14/04/2010

Available for over a year

Personal stories behind the news from all over the world. With Matthew Bannister. Brazilian mudslide survivors; Black Mamba Boy; 30th anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence. Rio Mudslides The official death toll from last week's mudslides in the Brazilian state of Rio De Janeiro now stands at just under 250. Searches are continuing for a further 200 people who are still missing. One of the worst hit areas was the city of Niteroi where the favelas, or shanty towns - home to the city's poorest people - were devastated. Outlook's Helen Clegg has been to Niteroi to talk to some of the survivors Black Mamba Boy Nadifa Mohamed's critically acclaimed novel Black Mamba Boy is based on the extraordinary early life of her seafaring Somali father Jama. Nadifa and Jama came to the Outlook studio to talk about his adventures and his deep-seated fear of hyenas. Black Mamba Boy is published by HarperCollins. Zimbabwe - Celebrating Freedom? 30 years on from Zimbabwe gaining its independence from the UK, we start a special series with the recollections of veteran journalist Bill Saidi. He tells our reporter Steve Vickers about life under white rule and how things have changed since.