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Our World(2007–)
June 16, 200718 Seasons · 293 Episodes
Returning Series
Documentary
Crime
3.3from 4 users
Overview
Current affairs documentary reporting on issues around the world.
Network BBC World News, BBC News
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Current affairs documentary reporting on issues around the world.
2008
2012
As a wave of protests and self-immolations continues against the rule of China on the Tibetan plateau, Sue Lloyd-Roberts asks the Dalai Lama if the dream of increased independence for Tibet is dead.
2011
The destruction of the twin towers was a site that became the definition of terror. It was an onslaught that killed nearly three thousand people - but a decade later, the attack isn't over. The dust that overwhelmed the streets of Lower Manhattan became a weapon. The clouds contained particles of pulverized concrete, asbestos, lead from fifty thousand computers, mercury from countless light bulbs -- a million tons of poisonous fallout. Now nearly 20,000 people are receiving treatment for a range of illnesses, many of them serious. And more than 60,000 are registered as at risk. The BBC Our World team first broke the story globally in 2006. They return 5 years later to investigate a worsening tragedy and followup with those who shared their stories.
2017
Gabriel Gatehouse reports from Louisiana. How much of a difference did Barack Obama's presidency make to the lives of African-Americans?
Our World investigates allegations of mass murder and rape among Myanmar's displaced Rohingya minority. Asking why Burmese leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has failed to stop what the UN is calling crimes against humanity.
A brilliant student, Mashal Khan, was brutally murdered by a mob on a university campus in Pakistan earlier in 2017 after he was accused of blasphemy. The killing caused widespread outrage in Pakistan and has even led to calls to change the country's strict blasphemy laws. Who was Mashal Khan and why was he murdered? Secunder Kermani investigates.
In Ukraine more than 30 thousand children with disabilities are living in state run institutions. A few are orphans but most have families, yet spend much of their lives in children's homes, some in shockingly bad conditions. The Government of Ukraine has vowed to end this practice, with the most radical reforms the country has seen since it gained its independence from the Soviet Union 26 years ago. Nikki Fox, the BBC's disability news correspondent, has this exclusive report.
In Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, protesters inspired by the Arab Spring have been venting their anger against the government for the last three years. Saudi journalist Safa Alahmad got unprecedented access to the area.
As part of the Big Stories 2014, this is the untold story of the hidden victims of the war in Afghanistan: the women whose husbands were killed in the fight against the Taliban.
Our World spent the New Year party season in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Haifa documenting the personal views of young Palestinians on the Israeli occupation, and how it impacts their music. The rave scene, with its vibrant electronic music and dance culture has, for some Palestinians, become a focus for political dissent and protest, for others an escape. It's also a source of tension between some conservative parents and a younger generation.
When the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded 33 years ago in Soviet Ukraine, it was the largest ever accidental release of radioactivity into the environment. The cause, and who was to blame, is still being debated. But what's become of the people who refused to leave the exclusion zone, and the wildlife left behind? Just how contaminated is the area now? The BBC's Science correspondent, Victoria Gill, has been given rare permission to go inside the zone - and the plant itself.
For centuries, a significant Sikh minority has grown in relative safety in Afghanistan. But, in the last decade, persecution has seen the population drop.
In northern Europe's Lapland, temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else in the world, threatening the livelihood of its indigenous Sami people. Central to Sami life is the ancient practice of reindeer herding, but climate change is putting the reindeer at risk of starvation. Many Sami also worry that plans to build a railway, to exploit Lapland's natural resources, will add to the pressure on their traditional way of life. For Our World, Erika Benke has been to Arctic Finland to hear from Sami women about their fears for the future.
Steve Rosenberg explores how Moscow views the tumultuous events of 1989 and how Vladimir Putin's Russia is trying to regain its influence.
Google, Apple and Facebook-owned Instagram are enabling an illegal online slave market by approving and providing apps used for selling domestic workers in the Gulf. For Our World, BBC News Arabic’s undercover investigation exposes the people in Kuwait breaking local and international laws on modern slavery, including a woman offering a child for sale. At the centre of this powerful investigative film is Fatou a 16 year old in Kuwait City who has been there for nine months. We follow her rescue and journey back home to Guinea, West Africa and ask what’s being done to control these apps?
For five months protests have rocked Hong Kong, pitting hundreds of thousands of young, idealistic demonstrators against the authorities and the might of China. The clashes between police and protestors have become increasingly violent and neither side shows signs of backing down. Our World goes beyond the frontline to tell the stories of some of those involved, what drives them - and their hopes and fears for the future.
2020
Colombia has long been the world's largest producer of cocaine. A historic peace deal in 2016 was meant to reduce the amount of cocaine being produced by offering farmers alternatives to growing coca. But last year the UN estimated that its output was the largest since records began. Our World traveled to the Cauca Valley to find that farmers are now being caught between new criminal gangs with devastating consequences.
