International report

When peace came to Northern Ireland, British military installations were gradually dismantled along it’s border with the Republic of Ireland in the south. Now it is almost invisible and the free flow of goods and people across it was made easy by the two countries’ membership of the European Union’s single market and customs union.

Mali made the news a few weeks ago with its presidential elections. But it has an unofficial ambassador on the rise, singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara, who is currently touring the world. Our correspondent in Germany, Emmanuelle Chaze, met her after her Berlin performance, and tells us more about Fatoumara’s music and fight for social justice.

Two-fifths of Kenya’s 46 million people do not have access to reliable clean water.  The Shimba Hills National Reserve in Coastal Kenya is where the source of the Marere Springs can be found. These springs are one of the four major water sources people on the coast. In the third part of our series on Kenya's forests, David John Bwakali went deep into the Shimba Hills National Reserve to find out how it interacts with the springs.

This week marks seven years since the death of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan Nobel laureate and environmental activist. But her legacy in Kenya lives on. Through the Green Belt Movement, Maathai fought hard to keep land grabbers and loggers out of Kenya’s forests.  One of her legacies is Karura Forest - right in the middle of Nairobi.  For the second in a five-part series on Kenya’s forests, correspondent David Bwakali reports from Nairobi

The Mijikenda Kaya Forests in Kenya consist of 11 separate forest sites spread over some 200 kilometres along the country's coast. In Kenya, these forests are sacred and have historical, religious and cultural value for the Miji Kenya people. In the first of our five-part series, David John Bwakali visits one of these sacred forests.

Two-fifths of Kenya’s 46 million people do not have access to reliable clean water.  The Shimba Hills National Reserve in Coastal Kenya is where the source of the Marere Springs can be found. These springs are one of the four major water sources people on the coast. In the third part of our series on Kenya's forests, David John Bwakali went deep into the Shimba Hills National Reserve to find out how it interacts with the springs.

The Mijikenda Kaya Forests in Kenya consist of 11 separate forest sites spread over some 200 kilometres along the country's coast. In Kenya, these forests are sacred and have historical, religious and cultural value for the Miji Kenya people. In the first of our five-part series, David John Bwakali visits one of these sacred forests.

This week marks seven years since the death of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan Nobel laureate and environmental activist. But her legacy in Kenya lives on. Through the Green Belt Movement, Maathai fought hard to keep land grabbers and loggers out of Kenya’s forests.  One of her legacies is Karura Forest - right in the middle of Nairobi.  For the second in a five-part series on Kenya’s forests, correspondent David Bwakali reports from Nairobi

In the Syrian city of Raqqa much of the infrastructure remains flattened. The four-month push in 2017 to oust the Islamic State armed group destroyed 90 percent of the city.

In October of last year the rebel Syrian Democratic Forces with support of the US led coalition entered Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State armed group.