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Episode details

World Service,25 Mar 2023,23 mins

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces stories from Iraq, Malawi and Iceland The BBC's International Editor, Jeremy Bowen, first reported from Iraq in 1990. He has since visited the country many times - including during the US-led invasion of 2003. Twenty years on since the start of that war, he reflects on how Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait a decade earlier shaped the country's destiny. In Malawi, a 14-day period of national mourning is underway for the hundreds of people killed when the country was hit by Cyclone Freddy. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes, and the search for those buried beneath landslides and flooding continues. Rhoda Odhiambo visited Malawi’s commercial capital, Blantyre, which is among the worst-affected areas. And why Iceland has become the envy of countries struggling with rising energy costs: the country's bountiful geothermal energy supplies mean power is readily affordable on the small volcanic island. Icelanders regularly enjoy a swim beneath the stars in a pool heated by the earth’s own natural energy - as Tira Shubart discovered. Producer: Louise Hidalgo Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith (Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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