In October 2019, a rising star of Syrian democratic politics, 34-year-old Hevrin Khalaf, was brutally murdered in the Kurdish-governed north east of the country.
In 2017 a group of fishermen found a hoard of precious coins on the sea bed off the coast of Gaza. They were decadrachms from the reign of Alexander the Great- and they were worth a fortune. 3 years on, they have disappeared. So what happened to them, and why are rare coins so hard to trace?
Antarctica is one of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth. Reporter Justin Rowlatt travels to Thwaites, the so-called Doomsday Glacier.
Panzuto was a mafia boss, and a hardened killer. For years he played a key role in Naples' Camorra, but now he has turned state witness and is helping put his former associates behind bars. Dominic Casciani gains exclusive access to an Italian anti-mafia prison to meet Panzuto and hear his story of love, murder and betrayal. It's a tale which took him from the back streets of Naples to a caravan park in Blackpool. We hear from those at the sharp end of the ongoing battle against organised crime in Naples, and from those who believe the tide has finally turned. Above all we hear from the man himself: why did he decide to break with the Camorra, and what does the future hold for him?
Our World gained unprecedented access to enter Indonesia’s prison to witness both Garil and Sarah meeting the bombers who killed their parents.
Few events are more nerve wracking than meeting the parents of someone you love. For black and Asian couples in South Africa, it's even more challenging.
With exclusive access to two film-makers inside the Chinese city of Wuhan, Our World tells the story of life under lockdown.
Umaru Fofana investigates trade in trafficked rosewood worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Our World follows two North Koreans as they gain fame in front of the camera capitalising on their defector status yet struggle to move on from their past.
On Easter Sunday 2019 eight co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks across Sri Lanka killed over 270 people and injured hundreds more. One year on, Jane Corbin returns to the island and meets three of those whose lives were changed that day and who have set out to help rebuild the Sri Lanka they love.
Deforestation has skyrocketed in Colombia since the Peace Deal of 2016. Our World joins a team of scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as they go on a mission into virgin tropical rainforest; they hope to discover and save rare plant species, before they are destroyed and vanish forever.
Oil-rich Venezuela has been in an ever-growing state of crisis since Hugo Chavez died in 2013, and global oil prices crashed.
In India a child goes missing every 8 minutes. The children are often trafficked into domestic labour or the sex trade - many are never seen again.
Irish society has changed in recent years, but discrimination against travellers remains widespread. Our World meets three women fighting to bust the myths about their community.
Spain is one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus. Our World follows the lives of some of those at the heart of the crisis.
New York has been the epicentre of America's coronavirus outbreak. This is the story of four of those on the frontline - told through their video diaries as the crisis unfolds.
Laura Bicker tells the inside story of South Korea's virus hunters. How did they manage to keep the death toll so low, and what can the rest of the world learn from South Korea?
The lockdown in Wuhan has now been lifted, and the city is trying to recover. But just how normal is daily life in Wuhan now - and how are its people adjusting to a new world?
Our World looks at the worst invasion of desert locusts East Africa has seen for decades. Just an average swarm can eat the same in a day as 2500 people for a year.
More than 25 million people go on cruises each year. As coronavirus spread, cruise ships suffered devastating outbreaks that resulted in thousands being infected and dozens dying.
Brazil has been devastated by coronavirus. More than 1.4 million people have been infected and the numbers are rising fast. Our World travels to Sao Paulo.
Iran has been hit hard by coronavirus but its government has gone to great lengths to keep the true extent of the outbreak hidden from view. Now, with the help of videos posted by Iranians on social media, Our World reveals what life is really like inside the country during the pandemic. From illicit lockdown parties to hospitals which are struggling to cope - this is Iran as you've never seen it before.
The killing of George Floyd, caught on camera by eyewitnesses, has led to an outpouring of anger in America. But what happens when the cameras are turned off?
Anna Holligan travels across Europe to see how people are getting on their bikes and asks if the surge in cycling is the start of a much bigger change in the way we travel.
Lebo Diseko meets Christian voters in the swing state of North Carolina and explores how important faith will be in a contest that Biden has billed as a battle for America's soul.
On 8 September, the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos went up in flames. Gabriel Gatehouse investigates the events surrounding the blaze.
TikTok is one of the fastest growing apps in the world and has now been downloaded more than two billion times. It is most famous for lip-syncing teenagers and out-of-control pets, but its phenomenal growth means it is starting to change the world - and nowhere is that clearer than in the US presidential election. Donald Trump may not be a fan, but his supporters and Joe Biden's are now fighting for the future of their country on TikTok. With just over a week to go until America decides, Sophia Smith-Galer delves into the crazy world of TikTok and meets its breakout stars - from the Republican Girls to the Minnesota state senator who is using it to get out the Democrat vote. How is TikTok changing US politics, and what influence will it have on who the next resident of the White House will be?
