This is the BBC.

Welcome to From Our Own Correspondent.

This edition was first broadcast on Radio 4 on Thursday the 2nd of February 2017

and it's introduced by Bridget Kendall.

Hello today we hear a murky tale of murder on the streets of Istanbul but

where does the trail lead? We take a trip through the Balkans with a generous sprinkling of political

tension over everything from train routes to telephone codes. And our correspondent remembers

the days when a poor connection in Kosovo allowed him to hide from his editor.

But we start in West Africa where Ghana's black stars are hoping to break a 35 year long jinx this weekend

by being crowned champions in the African Cup of Nations.

First, they have to get past Cameroon in the semi-finals this evening.

For the second time in four years, the competition is being staged in Gabon,

where the drop in the price of oil has led to significant economic problems.

There are political tensions too. Last year there were

deadly clashes when President Ali Bongo-Oodimba narrowly won a disputed election by just a few

thousand votes in his home region

he secured nearly all the votes on an official turnout of 99.93 percent.

The European Union said the election lacked transparency.

Opposition parties threatened to use the tournament to protest against Bongo's rule.

So it was with some trepidation that Tim Hartley went there only to discover.

Well, let him tell us for himself what he found.

Cars, buses and pickup trucks with people hanging out of windows and sunroofs made their way through the night crowd.

...