Their founders were told by God, you have been given as a sacrifice to deliver Kenya from darkness to the light. Dressed in the white turbans and flowing robes, Akorino Christians have been a familiar sight in Kenya east Africa for decades.

Wairimu Gitahi meets this sect to find out more of their history, but also about their present and future. Modern ideas threaten their traditional values and ideas, which leads them to shun many of the trappings of contemporary life. Wairimu will attend a funeral, a huge event in the community which brings out the traditional elements of the Akorino, but she finds that even this important event has given way to the modern world.

Two elders of the village tell Heart and Soul about their conservative beliefs, such as refusing to shake hands for fear of losing your faith and also refusing hospital treatment so as not to stand in the way of God's will. Another member of the group tells Wairimu of how she had her daughters circumcised despite it being against Kenyan law.She meets singers and DJs who have moved on from their traditional ways, but tells her that they have not forgotten their roots, but are simply giving the traditional Akorino music a modern twist. And by speaking to them, she finds that the outside world is a place many traditional Akorinos fear, even though younger followers show that embracing what it has to offer doesn’t have to mean their faith is lost altogether, it’s just done differently.

For Assignment Justin Marozzi travels to Libya to report on whether the fractured country can come together again after its revolution in 2011.

The city of Misrata arguably suffered the most during the Libyan conflict as missiles rained down on it for months on end. By the end of the revolution though, fighters from Misrata had exacted their revenge on neighbouring towns and had been responsible for the capture of Colonel Gaddafi, as well as Gaddafi strongholds. More recently Misratan fighters have been in action against the city of Bani Walid. Many residents of Bani Walid, accused of being Gaddafi supporters, have been expelled from their homes. Misrata has, effectively, set itself up as a city state, outside the control of Libya's new government.

Writer and journalist Justin Marozzi, who has been visiting Libya over the last twenty years, including during the revolution, asks if reconciliation is possible while different armed groups continue to fight each other? The programme contains strong language and allegations of atrocities which some listeners may find disturbing.

Produced by John Murphy.

(Image of building in Libya - BBC Copyright)

Dancer and drummer Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in one of its biggest cultural exports. To our ears, Baladi is the music of the bellydancer - kitsch and mock-Arab. But in its true form it is the essence of Egypt, 'of the country', 'home' in the deepest sense.

Our journey begins in Berlin, as bejwelled dancers from across Europe gather on a theatre stage ready to do battle for the title 'Miss Bellydance 2012'. They might not all know it, but the music which accompanies their gyrations is a knot of contradictions: an essence of the east inspired by western musical traditions, the spirit of rural Egypt made urban.

But the deepest contradictions rest with the very people who perform Baladi. What seems to us a provocative, alluring, even licentious dance for women in fact has roots in a ceremonial dance for men. As we discover in Cairo, deep divisions remain between those who think it is a vital expression of the oriental spirit and those committed to regenerating sexual stereotypes. So what is the reality of bellydance and Baladi in the new Egypt? Can it find any place amongst the street rappers and pop artists or is this an artform about to be consigned to realms of the tourist-pleasing clubs and cafes? As with so much in this rapidly changing culture, answers prove difficult to find.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.

A royal prince rescued from a savage fate by the British - or a child prisoner of war? Poet Lemn Sissay joins Matthew Parris to discuss the life of Queen Victoria's favourite, the Abyssinian Prince Alamayu, and finds many surprising parallels with his own.

Writer Elizabeth Laird joins the debate.

Lemn Sissay MBE is a poet, playwright and performer of Ethiopian heritage who was 'raised by Wigan Social Services': 'the guilty secret of an innocent woman and a dead man'. Saved from a loveless childhood by a passion for words, Lemn's work has been inspired by the consequences of his early life and the search for his family.

Prince Alamayu was uprooted from his home after the British defeated his father in the Abyssinian Expedition of 1868. Taken to England as an orphaned seven year old, speaking no English, he was befriended by the Queen and became an unwilling national celebrity. Alamayu was refused permission to return home despite the pleas of his grandmother. He died at the age of eighteen while staying with a friend in Leeds, of pleurisy.

Elizabeth Laird writes fiction for children and young adults, set in places around the world where she has lived and worked, including Ethiopia. Her novel 'The Prince Who Walked with Lions' is based on the life of Prince Alamayu.

