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From Our Own Correspondent: Jordan's palace intrigues

10/04/2021

Jordan's palace intrigues

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Jordan's palace intrigues

A royal rift unnerves a kingdom. Plus stories from Rwanda, Myanmar and France

A royal rift unnerves the Hashemite kingdom; Rwanda's intelligence networks abroad; a goodbye to Myanmar and the 'clandestine dinners' scandal some Parisians find hard to stomach

Jordan is often portrayed as a stable, moderate country whose royal family have guided it wisely through turbulent times in a dangerous neighbourhood. But that royal family has rifts of its own and they burst into full view in recent weeks, as a public feud broke out between King Abdullah and his half-brother, the former Crown Prince Hamza. The BBC’s Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, has his own memories of the country’s intimate power struggles – past and present.

In Rwanda, a man once seen around the world as a hero  is now standing trial accused of terrorism.  Paul Rusesabagina, a former hotel manager, sheltered hundreds of people from the killers during the 1994 genocide. But he became a critic in exile of the government of Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame - and apparently a target for Rwandan intelligence. Michela Wrong has spent years investigating the complex background to the story. 

As the military crackdown on strikers and demonstrators goes on in Myanmar, journalists are also being targeted as they try and cover the situation.  Ben Dunant has just returned to the UK after years spent reporting in Myanmar and reflects on the prospects for the colleagues he left behind.

 As you might expect, the residents of Paris have been particularly pained by the closure of their restaurants and cafes. But for those in the know, there were still some illicit ways to eat out: networks of private dining rooms and functions. Recently some of those secret arrangements were revealed to the French public – and many who hadn’t been invited were outraged. Joanna Robertson reports.

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