Bangladesh has the world's second largest garment manufacturing industry, which for decades fuelled Europe and America's appetite for fast fashion. But as coronavirus spread around the world, over two billion pounds’ worth of clothing orders were cancelled and many factories were shut. It was a devastating blow to the sector on which many livelihoods depend. Our World follows factory owner Mostafiz Uddin, who now stands to lose everything, and meets the women workers whose jobs have disappeared. Has coronavirus changed the way we buy clothes forever - and what about those who are being left behind?
Jiyar Gol follows a trail of destruction across Europe - Could the Iranian regime have orchestrated assassinations and an attempted bombing on European soil?
2007
As Darcey Bussell takes her final curtain call, she reflects on nearly 20 years as principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London. Bussell talks to Louise Minchin and explains why she is retiring at the peak of her powers
2023
In June 2020, three friends filmed themselves finding bodies in a suitcase. As their videos went viral, the lives of the victims, Jessica and Austin, were lost to rumour and speculation as people online combed through their story. Over the course of the two year trial, the programme follows the families as they try to get justice for their children, lost in a social media storm.
Since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine a year ago, many British nationals have travelled there to fight. Some have prior military experience, others have none; but all are inspired by the idea that they are making a difference. With exclusive access to months of extraordinary footage filmed on the frontline, Emma Vardy meets the soldiers who are drawn to this conflict and the family members of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Following the work of the MHA Nation's recovery clinic and their own drug enforcement team as they try to turn a rising tide of addiction.
Puppies are a multi-billion Euro industry in Europe. But where are all these puppies coming from? Our World unveils a criminal underworld of puppy traders trafficking dogs across Europe.
In February 2022, a video emerged of a young Afghan woman screaming for help whilst her door was being kicked in by the Taliban. Little is known about what took place after - where was she taken, and for what reason? Yalda Hakim travels to Afghanistan after gaining access to her and her family once they are released from prison, and as they plot their escape from Afghanistan to Europe.
Facial recognition technology is at the cutting edge of fighting crime in the United States. Police forces across the country can upload your image and search databases containing millions of photos scoured from the internet. Whether you’ve uploaded the photo yourself, or someone else has without your knowledge – you can be identified and tracked down. James Clayton investigates the accuracy of this controversial technology and asks whether it is invading your privacy and should be a part of law and order in America.
Azdyne Amimour is looking for his granddaughter, and trying to make amends for crimes he did not commit. Azdyne's son Samy was one of three gunmen who killed 90 people at the Bataclan theatre in Paris, in November 2015. He himself was also killed. Samy left behind a daughter, who was born in Syria shortly after the attacks. Now Azdyne is out to find her and give her the love and security she needs. Finding Alaa is the story of families struggling to live with the consequences of acts of terror and the story of one man's search for a child.
Once dubbed the 'murder capital' of the world, for nearly three decades, rival gangs ruled the streets of El Salvador through a regime of violence, extortion and fear. That is, until now. For the last year, the country's young, media-savvy president has launched a full-scale war on gangs, imposing emergency constitutional measures and giving police sweeping new powers of arrest. As the State of Exception passes its one-year anniversary, more than 65,000 people have been arrested and dramatic images of a new 'mega prison' hit headlines around the world. But as the country transforms before people's eyes, this newfound freedom hides a dark reality. The government is accused of locking up thousands of innocent people without trial and in flagrant abuse of their human rights. Will Grant meets families impacted by both sides of this controversial policy to uncover the hidden cost of peace on the streets.
South Africa is struggling to keep the lights on. Its power system is crumbling, leading to regular and extensive blackouts and it is the poorest who are hardest hit. Why is it in such bad shape, and what hope is there of South Africa kicking its addiction to coal and switching to greener sources of energy? Andrew Harding uncovers a story of corruption and vested interests at the heart of South Africa’s power failure.
Russia is supplying the Myanmar military with advanced fighter jets and training their pilots how to use them in a war against their own people. More than two years on from the coup, the country's military is facing a countrywide armed uprising and their troops are struggling to hold ground and recruit foot soldiers. So, the strategy is turning increasingly to the air with devastating consequences. BBC's Asia editor Rebecca Henschke follows those fighting back on the ground and in the air. And she meets defectors from the air force who give exclusive insight into the strategy and psychology behind those operating these deadly machines.
For more than three years, North Korea has sealed its borders. People are banned from leaving or entering the country. Almost every foreigner who was inside has packed up and left. The world's most secretive and tyrannical state is now an information black hole. For months, three people inside North Korea have risked their lives to tell the BBC what is happening. What they reveal is shocking. Years of hard labour for those found watching foreign films and TV programmes, and execution for the ones who try to escape. Jean Mackenzie, the BBC's correspondent in South Korea, asks: is this a new dark age for North Korea?
It is a year since millions of Americans were blocked from accessing an abortion. And the debate is as divisive as ever. Our World has travelled across two neighbouring, but very different, states - Florida and Alabama - to see how restrictions are impacting essential healthcare.
