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From Our Own Correspondent: Anxiety over Afghanistan

30/09/2021

Anxiety over Afghanistan

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Anxiety over Afghanistan

Jeremy Bowen reflects from Kabul; stories from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and France

Jeremy Bowen weighs what the Taliban takeover means for US power; Germany's new political tribes; La Palma's volcano erupts; a Swiss nightwatchman calls; one for the road in France.

More than six weeks after the Taliban announced their full takeover of the country, Afghanistan is still up against huge challenges. The economy is contracting fast, there’s a punishing drought, and many people are finding it harder to find food, even if they can afford to buy it. The news on human rights and security has been worrying. Journalists have been arrested and beaten up; women’s and girls’ right to education appears to be eroding; and former critics and enemies of the Taliban have been targeted for threats and violence. Jeremy Bowen first went to Afghanistan more than thirty years ago and reported on many cycles of its wars since then. Back in Kabul again, he reflects on the deeper tides of history. 

On La Palma in the Canary Islands, the volcanic eruption that started last week is still threatening homes and lives. It’s produced a spectacular display of dramatic images. After destroying more than 700 properties, the lava has now reached the sea - which means a risk of toxic gases and dangerous projectiles. The Spanish government has declared a disaster zone and promised ten million Euros to help reconstruction and rehousing efforts. What will the eruption mean for La Palma in the long term – and how might its altered landscape change even more? Dan Johnson saw the destructive power of the Cumbre Vieja at first hand. 

While it’s now clear that chancellor Merkel’s CDU party suffered a historic defeat in Sunday’s elections in Germany, the rest of the picture is a little paradoxical. Everything looks a little more complicated than before. The smaller, newer parties have certainly gained momentum – and the old left-right divide doesn’t define voters’ world views as much as it once did. There are still regional loyalties, but also signs that other divides – of age and outlook – are emerging among voters. Are there whole new political tribes being formed? John Kampfner followed the election campaign as the opinion polls swung wildly  - and ran into a few surprises along the way. 

Lausanne in Switzerland is an ancient place – first put on the map as a Roman military encampment  in the second century AD – and the Celts had a settlement there well before that. It’s also kept a good deal of its heritage restored and on show, with one of the best-preserved medieval old cities in Europe. Respect for the past isn’t just about architecture – or even tangible relics – though. There is intangible heritage too. Heidi Fuller Love recently spent a night shift with a man whose job might be described as public service broadcasting the really old-fashioned way: the nightwatchman, who cries the hours as well as looking out for danger.

And like many a British late-summer traveller, Paddy O Connell recently got back from a charming but occasionally nerve-wracking break spent motoring through France. He has a lesson to share for anyone venturing onto the roads…

Producer: Polly Hope

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