In this moving and evocative programme Lemn's personal experiences of loneliness as a solitary black child in a white community, longing for a real family, shine a light on the tragic life of a young prince whose heritage he shares.

Reader...Liza Sadovy.

Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.

With the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, political revolution has already happened in Egypt. But is the Arab Spring now encouraging much wider change in the Arab world’s biggest country?

Many argue that the historic heartlands of Islam are engaged in a chaotic experiment with modernity. Coverage of the Arab Uprisings of the past two years has focused on the political drama; less scrutinised have been the changes in society that are part and parcel of the great experiment.

In the second of two programmes the writer, Christopher de Bellaigue, travels to Tunisia – the first country to experience the Arab Spring two years ago, but whose people now often find themselves divided and disillusioned. Will the new mind-set of free thinking survive the harsh realities of post-revolution?

(Image: A boy holds a Tunisian flag, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

With the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, political revolution has already happened in Egypt. But is the Arab Spring now encouraging much wider change in the Arab world's biggest country?

In this edition of Heart and Soul, the writer, Christopher de Bellaigue, considers the potential for a new, more questioning attitude among Egyptians in the wake of the popular uprising, and asks if the result could be an increasingly critical approach to social, familial – and even religious – authority.

The programme explores a number of examples - from an apparent new determination to resist paying bribes to public officials, through a greater desire to see active debate rather than passive obedience in the classroom, to the growth of salafists - conservative Muslims who advocate more personal interpretations of Islam’s holy texts, and who reject reliance on the rulings of traditional Koranic scholars.

Though not all these phenomena were unknown before the Arab Spring, the political revolution does seem to have fuelled their growth. Key to many appears to be the disappearance of personal fear – one unmistakable consequence of vanquishing the Mubarak regime. Today, despite often remaining wary of the future, Egyptians are, it seems, fearlessly asserting their own views as never before, without seeking external validation.

Questions, however, remain - if a new, more assertive mentality is indeed emerging, who shares it – and crucially, who does not? And would such an increased personal conviction necessarily result in more pluralism, as is sometimes assumed in the west? Or could it give greater voice to Egypt's innate social and religious conservatism?

(Image: An Egyptian boy poses with a sign saying 'We Shall Over Come' in front of anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square. Credit: AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Andrew Harding meets the Mayor with the job of running Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Can the man nicknamed "Tarzan" tackle mass corruption and the physical and psychological impact of years of brutal warfare?

Andrew joins Mohamed Ahmed Noor who, by request of the president, has returned with his wife and family from a life in London to try and clean up Mogadishu.

The mayor discusses his ambitious vision for a city, much of which currently lies in ruins. He proudly shows off the new Mogadishu Mall and talks about the constant risk of attack by the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab - and narrowly escapes death by a car bomb along the way.

Producers: Kate Forbes and Daniel Tetlow.

The King of Morocco, descendant of the Prophet Mohammed and Commander of the Faithful, is an Arab Spring survivor. While most of North Africa has been swept by revolution and bloody regime change, Morocco’s ancient monarchy has stood firm. In Morocco, street demonstrations accelerated the pace of reform but did not lead to revolution.

For Heart & Soul, John Laurenson travelled to Morocco to find out how religion has played a crucial role in keeping Mohammed VI on throne. How, despite abandoning his sacred status, the monarch is still revered by his people. How the Berbers or Amazighs, the indigenous people of North Africa, see him as a protector of their un-orthodox form of Islam. How the King supports – and protects – a traditionally tolerant and open form of the faith. And how some would like to use religion to unseat him.

(Image: King Mohammed VI of Morocco parading on horseback at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

To mark the 30th anniversary of the world's biggest selling album we look at what Michael Jackson means to the Ivory Coast village of Krindjabo - where after DNA tests revealed the singer was descended from the royal Sanwi line - he was declared a royal, known as Prince Michael Jackson Amalaman Anoh.

Aleks Krotoski returns with a new series of explorations of our digital world.

In the first in the series Aleks looks at how different cultures are preserving their identity in the face of the homogenising effects of technology.

There's a fear that the digital world will make us all the same. But that doesn't seem that well founded if you look at how widely differing cultures are using technology to express their identity and values. We look at the music sharing culture of Mali in West Africa as explored by musicologist Chris Kirkley and hear from the vibrant and intoxicating atmosphere of the mobile phone music market in Mali's capital Bamako. Back in the UK we look at the interesting way immigrant communities maintain their cultural ties through technology and the unexpected effect this has on the growth of immigrant communities.

