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BBC World Service

The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

The Inquiry

Last year Kenya’s President William Ruto established a task force to investigate the escalating cases of gender-based violence including femicide. The task force travelled around the country gathering information and at the beginning of this year published its recommendations, which are now being debated in parliament. One of those recommendations is the legal recognition of femicide as a standalone crime. 

UN Women, the United Nations agency which promotes the empowerment and rights of girls and women, have been working with grassroots organisations in Kenya on male engagement strategies, to change perceptions of the role of men and women. But the UN Women’s representative in Kenya, acknowledges that challenges remain. 

In the meantime, women to continue to march in protest and the country waits to see if President Ruto will implement the task force recommendations. 

So, on The Inquiry this week we’re asking, ‘Is Kenya serious about ending femicide?’

Shyleen Momanyi, executive director, Young Women’s Leadership Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
Dr Nancy Baraza, former deputy chief justice of the Republic of Kenya, senior law lecturer, University of Nairobi, chairperson of the technical working group on gender-based violence including femicide, Kenya. 
Consuelo Corradi, professor of sociology, Lumsa University, Rome, Italy 
Antonia Sodonon, UN Women country representative, Kenya 

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins 
Researcher: Evie Yabsley 
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Toby James 
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: March in Nairobi against femicide in 2024. Credit: Daniel Irungu/BBC Images

Is Kenya serious about ending femicide?

Flesh-eating parasitic flies have been found in the US state of Texas for the first time in decades. Known as the New World Screwworm, officials have now put plans in place to try and contain its spread. The fly feeds off warm-blooded animals, like cattle, dogs and horses, but if detected early enough, with treatment, the animals can make a full recovery. It can also infest humans, but human deaths are rare and it poses no food safety issues. 

The New World Screwworm is not a new problem; it is considered endemic in South America and some parts of Central America, towards South America. But despite the United States declaring itself screwworm free in the 1960s, the country has since seen several outbreaks. Officials have been tracking this latest case since late 2024. 

To date, the most widely used method to try and control the spread of the screwworm is the Sterile Insect Technique, whereby millions of flies are hatched and exposed to radiation, before they are released into the wild. And the idea here is that as the females only mate once in a lifetime, any eggs they lay will be unfertilised and will not hatch. There is currently only one facility hatching these flies in operation and there are not enough sterile flies being produced. In addition, there is a concern over a lack of knowledge among new veterinary recruits on how to deal with a problem that many may be experiencing for the first time. So, can the New World Screwworm be stopped?

Contributors
Grace VanHoy, veterinarian and professor, UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, California, USA 
Thomas Rath, author and assistant professor, History Department, University College London, UK
Dr Phillip Kaufman, professor and head of department of entomology, Texas A&M University, chair of the Texas A&M AgriLife New World Screwworm Task Force, USA
Rui Cardoso Pereira, head of insect pest control section, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Amelia Cox 
Sound engineer: Craig Boardman
Production co-ordinator: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: New World Screwworm poster. Credit: Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images)

Can the New World Screwworm be stopped?

This year, technology has more influence in officiating sports than ever before.

At the men's World Cup, the role of virtual assistant referee technology (VAR) has been extended to include two more on-pitch scenarios while in tennis, umpires use electric line calling systems (ELC) to make final decisions.

Both bits of kit aim to improve the accuracy. It’s become easier to consider match-defining moments through these tracking and review systems’ specialised cameras. But, this information takes human officials valuable time to analyse.

Football fans criticise VAR for this reason, saying it delays match momentum. Top ranking tennis players Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev have also complained as these systems are not yet infallible. If technology is as imperfect as a human referee or umpire and can interrupt the fan experience too, why do elite sports rely on it?

Contributors
Carlo de Marchis, independent adviser in sports and media technology in Italy
Dr Otto Koblinger, former sports scientist, Munich Technical University, Germany and senior data manager, Saudi Pro League
Professor Odilon Roble, sport philosopher and psychoanalyst, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil
Matt Moore, associate dean, University of Kentucky’s college of social work, US.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Evie Yabsley
Researcher: Amelia Cox
Sound engineer: Nicky Edwards
Production co-ordinator: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: VAR check. Credit: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Is technology ruining sport?

A new directive strives to narrow the 11% hourly wage gap between men and women in the EU.

Around the world, the gender pay gap has been shrinking as women gain access to higher education and better employment opportunities. Though varied hours, industries and care responsibilities make this inequality a difficult problem to tackle with one universal policy.

Member states have just passed their deadline to implement measures that will hold employers to account for pay disparities in the workplace so will pay transparency solve the persistent gap?

Contributors
Emma Duchini, assistant professor of economics, University of Essex, UK
Marianne Bertrand, professor of economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, US
Adamnesh Bogale, head of gender, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Ghana
Marina Tverdostup, economist, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Austria.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Evie Yabsley
Researcher: Amelia Cox
Sound engineer: Toby James
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: A woman typing)

Can Brussels crack the gender pay gap?

In May 2026, the World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in western Africa a public health emergency of international concern. Within days, hundreds of cases had been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising fears that the virus could spread further across the region.

Ebola has been causing outbreaks for nearly 50 years, but despite advances in vaccines and treatments, the disease continues to return. But why is it so difficult to treat and contain? 

Contributors
Syra Madad, infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harvard Belfer Centre, US
Hypolite Muhindo Mavoko, professor of tropical medicine at the University of Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo
Amanda Rojek, associate professor of health emergencies at the University of Oxford, UK
Julienne Anoko, risk communication and community engagement officer at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Kenya

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Amelia Cox
Technical producer: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Ebola awareness banner in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: Glordy Murhabazi/Getty Images)

Why does Ebola keep coming back?

