91热爆 Persian's Ayoub Arwin, who is also from Bamiyan, has been to meet with them at their safe house and provides an update on their story.

Togo's role in World War I
The first shots of the First World War were reportedly fired in Togo. In the year of the war's centenary, 91热爆 Africa's Akwasi Sarpong explores West Africa's involvement in the conflict.

Online Greatest Hits
Digital diva Fifi Haroon gives the low down on the top-hitting stories across the web including Kenya's boozy baboons and the Indian boy who had 232 teeth removed.

Hafez Nazeri
Persian composer Hafez Nazeri's new album was top of the classical music charts in the United States for two weeks - a rare occurrence for Iranian and Middle Eastern music. 91热爆 Persian's Sam Farzaneh caught up with Hafez to talk about his unique fusion of western and eastern music.

(Image: A reporter typing wearing gloves. Image credit: European Photopress Agency.)

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50 minutes

Last on

Sat 2 Aug 2014 01:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 1 Aug 2014 11:06GMT
  • Fri 1 Aug 2014 21:06GMT
  • Sat 2 Aug 2014 01:06GMT