Aleks also talks to explorer in residence Robin Hanbury-Tenison about his thoughts on how technology might be undermining cultures. Does he see the spread of digital as a new form of cultural imperialism?

Producer Peter McManus

Other areas of the digital world to be explored in this series include:

How opinion and influence spread in a digital world

What all this new technology means for how we learn?

Do we always know what technology is for and ultimately what it wants?

Has the digital world changed our perceptions and discussions of death?

Sue MacGregor gathers together a group of Asians who were forced to flee from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972.

Manzoor Moghal was a businessman and a prominent member of the Asian community when he was forced to leave; Tahera Aanchawan was training to become a physiotherapist; Councillor Ravi Govindia, now leader of Wandsworth Council, was completing his A levels; Chandrika Joshi, now a dentist, was 14 years old when her family were expelled; and the writer and broadcaster Yasmin Alibhai-Brown was a young student at the time.

Asians had first arrived in Uganda in the late 19th century under British colonial rule. They prospered in trade, business and the professions and, by 1972, they were at the centre of the Ugandan economy. But when Amin came to power he declared they were "bloodsuckers." He claimed he'd had a dream in which God had ordered him to expel all the Asians from Uganda. He stated Britain should take responsibility for any Asian with British citizenship and gave them 90 days to leave.

As the Asians made urgent plans, stories emerged of looting and attacks by Amin's army. Houses and shops were abandoned. Each family was allowed to take just £50 in cash and two suitcases with them.

British Prime Minister Edward Heath agreed Britain should accept all those with British passports. A resettlement board was set up to help the Asians find accommodation, but many faced hostility from those supporting Enoch Powell's anti-immigration campaign. Despite often high levels of education, they were forced to take whatever work they could find. Many took factory jobs and others started their own businesses but, in the next few years, the Ugandan Asians changed the face of urban Britain.

Producer: Sarah Cuddon A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Rwanda is a nation of bicycles; large cumbersome machines, piled high with sacks of coffee or potatoes, so heavy they can only be pushed up the steep winding roads in this "land of a thousand hills."

Rwanda -- a country known only for the genocide of 1994, when an estimated 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis, were murdered in cold blood in a mere 100 days -- is also a nation in need of heroes.

It may now have found them: lycra-clad athletes in helmets and wrap-around sunglasses on five thousand dollar racing bikes. They are Team Rwanda, the national cycling team, its tightly packed and brightly coloured peloton now a familiar sight on their training rides on the roads around Ruhengeri in the country's north-west, not far from the border with Uganda.

For this week's Crossing Continents Tim Mansel has spent a week with Team Rwanda as they prepare for their latest international competition, the Tour of Eritrea. The team assembles on a Monday night from all over Rwanda. They come by bike, some after riding for three or four hours, one after a ride of six. Their week is a series of gruelling rides, nutritious food, and daily yoga, all under the critical eye of their outspoken American coach, Jock Boyer.

It's impossible to spend time in Rwanda without being confronted by the genocide. A large purple banner adorns the main street in Ruhengeri, its message unmissable - Jenocide, it proclaims - and this year's slogan: "Learning from History to build a bright future." And only a few hundred yards from where the riders live is the town's genocide memorial, a walled garden dominated by a disturbing monument - the figure of a man pleading for his life and a machete that appears to be dripping in blood.

Team Rwanda is not immune from the genocide, indeed it makes explicit connections. Its website features biographies of several of its riders: Rafiki Uwimana, a small child in 1994, sent by his parents to live in the countryside to escape the horrors of the capital Kigali, forced to hide in the forest from the Hutu militias, and almost dying of malaria before being saved by the Tutsi RPF militia invading from Uganda; or Obed Rugovera, who lost three siblings and two uncles in the carnage.

"The genocide has affected every one of the riders profoundly and you can feel it even without talking about it," says the coach, Jock Boyer. "Cycling...gives them the hope that they can buy a house, provide for their family, do something they're good at and that they're recognised for and that the country is not just going to be known for a genocide.".

The wild Hamadryas baboons of Ethiopia have a friend in biologist Mat Pines. They even pick the nits from his hair. He's been studying and living with them for five years in the remote and arid Awash National Park. Now in Mat's final year, we follow the fortunes of his favourite baboon, Critical, as he tries to find a family and fend off his aggressive male rivals.