In 2001, Portugal decriminalised the possession and use of all illicit drugs. It was a move designed to mitigate the country’s public health crisis, which at the time meant Portugal had one of the worst rates of overdose deaths in Europe, as well as the highest rate of HIV among drug users. Whilst drugs remained illegal, users did not receive a criminal record but were instead referred to rehabilitation and treatment programmes. It was an approach that proved so successful, that it has remained in place for a quarter of a century. 

But just over 10 years after its introduction, Portugal’s drugs policy started to come under strain as the country’s economic crisis and subsequent austerity measures led to budget cuts for drug services. More recently the rising cost of living has diverted people’s attention from investment in this field. On top of this, the trafficking of cocaine and newer substances into the country along with changing demographics is putting decriminalisation under strain. 

Contributors
Joana Teixeira, President of the Board of Directors, Institute for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (ICAD), Lisbon, Portugal
Luís Mendão, Director General, Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos (GAT), Lisbon, Portugal
António Leitão da Silva, Chief of Police, Braga, Portugal
Keith Humphreys, Esther Ting Memorial professor of psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, California, USA.

Presenter: David Baker 
Producer: Jill Collins
Technical producer: Toby James 
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Discarded syringes and drug paraphernalia. Credit: Andy Buchanan/AFP)

Is Portugal’s drugs policy in need of reform?

At the beginning of this year Bulgaria, considered as one of the poorest countries in the European Union, became the latest to officially join the eurozone. Bulgaria’s legal tender since 1881 had been the lev, but since the mid-1990s it had been pegged to other European currencies, first to the German deutschmark and now to the euro. But it remains to be seen if the country’s economic policy can take advantage of the opportunities that joining the single currency can afford, in terms of trade and economic development. 

Monetary unions are not a new concept, some like the Scandinavian monetary union date back to the 19th Century, involving Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It established a fixed exchange rate system based on the gold standard, whilst member countries still had their own currencies before it was gradually dissolved from the outbreak of World War One onwards. 

Today, the biggest monetary union is the eurozone, used by around 358 million people across 21 European Union countries. It has one monetary authority for all the members and a standardised currency and coinage. 

And now the Economic Community of West African States, known as Ecowas is actively planning a monetary union with a common currency called the eco and pegged to the euro. The ambition is for greater economic sovereignty and regional economic integration. 

But with the US dollar as the world’s dominant global reserve currency, even though it is not part of a global monetary union, is there an argument for one currency across all borders and if so, what should it be?

Contributors:
Assoc Prof Ralitsa Simeonova-Ganeva, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria 
Prof Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Prof Mohamed Ben Omar Ndiaye, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Senegal
Dr Judy Shelton, Senior Fellow, The Independent Institute, California, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producers: Daniel Rosney and Jill Collins 
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Sound engineer: Toby James
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Euro and US dollar banknotes)

What’s the future for monetary unions?

The Himalayan glaciers are melting more rapidly as global temperatures rise, raising concerns about the future of ecosystems and communities across the Himalayan mountain range. Glaciers store more than two thirds of the world’s freshwater and help regulate global temperatures by reflecting the sun’s rays.

Across South Asia, melting ice is contributing to the formation of unstable glacial lakes and increasing the risks of floods, droughts and avalanches. The Himalayas are a vital source of water for millions of people, supporting agriculture, energy production and livelihoods from tourism.

Experts warn that continued glacier loss could have significant consequences for people living in the region and the mountainous ecosystem, but what can be done to respond to these changes?

Contributors: 
Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada
Pam Pearson, director and founder of the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, US
Matthias Huss, glaciologist and senior scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
Alton Byers, faculty research scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado, US

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson 
Researchers: Evie Yabsley and Amelia Cox
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Mitch Goodall
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Trekkers walk to Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Credit: Kriangkrai Thitimakorn/Getty Images)

Are the Himalayan glaciers at a tipping point?

The recent election result in Hungary has been seen as a welcome relief within the European Union.

The bloc of 27 nations has, at times, felt frustrated with the country for blocking what the other 26 members have agreed to do, especially regarding financial support for Ukraine.

Now the EU has been able to push through a loan to Ukraine of more than US$100bn, and some observers believe the union’s turbulent years are behind it. 

As it marks 10 years since the United Kingdom voted to leave, and with Montenegro expected to soon join, this week, what is the future of the European Union?’

Contributors:
Dr Monika Sus, professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy
Michael Geary, professor of European history at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Catherine E. de Vries, author How Europe Survives: The Adaptability and Resilience of a Continent in Peril, vice dean of the school for politics, economics and global affairs at IE University of Madrid, Spain
Dr Andi Hoxhaj, lecturer in law and director of the European law and LLM programme at King's College, London, UK

Presenter: Daniel Rosney
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: European Union flags. Credit: Reuters)

What is the future of the European Union?

Global oil markets have been affected by the US Israel war with Iran, leading to higher jet fuel prices and increased attention on supply risks.

But how serious is the situation? While some experts point to tightening supply chains and regional bottlenecks, others say there is no clear evidence so far of immediate shortages.

Even so, the refining and distribution of jet fuel remains a potential vulnerability, as disruption can have notable impacts even when crude oil itself is available. With air travel crucial to trade and tourism, the resilience of fuel supply is a growing concern for economies and travellers. Can alternative suppliers and fuel sources help limit the impact of future disruption?

Contributors: 
Zach Aman, professor of chemical engineering, the University of Western Australia 
Ahmed Mehdi, senior fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and managing director at Renaissance Energy Advisors, UK
Dumebi Oluwole, lead economist at Stears, Nigeria
Li Qiao, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Purdue University, US

Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical producer: Mitch Goodall

(Photo: Airline worker attaching fuel pipe to plane to refuel. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Can Brussels crack the gender pay gap?

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