Hong Kong is facing its biggest exodus since records began. Hundreds of thousands have left since Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the former British colony. Critics say that Hong Kong has become a police state. The majority of the political opposition have either been detained or are now living in exile. The BBC’s Danny Vincent has been following Hong Kongers determined to start a new life in the UK and those determined to stay.
Zimbabwe is about to vote in its second national election following the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule in 2017. There had been hopes that the country would enter an era of renewed prosperity but for millions of Zimbabweans runaway inflation has been contributing to economic misery. Through telling the story of ordinary Zimbabweans, Shingai Nyorka makes sense of life in Zimbabwe ahead of the upcoming vote.
The Ukrainian army's 24th brigade has been fighting non-stop since February 2022. The uniform has stayed constant but only a handful of those fighting now have been there from the start. Mark Urban has secured unprecedented access to the brigade, meeting the drone operators on the frontline, the wives whose husbands are missing, and those being called up now to fill in behind fallen comrades.
In September 2023, Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy - trying to overthrow the US government. He was the leader of the Proud Boys, a far right group which was at the forefront of the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021. So was Tarrio the puppet master behind the assault on US democracy, or simply a convenient scapegoat? With exclusive access to him in the years leading up to his arrest, Our World tells the extraordinary story of one of the most elusive and divisive characters in modern America.
The Florida Straits are home to an invisible border that divides two very different worlds. Under six decades of a trade embargo, Cubans have built a way of life largely cut off from the resources of their US neighbours, just 90km away. But in July 2021, the effects of the pandemic combined with an economic crisis and food shortages triggered mass protests across the island on an unprecedented scale. A few weeks later began what is reported to be the biggest exodus of Cubans since the 1959 Revolution. Featuring never-before-seen footage, this dramatic film traces the story of three Cubans who took extraordinary risks to leave their country to reach the US. From a windsurf to an inflatable kayak, the film follows as they make the dangerous journey by any means possible. With access to the US Coast Guard, the film also captures a privileged insight into the authorities trying to protect US waters during this mass migration wave and prevent loss of life.
Thousands of Ukrainian men have joined the call to fight for their country since Russia's invasion in February last year. But what of those who decided military service was not for them? Our World investigates how many Ukrainians have dodged the call-up, why they don't want to stay and fight and hears from the border guards who come face to face with these so-called draft dodgers on a daily basis.
Nearly twenty years ago the half-naked body of a Thai woman was found by walkers in a remote part of the Yorkshire Dales in England. The autopsy proved inconclusive, and an inquest failed to reveal how she died.
In August 2023, the most deadly fire in modern US history struck Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. James Clayton investigates why it was so hard to escape the city.
The Mekong River is arguably one of the most important in the world. It sustains more than sixty million lives as it travels through China and Southeast Asia. But an onslaught of dam building, intensifying climate change and sand dredging has had a catastrophic effect. Laura Bicker is in Cambodia to ask if the mighty Mekong can be saved and meets a new generation trying to breathe life into the dying river.
2022
Abortion has long been a fault line in American politics. Now those who want to ban it scent a famous victory, with implications for millions.
With access to the new Taliban government, Yalda Hakim travels back to Afghanistan to find out what the country is like under their rule. The economy is close to collapse, millions face starvation and the one-time terrorist group now face a terror threat of its own. Can the Taliban form a government that can put their violent past behind them and help rebuild this broken country?
Bitcoin is now big business and a major talking point around the world. Whilst some countries like China have banned cryptocurrencies, others have embraced them.
For centuries, women have picked tea on the steep slopes of Turkey's Black Sea region. It is gruelling work, and much of what they earn has traditionally been handed to their husbands. But now a new generation are turning their backs on tea picking, and the industry's survival is uncertain. Our World follows the young women who hope change is coming and the older ones who fear for their way of life.
Italy is a bastion of global Catholicism, and yet, unlike many other countries, it has failed to tackle the scourge of clerical sex abuse. Mark Lowen investigates.
Fergal Keane tells the stories of the people on platform 5 of Lviv train station hoping to escape, the staff who bravely keep the station running and those who are left behind.
1974, Beirut. It's the height of the Cold War. A prominent Yemeni politician is shot dead in his car. Some say, had he lived, Yemen would be a different country today. The killer was never caught, the assassination never investigated. Almost 50 years later, his granddaughter Mai Noman, a BBC journalist, seeks answers.
Myanmar is now in a state of civil war. What started in February 2021 as a mass protest movement against the military coup is now a nationwide armed uprising. The junta is under attack across the country from a network of civilian militias called the People's Defence Forces, fighting to restore democracy. The BBC gained rare access to the jungle training camps where young protesters are turned into soldiers. We follow a single mother and a student who have sacrificed everything to join the fight. They're up against a well-trained military willing to use brutal tactics to stay in power. As the death toll mounts and the world looks away, can they restore democracy?