But the local gun-toting Afar tribe have a traditional hatred of the baboons. Before Mat leaves, he hopes to broker a peace between the baboons and the tribe.

How are modern musicians re-imagining the role of the West African griot?

Traditionally griots belong to particular West African families who act as oral historians, advisors, story-tellers and musicians for their culture. Now a generation of artists living in the West, who have African roots, are learning musical techniques from the masters but creating songs and stories with contemporary relevance.

In a programme rich in musical sounds and poetic storytelling, writer Gaylene Gould explores what it means to be a griot today. When modern culture uses the term as a shorthand - what does it mean to call someone a griot?

Hereditary griot Seckou Keita, leads a music workshop at a primary school, teaching harp-like instrument the Kora. At the age of 10, Tunde Jegede travelled from England to Gambia to train with a master kora player. He now collaborates with both orchestras and the hip-hop artist HKB FiNN - who has changed the way he approaches writing lyrics and embraced the griot label. Sona Jobarteh, Tunde's sister, is a hereditary griot. She gives Gaylene a lesson in kora playing and discusses how her sex affects the role and why she is reluctant to call herself a griot.

Award winning poet and performer Inua Ellams has been performing at the National Theatre and Malian musician Fatoumata Diawara sells out gigs internationally- both are called griot by their fans but aren't entirely comfortable with the label. Fatoumata believes she couldn't address topics like female circumcision as a griot. London based spoken word artist Zena Edwards explains why she wants to honour the tradition. Reflecting on the importance of the tradition in its purest form, Tunde Jedege says "every time a griot dies it's like a library burning down."

Producer Claire Bartleet

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.

Nigeria is in crisis. Thousands of Nigerians have fled their homes following a spate of Islamist killings. The attacks have been carried out by a group calling itself Boko Haram which has demanded that Christians leave the North of the country where the majority population is Muslim. Christians have taken revenge by attacking mosques and Muslims living in the South.

Nigeria is said to be one of the most religious countries in the world. Its also Africa's biggest producer of oil so it is wealthy. But more than half of its people live in poverty. Corruption and mismanagement is endemic. So is this conflict really about religion at all, or is religion simply a presenting issue?

Joining Ernie to discuss the role of religion in the conflict in Nigeria are Dr Jameel Yusha, senior lecturer in media and politics at Northumbria university, Dr Steven Pierce, lecturer in the history of sub Saharan Africa at the university of Manchester and Dr Leena Hoffman who has just completed her PhD on democracy and patronage politics in Nigeria at the University of Birmingham.

Pure white lemurs called silky sifaka live in the remote rainforests of Madagascar. They are one of the rarest animals in the world. Now a passionate scientist joins forces with an undercover detective to investigate whether there is a link between these endangered lemurs, illegal logging and expensive guitars in the USA.

In 1992, the Algerian runner, Hassiba Boulmerka, won gold in the women's 1500m at the Barcelona Olympics.

Before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, her success had made her a political opponent for extremists. An imam had told her that running in shorts was anti-Islam. "My image didn't fit in at all with their ideology," is how she describes it. She was forced to do all her training abroad.

She defied death threats from Islamist extremists to win one of the best women's middle-distance races of all time.

"This victory reignited a sense of patriotism in the hearts of the Algerian people... It showed that you should fight for things. That you should have courage."

Chloe Arnold talks to Hassiba Boulmerka for Sporting Witness.

This programme broadcast in February 2012.

Picture: Hassiba Boulmerka celebrates her gold. Credit: AFP

In 2000, President Robert Mugabe introduced "fast-track land reform" to Zimbabwe in a wave of often violent takeovers of mainly white-owned farms.

Led by veterans of the second Chimurenga - the Zimbabwe War of Liberation of the 1960s and 1970s - the takeover was seen internationally as a disaster. It was widely reported that cronyism and corruption meant only the country's politically-connected elite were benefiting from the land reform programme, and in the process were leading Zimbabwe's lucrative agricultural export industry into freefall. But what is the situation a decade on?

Martin Plaut travels across Zimbabwe to investigate new research which suggests that farm production levels are recovering. He meets some of Zimbabwe's new black farmers - some of whom took part in the land seizures - who reveal how land reform has transformed their lives.

He also examines the fortunes of Zimbabwe's remaining white farmers and the black farm workers they employed and asks if country's wider economy has recovered from the massive disruption caused by land reform.

Reporter: Martin Plaut Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith.