'My father, the killer'

 "Did you actually kill hundreds of people, Dad?" It's not a question that many people feel the need to ask their parents. But for a group of daughters and sons in Argentina, it became one they could not ignore.

When the phone rang in Analía Kalinec's Buenos Aires home on a wintry August afternoon, she had no reason to suspect the call would end up blowing her family apart.

"It was my mum. 'Look, don't freak out but Daddy is in jail,' she told me. 'But don't worry, this is just politics.' Until that phone call, I had never ever linked my dad's job to the dictatorship. Not even remotely…"

Analía's father is Eduardo Emilio Kalinec, a former police officer who served under the brutal military junta that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983.

He was accused of some of the worst human rights violations in the country's recent past - over 180 cases of abduction, torture and murder committed in the regime's secret detention camps.

For the seven years it held power, the military government targeted political dissidents - communists, socialists, union leaders, students and artists. Up to 30,000 were "disappeared" after being kidnapped and illegally imprisoned by security officials like Kalinec.

But Analía hadn't got even a hint of her father's well-kept secrets until 2005, when she was 25, and received that call from her mum.

Kalinec was taken into custody and, despite his wife's initial optimism, was never released. In 2010, he was given a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

"He asked me: 'Do you think I'm a monster?'" Analía says. "What did he expect me to say? It was my beloved dad, I was so close to him… I was stunned."

Paula (who asked the BBC not to use her full name) also experienced a moment of revelation about her father.

When she was 14 he took her and her brother to a cafe, and told them he had been an undercover cop. Later she realised he had been a spy, infiltrating left-wing groups and identifying people to be seized by the regime.

"Since it clicked in my head that what I knew about the dictatorship had been done by my father, or that he worked for them, I've been feeling ashamed and guilty as if I were an accomplice," says Paula.

"Now I have this knowledge and there's nothing I can do. It's like I'm keeping a secret I don't want to keep."

It took these daughters years to understand and come to terms with their family history, but recently they have felt the urge to speak out.

They are part of a group of the "sons, daughters and relatives of the perpetrators of genocide", as they call themselves. They publicly condemn their fathers and are often ostracised by their families as a result.

This is the beginning of a really interesting, stunning and thought-provoking BBC article. Read it clicking here: My father, the killer

Why food allergies are on the rise

We currently see there are more and more people we know who are allergic to some food. And it seems that apart from the number of allergy sufferers, the types of food which provoke it are also increasing dramatically. 

Read this very interesting article about it:

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Leap Year: What it's like being born on 29 February?

Imagine only having a birthday every four years.

On 29 February, about 5 million people around the world celebrate their once-every-four-years 'real' birthday.

For some of the so-called 'leaplings,' being born on 29 February is an excuse to celebrate over two days when it's not a leap year - but for others, getting into nightclubs is tricky when the bouncers think their security is fake.

The BBC spoke to leaplings all around the world.

To watch these leaplings just click here: Leap year BBC_news

Tech Tent: The power of influencers

Is this real? Are we so easily influenced and manipulated?

Would you buy a pair of shoes because someone on Instagram said they were great? Or choose a new phone based on the recommendation of a top YouTuber?

If so, you are proof of the effectiveness of influencer marketing. On this week's Tech Tent podcast, we explore the phenomenon.

Influencers - social media stars with big followings - have been under the spotlight this week for two reasons.

First, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority revealed that 16 influencers had promised to be far more transparent when paid to promote a product.

The regulator has taken a dim view of celebrities posting images of themselves with an "awesome" product, without mentioning that the "fabulous" company behind it has paid them a tidy sum to be quite so enthusiastic.

They will now be encouraged to use hashtags such as #ad, #sponsored or #freebie to give their fans a clearer picture of what's going on, otherwise they could land up in court.

But this week also saw the release of two documentaries about the disastrous Fyre Festival, which appeared to be the apotheosis of influencer marketing. It showed the power of the influencers. Kendall Jenner was reportedly paid $250,000 (£190,000) for one Instagram post promoting tickets that rapidly sold out.

It raised questions about the ethics of this form of marketing. The supermodels and other celebrities were happy enough to take money from the Fyre Festival organisers. But when the whole event turned into a fiasco, they faced no consequences for taking part in a very dishonest marketing campaign.

"We can see how precarious that is in terms of the legitimacy of those campaigns," says Dr Mariann Hardey, associate professor in marketing at Durham University.

She is a sceptic about influencer marketing and tells us it is really just another form of that age-old advertising technique, the celebrity endorsement.

"I don't think this is the holy grail. Influencers simply amplify traditional marketing methods and strategies," she says.

Brand awareness

But Werner Geyser, founder of the Influencer Marketing Hub, which helps connect influencers with brands, disagrees and tells us he has numbers to back up his argument.

"Recently we conducted a survey and we analysed 2,000 campaigns from influencers. And what the research displayed was that there was an average earned media value of $5.20 per dollar spent," he says.

That earned media value turns out to include something as nebulous as "increasing brand awareness", but Mr Geyser insists companies do see real returns in the form of extra sales.

He says we should not underestimate the power of these influencers or the bond between them and their followers.

"These audiences are following them for a reason. They share common interests so they almost act as a media outlet themselves. They have massive, massive reach."

The question is how they use that influence. Too many Fyre Festivals and they may tarnish their own brands, making them less attractive to advertisers.

But even if the current social media stars fade, more will come along and brands will be eager to use them to connect to young people who live their media lives on YouTube and Instagram.

BBC, Rory Cellan-Jones, 25th Jan 2019

Speaking about Nigeria ...

One culture, two languages.

Watch this conversation between a Nigerian mother (Habiba) and her British daughter (Lola) about language.

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Now answer these questions:

1. Why did they stop speaking to their daughter in Yoruba at home?
2. What is the "Windrush thing" Lola mentions? Maybe you'll have to do some research!
3. How do Nigerians get their names, according to the mother?
4. When does the  mother become so emotional and why?
5. Was it hard for Lola not to speak Nigerian fluently when she met other Nigerians?