During the first year of the pandemic, San Francisco had more deaths from drug overdoses than Covid. In December, the mayor declared a state of emergency in parts of the city - in a desperate attempt to tackle the problem. In a spectacular U-turn, she declared the city needed 'tough love' and reversed her policies on defunding the police.
Axie Infinity is a hugely popular online game in which players breed, battle, and trade fantasy creatures. But for many people around the world, it's now much more than that - it's a way of making a living. The game's phenomenal growth is part of a bigger trend, as workers realise that they can make more money in the virtual world than they can in the real one. Our World follows players in the Philippines and Venezuela who are trying to escape economic problems at home by working in the metaverse. Could this be a glimpse of the future?
For decades temples across Cambodia were looted and their treasures stolen, smuggled, and sold abroad. But now the Cambodian government wants them back. Celia Hatton has exclusive access to the Cambodian authorities' fight to trace and reclaim their precious antiquities. We visit rarely seen temples, track down former looters turned state witnesses, and unravel the tale of the controversial British art collector who many believe was at the heart of the trade. The statues aren't stone objects for many Cambodians - they're living Gods that need to return home.
With exclusive access to Ukraine's winning Eurovision entry, Our World follows Kalush Orchestra from the war-torn outskirts of Kyiv to their triumph in Turin. Reporter Viktoriia Zhuhan tells the inside story of how the band's song Stefania struck a chord with viewers across Europe and brought the Eurovision trophy home.
On 24 February, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, ordered a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, triggering the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. Almost six million Ukrainians have fled the country, half of them to next-door Poland. During a week in April, Our World follows Warsaw's mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, as well as refugees and volunteers living through the crisis. How have the people of Warsaw dealt with such a sudden increase in the city's population. And what is the long-term plan for all the new arrivals?
In 2021, anti-government protests took place across Iran. They were triggered by a severe water shortage in the south of the country, in a province called Khuzestan. Once lush and green, rivers are now running dry, crops are failing and tap water is scarce. So where has the water gone? BBC Persian's Siavash Ardalan investigates what is behind the shortage.
Our World has spent the last year with journalists and protestors as they live through the most turbulent period in Hong Kong's recent history. When the British government transferred sovereignty back to China 25 years ago, it promised to protect freedom of speech, but new laws have effectively silenced all criticism. Street protests have all but stopped, pro-democracy lawmakers have been replaced by Beijing loyalists and Hong Kong's new Chief Executive is its former Security Chief, who led the crackdown. Reporter Danny Vincent has been following those who have lived through the street protest movement, both as activists and reporters, many of whom are now in prison.
In March this year, the town of Bucha was occupied by a shock invasion of Russian troops trying to reach Kyiv. What followed was a massacre that has shocked the world. But what happens when - against all odds - somebody survives to tell the story? In this compelling film, the sole survivor of a terrible crime in Ukraine joins the wives and mothers of his dead comrades to tell an extraordinary story. While the executions were meant to dehumanise and wipe the victims' presence from the world, this is a powerful account of love in the face of terror.
For many Russian oligarchs, their superyachts are their most prized assets. But when Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, those superyachts soon became targets for an unprecedented set of sanctions coordinated by the US, EU, and UK authorities. Some yachts were seized or frozen, others tried to escape in a hurry, and some simply disappeared. Our World tells the inside story of the game of cat and mouse between the yacht hunters and Russia's wealthy set.
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, they assured citizens that they had changed since their regime in the 1990s and said they would protect women's rights. Eight months ago, Alia Azizi, a 45-year-old policewoman from Herat, disappeared. Her family has not heard from her since. Yalda Hakim travels to Afghanistan to investigate the case. She speaks with female activists and protestors who have been scared into silence, asking the Taliban why they are not doing more to investigate the disappearance of women like Alia.
In recent weeks, tens of millions of people in China have again been confined to their homes in coronavirus lockdowns. This is not without political risk, especially in the run up to the twice a decade Communist Party Congress. BBC China Correspondent Stephen McDonell travels across the country and meets people struggling to stay afloat with their country showing no signs of abandoning its "Zero-Covid" policy.
On the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of South Asians from Uganda, BBC reporter Reha Kansara follows her mum and aunt as they return to the country together for the first time. In 1972, Idi Amin publicly condemned Ugandan Asians as the enemy, enforcing a brutal policy that ordered them to leave the country within 90 days. It is estimated that up to 70,000 South Asians left Uganda in fear for their lives. On the 50th anniversary of the expulsion, BBC reporter Reha Kansara follows her mum and aunt as they return to Uganda together for the first time. Setting off from the English suburbs, they journey to the sugar plantations of Kakira and the home in Jinja they were forced to leave in a hurry. They are re-united with old friends, and discover how the expulsion changed the country they left behind.
