Crossroads

Many Somali women who came to London as refugees are trying to adapt to their new lives in Britain after fleeing the violence of their native homeland. With the pressures of an adopted culture to deal with alongside their own, four very different Somali women living in the UK capital discover successes and challenges in their community.

The trans-Atlantic slave trade saw millions of Africans forcefully transported to the Americas on European ships. Crossroads visits Ghana and Nigeria to find out how local people relate to this dark chapter in their history.

How does someone who was caught up in war or conflict as a child learn to deal with their experiences? Crossroads hears from a charity in London working to help youngsters do just that. We meet two successful adults – the founder of a radio station and magazine, and a world famous hip-hop artist - who have put the bad times behind them for good each in their own unique way.

Armed conflict is destroying not only schools but the future of millions of displaced children, robbed of education for years and even decades. A new UN report calls it a hidden crisis, made worse by the "artificial divide between humanitarian and long-term aid". What needs to be done to provide children who are victims of war with basic education?

Ghana is one of Africa's greatest economic success stories. Yet female entrepreneurs are still a rarity. So the NGO Global Mamas is connecting hundreds of local women to the international marketplace. Consumers from around the world can buy Ghanaian-made handicrafts, clothes and beauty products through an online store.

Crossroads talks to women from other parts of Africa who've emigrated to South Africa. Why have they chosen to leave their home countries? And why does South Africa offer the hope of a better life?

Is Mohammed El Baradei the man to lead Egypt or will the new vice president, Omar Suleiman, be Hosni Mubarak's successor? And will the United States, which has carefully avoided calling directly for President Mubarak to step down, really support a democratic Egypt?

The Arab world’s first popular revolution has left a political vacuum. Who will fill it? And what are the chances of another such explosion elsewhere in the Arab world?

What do secret US diplomatic cables reveal about Africa? Did Chirac and Sarkozy campaign with money from “France’s favorite President in Africa”? Has Shell “infiltrated” Nigeria? Supporters say WikiLeaks has shaken the world. But will it make political leaders more accountable?

No-one knows how many ships lie on the seabed off the coast of Madagascar. Archeologists, and treasure hunters, have searched the ocean floor around the country for many years, discovering a number of wrecks. But until now, no-one has found the Delgrave, a mythical ship that sank off the southern coast in 1703. Reporter Tim Healy goes to Madagascar to find out more.

This year has been eventful for Africa: 50 years of independence, elecvtions in Cote d'Ivoire, riots in Mozambique, and the World Cup held in South Africa. This week, a review of 2010 in Africa.

Is Côte d’Ivoire on the brink of another civil war? With two presidents and two governments vying for power, our panel of guests debates the country's uncertain future. Can UN troops prevent an all-out war? What can the rest of the world do to end the crisis?

Oil production has just begun in Ghana . Will the country's diverse economy and pluralistic democracy help it avoid the oil curse?

There's much more to growing relations between Africa and China than government-to-government cooperation. For instance, there are the all-important people-to-people relations between Africans and the Chinese they have chosen to live and work with in China.

Ever thought used teabags could be made into a work of art? Well, a group of women in South Africa are doing just that. Recycled teabags are being turned into notebooks, coasters, handbags and many other items, and are providing women in a Cape Town township with an income.

Fela! the musical has just reopened at London’s National Theatre. The story of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, directed by Bill T. Jones opened on Broadway last year. Crossroads goes backstage to meet the cast and creators.

Osama bin Laden is threatening France and the lives of French hostages held in the Sahara by al-Qaeda gunmen. But as the price paid to free hostages hits a high, many African countries are calling for a ransom ban. After a failed rescue mission and the death of a hostage in July, should France continue trying to capture and kill terrorists?

Liberia is the most heavily forested country in west Africa. It is also one of the poorest nations on earth, so Liberia's politicians are under increasing pressure to raise revenue from its forests. Can Liberians afford to conserve their forests?

Côte d'Ivoire produces more than its fair share of the world's top footballers. So many young boys believe they're going to become another Didier Drogba, but few, of course, ever make it to a big European club. But the country produces many world class footballers. At Abijan's Asec football school we find out why.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, has pledged to have 10 per cent of women on every peacekeeping mission by 2014. Crossroads goes on patrol with an all-women peacekeeping force in Liberia.