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Kate Adie introduces insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents and writers.

Kate Adie introduces insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers telling stories from around the world.

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From Our Own Correspondent: Kenya goes to the polls

06/08/2022

Kenya goes to the polls

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Kenya goes to the polls

Kenya seeks to elect a new leader, plus stories from the Philippines, Poland and Yemen.

Kenyans head to the polls to elect a new president, plus politics in the Philippines, Poland's strict abortion laws and a women-only shopping mall providing opportunities in Yemen.

Kenyans are considering their options in the upcoming general election, and there are some big personalities to vote for. Key concerns for voters include the economy and corruption, but the prosperous image cultivated by some candidates raises questions about the source of their wealth, and just how committed they are to fighting corruption.  Anne Soy reports from Nairobi. 

The BBC’s Howard Johnson has come to the end of his time reporting from the Philippines, just as a new president Bongbong Marcos takes over. Under the outgoing president, Rodrigo Duterte, the state pursued an often lethal 'war' against alleged drug dealers and users – and many voters backed it. Meanwhile journalists, activists and even judges were trolled and threatened on social media. So how robust are the country’s democratic institutions? 

Adam Easton reports from Poland, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. A pregnancy can now only be terminated in the case of rape or incest, or if the mother's life is at risk.  Abortion is no longer legal in cases of severe foetal abnormality.  What does that mean for a family whose unborn baby has a condition that makes survival outside the womb impossible? 

And Leila Molana Allen visits a shopping mall with a difference in the city of Ataq in southern Yemen. The long war in the country is softening attitudes towards women going out to work. The Ataq mall – staffed and run exclusively by women, for female customers only, is a place full of frills, laughter and hopes, where women can take refuge and realise some of their dreams. But behind the glitter lurks male power, family pressure, and social prejudice. 

Presenter: Kate Adie 
Producer:  Polly Hope
Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

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