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From Our Own Correspondent: Bumps in the Road for the Czech Republic

07/10/2021

Bumps in the Road for the Czech Republic

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Bumps in the Road for the Czech Republic

PM Babis at bay; tales from the UK to Afghanistan, France, Kenya and the Aland islands

The Czech PM Andrej Babis fights his corner; stories from an Afghan family in the UK, a giant French insect farm, the Aland islands in the Baltic Sea and Kenya's culinary heritage.

The Czech election this week will decide whether embattled billionaire businessman Andrej Babis gets another four-year term as Prime Minister. He’s under pressure from new revelations in the Pandora papers – seeming to show that he was involved in the purchase of 16 properties on the French Riviera using offshore companies. Mr Babis has denied any wrongdoing: “I don’t own any property in France,” he said. “It’s nasty, false accusations that are meant to influence the election.” He has always governed in coalition – but he now faces a tough challenge from the centre-right opposition and also has the far-right nipping at his heels. So which way are the Czechs heading? Rob Cameron reports  from Prague.

Over the past two months – like many international organisations - the BBC has been organising a way out of Afghanistan for many of its staff in the country and trying to get them to places of safety – in the UK and elsewhere. Karim Haidari was one of them. After a nerve-wracking three days spent waiting at Kabul airport, he and his family managed to fly out. They are now safe in Britain – but there’s a lot for him to think about as they try to start their lives again.

How can we feed the world – on a planet with finite resources and a growing number of people? Moreover, more of those people are eating more meat and fish – and those animals in turn need feeding, and protein, to grow. At the moment, soy and fishmeal are the main sources of protein for animal feed – but the demand for soy has been linked to deforestation in South America, while the fishmeal trade helps drive over-fishing in the oceans. So now manufacturers are looking for alternative sources of protein. The use of insects has been permitted in fish feed for years, but the European Union recently decided to allow  them in poultry and pig feed too. Emilie Filou went to visit an ultra-modern bug farm in France where the animals they raise might be tiny, but the plans and the ambition are very big indeed.

The Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea have been settled for over seven thousand years –they’re full of Neolithic remains, showing how their earliest inhabitants hunted seals and birds there. But the islands have changed hands many times since then over their history – sometimes being treated as little more than bargaining chips by their larger neighbours. These days they enjoy a quirky – and carefully negotiated – sort of independence. Mark Stratton asked some of the islanders who they feel closest to in today’s Europe. 

Smell and taste are the most intimate and evocative of the senses – with a startling power to transport us to other times and places. Reha Kansara  recently explored some of her family history in Kenya – and part of her quest centred on a childhood favourite - the delicious potato fritter known as the Maru Bhajia. Would it taste as good in its birthplace in Nairobi?  And what else was on the menu during her journeys into Kenya's past?

Producer: Polly Hope

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