In July 2022 former Iranian official Hamid Nouri was convicted by a Swedish court of murder and war crimes. BBC Persian’s Omid Montazeri tells the story of how a killer was caught. In July 2022 former Iranian official Hamid Nouri was convicted by a Swedish court of murder and war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. His offences were committed in Iran’s prisons in 1988, when an estimated 5000 political prisoners were killed. For the survivors and the families of those who died it was a crucial breakthrough in their long campaign for justice. BBC Persian’s Omid Montazeri, whose own father was killed for his communist beliefs in the massacres, follows the trial for Our World and tells the story of how a killer was caught.
TV Rain, Russia's last remaining opposition TV station, was forced off air in March 2022. Our World follows the presenters trying to relaunch TV Rain from exile.
Our World travels to the fastest warming place on earth: Svalbard. Deep inside the Arctic Circle, it is home to the world's northernmost settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. People living here have a front row seat for the climate crisis - melting glaciers, rising sea levels, avalanches and landslides. Add to this an energy crisis in Europe fuelled by the war in Ukraine, which many experts believe is now undermining the fight against climate change. Nick Beake finds out what is being done to try to save Svalbard as we know it.
2024
Powerful earthquakes that struck in February 2023 left south-eastern Turkey facing a devastating aftermath. A year on, hundreds of thousands have left the region, and much of it still lies in ruins. Many local people have been left homeless, schools are destroyed, and crucial agricultural work is at risk. But the women who stayed are determined that their cities are rebuilt. As they confront this challenging task, their fears rise even further when construction plans pose a threat to their livelihoods. Our World follows the stories of women over the course of a year, as their roles as mothers and activists evolve in their fight to protect their home for the generations to come.
When a family gets caught up in Europe's greatest refugee crisis since World War Two the strains are unimaginable. Where should they run to? Who will give safety and shelter?
Journalists in Pakistan say they are under attack, with 140 targeted in just 12 months. They describe physical assaults, detentions, and even killing, often after criticising Pakistan's powerful military. Mobeen Azhar investigates their allegations of a campaign of fear and violence.
Japan is reeling from the biggest child sex abuse scandal in its history after the BBC revealed that Johnny Kitagawa, the godfather of J-pop, spent a lifetime sexually abusing some of the young boys in his talent agency. Almost 1000 men have come forward as survivors of Kitagawa's abuse. But a climate of hostility to survivors means some are facing online abuse that has resulted in tragic consequences. Meanwhile, the story of wider abuse at the agency is going untold. Mobeen Azhar investigates the aftermath of a predator.
Streaming availability information not available
2015
The northern French port of Calais is facing an international refugee crisis. Darius Bazargan has been to Calais to meet the migrants, and the locals, caught up in a growing humanitarian crisis.
It's the first planned Palestinian city, a billion dollar project to build homes for 25,000 people. Though the main building work is largely finished the project, like the peace process, has ground to a halt over disagreements between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Eritrea has been described as one of the most secretive states in the world. For the first time in around 10 years, BBC News has been been allowed to to film inside the country.
In a tale of corruption and international espionage Our World asks - who killed Alberto Nisman?
Our World speaks to former US prisoners released under a new presidential clemency initiative which is part of a changing approach to tackling drug offences in the United States.
Mark Urban returns to Bosnia for 'Our World' and discovers how secular Bosnian society has been infiltrated by a militant Islamism which operates to this day.
Over the past ten years, thousands of unaccompanied children have fled to the UK from war-torn Afghanistan, but when they turn 18 they have to return or face deportation. Chris Rogers follows some of the young men, who claim their deportation to Afghanistan would be inhumane and that the UK is now their home.
2018
Lucy Ash reports from Marinka in eastern Ukraine, where a new bakery brings some comfort and sustenance to war-weary locals.
Lele Tao is an internet superstar in China's $3 billion dollar 'live streaming' industry. With more than a million fans she can earn thousands of dollars a day.
Hundreds of industrial towns across Russia face extinction. Once the pride of the Soviet Union, many have now been abandoned and millions have lost jobs and homes after the collapse of their local industry. The government now has a plan to save at least some of Russia's dying towns.
More than two thousand children were taken to France from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion between the 1960s and early 1980s as part of a French government plan to repopulate rural areas. Promised a better life, and an education, many suffered sexual and physical abuse. Some, now middle aged, are seeking an apology and compensation from the French state. Earlier this year, Katie Razzall travels from France to Réunion with two women searching for the families they lost more than 50 years ago.
For nearly 40 years Afghanistan has been in a constant state of war. How has this affected the mental health of its people? Sahar Zand reports.
Basra is in the grip of a crystal meth epidemic. Yalda Hakim has gained exclusive access to Basra's SWAT team and the prison where dealers and addicts are kept in the same cell.
For decades Australians and New Zealanders have had the right to live and work in each other's country - but those rights have now been curtailed by Australia.
A decade after returning from Iraq, Our World meets a group of former US soldiers still struggling to adjust to life back home.
In Ukraine a new independent Orthodox church is set to reject 350 years of spiritual domination by Russia. Four years into a war against Russian backed rebels many Ukrainians want to sever ties with their closest neighbour. But will the trauma caused by this religious schism further divide Ukraine?
