World News At Large

Aston Villa are hunting for a new manager after Steven Gerrard was relieved of his duties following Thursday's 3-0 defeat at Fulham. Gerrard leaves Villa teetering precariously above the relegation zone, having collected only nine points from 11 Premier League games this season. Villa supporters were calling for Gerrard's head towards the  end of Thursday's loss , singing "Steven Gerrard, get out of our club" in the direction of the away dugout. So who might replace the 42-year-old at Villa Park? Mauricio Pochettino The Argentine has been out of work since being sacked by French side Paris St-Germain last July, despite winning the first trophies of his managerial career with the club. Pochettino, 50, guided Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid, where they were beaten by Liverpool. He also lost the 2015 League Cup final to Chelsea before finishing runners-up to their London rivals in the Premier League in 2016-17. He left Spurs after a disappointi

  This was Steven Gerrard's first managerial job in the Premier League Aston Villa have sacked manager Steven Gerrard following Thursday's 3-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham. A club spokesman said: "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future." Villa have won just twice in the league this season and only sit above the relegation zone on goals scored. Gerrard succeeded Dean Smith as Villa manager in November 2021 after leaving his role at Rangers. But the former England and Liverpool midfielder, 42, led Villa to only 13 wins from 40 games during his 11 months in charge. Who are the contenders to replace Gerrard? Fulham beat Villa in Gerrard's final game After the defeat by Fulham, he told BBC Match of the Day: "Inconsistency has cost us, that's the position we find ourselves in. I took over the team in a very similar situation. We've tried to recruit to get us out of that situation. "I'm a f

Radio Studio Last week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) celebrated the ninth edition of the World Radio Day themed “Radio and Diversity”. It was an opportunity to evaluate this medium of expression that has had a chequered history in Nigeria. Unlike other media of communication, which came long after, radio was the first medium to reach the country having been established in 1932 by the colonial government. The British Colonial government initiated the development of radio broadcasting to link them with their various colonies. By 1944, distribution stations sprang up in Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Calabar and Port Harcourt. Most of the content of the programme was British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) external service in London. BBC’s signals were relayed on receivers through the rediffusion system. The Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) was, however, established in 1951. In 1957, the NBS transformed into Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation N

Bilkisu Labaran Bilkisu Labaran is the Editor, BBC Africa News and Current Affairs. A highly accomplished multimedia journalist, she has edited, produced and presented high profile programmes across tv, radio and online. Bilkisu played a vital role in the creation of BBC Pidgin. She spoke with GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR on BBC Focus on Africa’s 60th anniversary, challenges and future of media in Africa. After 60 years of breaking the news and broadcasting landmark stories about Africa… What will you say the story of BBC’s Focus on Africa is, on the continent? Success? Disappointing? What actually is the story? I think Focus on Africa has been a big success. We use the word flagship programme, because it is really a flagship programme that has paved the way for so many things across the continent and for the BBC. It continues to lead from the front. It has set trends and covered major events across the continent. It has been really good to work on the video, where we captured the main even

COCOA IS GROWN ON TREES The cocoa tree bears fruit on its trunk and branches. They are called pods. The pods contain seeds which are called cocoa beans. The beans are made up of a seed coat, a kernel and a germ. Cocoa needs a high temperature, plenty of water, and air that is always moist. Therefore, cocoa is grown in the hot and humid regions of Africa (mainly in forest regions), Central and South America, Asia and Oceania. Cocoa bean cut in two Cocoa pod WHAT VARIETIES OF COCOA CAN BE GROWN IN AFRICA? Three main varieties of cocoa are grown in Africa: Criollo When Criollo pods are ripe, they are long, yellow or red, with deep furrows and big warts. This variety does not produce as much as the others but the cocoa is of very good quality. It is grown mainly in America. Forastero (Amelonado) The pods are short, yellow, smooth without warts, with shallow furrows. This variety produces well, but the quality is not as good as Criollo. It is grown a lot in Africa. Trinitario This variety i

The grower can buy at research centres either selected seeds of good quality He sows the seeds in a nursery bed or in baskets. Later, he plants out the seedlings in the plantation. or young seedlings of good quality He plants them straight away in the plantation. But some growers have no research centre nearby. They can nevertheless have good cocoa plantations by: choosing their own seeds, sowing their seeds in a nursery bed, planting out their seedlings in the plantation. Nursery bed is the name for the place where the seeds are sown to make them germinate. CHOOSING SEEDS If you want to have fine cocoa trees which produce a lot of big pods, you must choose carefully the seeds you are going to sow. If you choose your own seeds: choose the biggest pods from the trees which bear a lot of fruit. The good quality of the tree and of the seed enters into the new plant, which will also yield many big pods. The best seeds for sowing are those from the middle of the pod. Sow the seeds as you re

CHOOSING THE SITE If a cocoa tree is to grow well, it needs more than anything else a soil of good structure, permeable and deep. The cocoa tree has tap-roots. The tap-root descends straight into the soil. The branch roots go down very deep. But many small branch roots also grow near the surface. If the soil is of good structure and contains much humus, the roots penetrate well. You can improve the soil structure by spreading manure and working it into the soil. If the soil is deep, the roots can go down to a good depth. Never plant cocoa trees in soil with a lot of stones, or in soil where there is some hard layer. CLEARING THE SITE In Africa, cocoa is grown in forest regions. To make a plantation, you must clear the site. But the cocoa tree needs shade, especially when it is young. The traditional method is to cut down all the trees and to burn everything. But this is a bad method because: You destroy all the organic matter in the weeds, the leaves and the branches. You leave the soi