In the wake of the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Our World can reveal allegations that close associates of the Prince have been involved in torture and murder in the past.
Two years ago Qandeel Baloch was murdered in her bed, the victim of a so-called honour killing that rocked Pakistan and the world.
Around 25 thousand people from Thailand work on Israel's farms. Filmed over a year, Our World investigates allegations that many are being exploited.
The Chinese government denies locking up millions of Muslims, claiming people willingly attend special 'vocational schools' to combat 'terrorism and religious extremism'.
BBC investigation has now uncovered evidence of government sponsored torture and killings designed to silence dissent in Burundi, East Africa.
For Our World Yalda Hakim has been to Poland to meet ordinary Poles, some urging immigrants to assimilate or leave.
2021
Our World tells the extraordinary story of the holidaymakers who found themselves trapped by an almighty wildfire at Mammoth Pools in California's Sierra National Forest.
New Orleans was getting ready to celebrate Mardi Gras. But among the crowds was a virus that before long would stop the music and kill thousands in the state of Louisiana.
From civil war to the pandemic, 2020 was a deadly year for the Syrian province of Idlib. As doctors, Mohammed al-Sharif and Zeina Hallak were on the frontline of the humanitarian crisis, but as parents, they had to protect a growing family from the dual threat of war and disease. For nine months, BBC Our World followed the couple as coronavirus brought them face-to-face with life and death.
Jane Mugo is Kenya’s most famous – and controversial – private investigator. She says she’s solved hundreds of crimes, but some accuse her of playing by her own rules. Reporter Sharon Machira meets the woman they call Kenya’s Spy Queen.
Human rights activist Azimjan Askarov was imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 for a crime he says he did not commit. Ever since then, his wife Hadicha has campaigned tirelessly for his release.
Over the last few years, Moroccan migrants who are trying to reach the EU have become YouTube celebrities by blogging about the journey online. Our World travels to meet them.
The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest and one of the most biodiverse places on earth. But now chunks of it are being sold off – on social media. Joao Fellet reports.
BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler explores what went wrong at the Austrian resort of Ischgl at the start of the global pandemic and asks what lessons can be learned.
In January this year, something very strange happened on the US stock market. The shares of GameStop, an unfashionable high street games store, suddenly went through the roof and kept rising. As a result, a group of hedge funds unexpectedly found themselves losing millions of dollars. The giant price spike turned out to be the work of a committed band of amateur online investors – many of whom were out to get their revenge on the titans of Wall Street for the financial crash. Mayhem on the markets ensued. So was this a David versus Goliath clash as many claim? And if so, who really won? James Clayton meets the investors who made a fortune trading from their bedrooms, the tech supremos who were watching on astonished and the hedge fund giants who are now nursing their losses.
In late 2020, a conflict that had lain almost dormant for more than 25 years flared up again. Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, with Azerbaijan ultimately reclaiming much of the land they had lost in the conflict of the 1990s. More than 6000 people were killed, and thousands more were driven from their homes. So who really won? And what now for those whose lives were turned upside down during 44 days of fighting? With rare access inside Nagorno Karabakh, Jonah Fisher travels to both Azerbaijan and Armenia. He meets those who won their homes back and those who lost their loved ones – and discovers that a much bigger power is making a comeback.
Jimmy Lai is a billionaire newspaper proprietor and a self-proclaimed natural born rebel. He owns Apple Daily, Hong Kong’s last opposition newspaper, and he is an outspoken critic of Beijing. As China tightens its grip on Hong Kong, that puts him in danger. In August he was arrested under the strict new national security law. Yet refusing to being intimidated, he continues to speak out. With remarkable access to Jimmy Lai, the BBC’s Danny Vincent meets the man facing possible life in prison after being charged with violating Hong Kong’s new law.
Under cover of Covid, the Amazon rainforest is under attack. Deforestation is at levels not seen for more than a decade. Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, talks of opening up the forest to development while the environmental police is under attack from loggers. Our World has obtained a recording of the Environment minister talking about using the cover of Covid to “change all the rules” in the Amazon. For Our World, Justin Rowlatt, is on a mission to find out how a tribe he visited a decade ago is faring the face of this assault.
More than 700 people have been killed by the Myanmar military since they seized power at the beginning of February. Our World follows a brother and sister now fighting for their future
Reporter Yemisi Adegoke meets the retired Nigerians struggling to survive due to a corrupt and inefficienct pensions system.
Afghanistan is in the grip of a new and sinister campaign of violence, in which young professionals - often women - are being deliberately singled out, targeted and murdered.
Six years ago, Amsha escaped from captivity in northern Iraq. Like many Yazidi women, she had been held by IS militants. Today, she is risking her life to clear her homeland of unexploded mines. Our World follows her as she sets out to tackle the deadly legacy her captors left behind.
In 2019-20, Australia suffered its most intense bushfire season on record. Millions of hectares of land burned and up to three billion animals were killed or displaced. Eighteen months on, Nick Lazaredes travels to some of the areas hardest hit to discover how the wildlife is faring now, and to meet the experts who are still assessing the scale of the damage.
How did one London street make it through the last year? Filmed from the start of the first lockdown, this intimate portrait shows how the residents coped with the pandemic.
Kidnappers have seized more than a thousand students and staff from schools in a series of raids across northern Nigeria. The wave of abductions has devastating consequences.
In March this year, Islamist militants attacked the busy town of Palma in the northern tip of Mozambique. In the hours and days that followed, chaos and bloodshed ensued. Many Mozambicans and overseas contractors tried to flee on foot and by boat, while others sought refuge in a hotel compound, awaiting rescue. With compelling eyewitness testimony and mobile phone footage, Catherine Byaruhanga tells the extraordinary stories of those caught up in the attack who were left fighting for survival as the insurgents closed in.
Howard Johnson sails to Scarborough Shoal, a large coral reef 120 nautical miles off the coast of the Philippines, to discover how far China is prepared to go to assert its power.
James Clayton travels to Kansas to discover how cutting edge science has identified a woman who was killed 30 years ago and is helping law enforcement in their hunt for the killer.
Afghanistan is at a critical juncture in its history. As American and allied forces withdraw, the country is now at risk of falling to the Taliban. In episode one of this two-part series, Yalda Hakim returns to the country of her birth to meet people who have benefitted from the last twenty years and spends time with Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who says he would rather die than surrender to the Taliban. What does the future hold for the Afghan people?
In the second part of this two-part series, Yalda Hakim travels to the country of her birth, Afghanistan, where she gets unprecedented access to the Taliban. She meets with a frontline commander from Helmand Province as well as the Taliban leadership in Doha, learning about their plans for ruling the country after the Americans leave. They claim they have changed and want to work with the Government, but who are the Taliban in 2021, and are they planning a return to the brutal regime of the 90s?
This autumn Angela Merkel bows out after 16 years as German Chancellor. In that time she has been a key player on the world stage, but how has she changed her own country?
Nine-year-old Rodwell Nkomazana was attacked by a hyena earlier this year while sleeping outside his church in Zimbabwe. He suffered life-threatening injuries. Now, a team of volunteer doctors in South Africa is battling to help Rodwell by rebuilding his face. Our World follows their groundbreaking work and Rodwell's remarkable recovery.
Over 17000 migrants have arrived in the UK this year by crossing the English Channel in small boats - that is more than double last year's total. Both the UK and French authorities are talking tough, but the numbers keep rising. So why do two of the richest nations in the world find it so hard to control who crosses such a busy shipping lane? Lucy Williamson goes on patrol with the police tasked with turning the tide - and meets the migrants who are determined to outwit them.
Not for the first time in its troubled history, Lebanon finds itself facing a crisis. A collapsing currency, severe shortages of basic goods, and a fragmented political system have all led the Lebanese people down a dark and uncertain path. Nowhere are the day-to-day consequences of these challenges felt more acutely than in the nation's hospitals. Our World follows the director of Lebanon's largest public hospital as he tries to stave off disaster and a junior doctor forced to decide between her patients and her own future.
A company believes it can help tackle America's growing gun crime problem by alerting police the moment shots are fired. Its technology, however, has become increasingly controversial.
This summer, Greece was ravaged by thousands of wildfires, fanned by the country's worst heatwave in decades. Hardest hit was Greece's second largest island, Evia. The Greek government blamed climate change for the blazes, which destroyed huge swathes of forest. Bethany Bell, who reported on the fires in August, returns to Evia to see how people are dealing with the consequences of the catastrophe.
On 1 September 2021, New York City was hit by hurricane Ida. In the devastating flooding which followed 13 people died, the majority of them trapped in basement homes. With compelling eyewitness accounts and previously-unseen footage, Our World tells the story of what happened that night, and asks what it means for New York City's future as climate change makes extreme weather events more likely.
In May this year, the unmarked graves of 215 children were found on the grounds of an old Indian residential school in Canada. More grave sites have been discovered across the country. It is thought more than 100,000 indigenous children suffered abuse in the government and church-run schools. With powerful interviews from survivors and lawyers trying to identify the missing children, Our World follows the story to discover who should be held accountable for the decades of institutional abuse.
As Barbados removes the Queen as its head of state and becomes the world's newest republic, British-Barbadian Daniel Henry returns to his ancestral home to determine what islanders make of the move. From the man in charge of rebuilding parliament to England's first black cricketer, Roland Butcher, Daniel asks - why now? And does what it mean for the island's future?
In 2015, Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear program with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. Our World reports on the process that led to the agreement.
More Americans die from drug doses than car crashes or gun fatalities. The majority of the deaths involve the use of heroin or prescription painkillers. Over the past year, Ian Pannell has followed a number of addicts as they try to kick the habit.