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BBC World Service


Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.


The Real Story

Are global financial markets on the edge of a precipice, or have the dramatic falls in China’s markets been contained? After the crash of 2008, President Obama assured the world that secure measures had been put in place to prevent another financial crisis. But markets are fluctuating alarmingly and traders from New York to Shanghai are nervous about what the next few weeks will bring. Have we learned the right lessons from previous financial crises? And are we passing those lessons on to the economists of tomorrow? In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones is joined by a panel of experts to consider if the global financial system is fundamentally flawed, or whether it’s performing exactly as it should, self-correcting inflated markets to reflect fundamental economic realities.

(Photo: A Paris trader in August 2011. Credit: AFP Photo)

Crash, Contagion or Correction?

The conflict in Yemen has descended into a humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions, largely unseen by the rest of the world. What began during the Arab Spring with a popular uprising to oust a long-time autocrat, has developed into a complex proxy war that's drawn in both Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two great Sunni and Shia powers in the Middle East. And into this fractured state, jihadists from both al-Qaeda and Islamic State are gaining ground. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts as they discuss whether regional solutions to the crisis can be found, and whether the forces pulling Yemen apart have wider implications for instability across the Arab world.

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images (Yemeni supporters of the Huthi rebels at a rally in the capital Sana'a protesting against air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition)

Yemen's Forgotten War

Across the developing world there is an unprecedented demand for education, and to meet it countries are rapidly developing their higher education systems. It’s seen as a vital path to success and a way out of poverty. But existing education systems are increasingly unable to cope with a rapidly growing global population. How will India find employment for the many tens of millions of students seeking to enter the workplace over the next twenty years? Will those students find their education has been a worthwhile investment? And is the Western education system really the best model for success in a more connected world? Owen Bennett Jones tackles these questions with a panel of experts at one of India's brand new institutions - Shiv Nader University, near Delhi.

(Picture: Indian pupils listen to a radio broadcast of a speech marking Teachers Day at a school in Bhopal, India. Credit: EPA)

India’s Education Boom

There is now compelling scientific evidence that repeated head injuries in contact sports can result in permanent brain damage. But how seriously are sporting authorities taking this latest research? The Rugby World Cup kicks off this weekend in Britain with new tighter regulations intended to reduce severe concussion injuries. 

The American Football season is also getting under way with the country’s most popular sport under fire from former players and doctors for its failure to protect players adequately. James Coomarasamy will be joined by an expert panel, including medical experts and former players. Should more drastic measures be taken to reduce such injuries? Should some sporting contests be banned outright? And, how best to protect those playing in schools and colleges from the dangers inherent in these sports?

Photo Credit: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Dangerous Games

In the past two months over 200 Chinese lawyers and their associates have been detained – some have even vanished completely. The Chinese government says that they’ve been abusing their positions to influence the outcome of court decisions, and “breaching laws for personal profits”. The lawyers say that the crackdown is a politically-motivated attempt to discredit them and curtail their activities.

Less than a year ago the Chinese Communist Party held its annual plenary session, focused on a specific theme: the rule of law. That’s the idea that, among other things, nobody should be above the law, and nobody should be punished except according to the law, after a fair trial in front of an independent judge. But the Party emphasised that they would pursue a rule of law with specifically “Chinese characteristics”. What does that mean?

Join Owen Bennett Jones and a panel of experts as they discuss the state of the rule of law in China. Do ordinary people have access to justice? And how is the Chinese legal system changing?

(Photo: Activists protest outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. Credit: Getty Images)

China's Embattled Lawyers

Five and a half years ago Haiti was hit by a massive earthquake, affecting three million people. It was already the poorest country in the Americas, and the disaster prompted an unprecedented response – including the largest-ever humanitarian appeal launched by the UN in the wake of a natural disaster. Haiti is now choosing its new parliament and the Prime Minister has described the elections as a “significant moment” for the country.

So is Haiti a “republic of NGOs” or a burgeoning democracy? Is it an example of the success of aid, or the poster child of “disaster capitalism”? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts as they discuss how the international community can make sure that its response to natural disasters doesn’t do more harm than good.

Photo: A US Navy helicopter by Haiti's presidential palace, shortly after the January 2010 earthquake. Photo credit: AP Photo

Haiti Aid: Throwing Good Money After Bad?

***This broadcast features an interview with an individual, 28, referred to as Macer Gifford. We have been asked to clarify that this is not his real name but a pseudonym.***
For millions of Kurds in the Middle East, the drive for a state of their own has been a long and - to date - vain pursuit. But with Kurdish fighters winning the fight against the forces of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, does that improve their prospects? Or will any gratitude from the international community for their efforts be short lived come tomorrow? How far can Kurds rely on the United States for help? Join David Eades and his panel of experts as they discuss the question - will the world ever allow an independent Kurdistan?

(Photo: The flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

How Close Are We to an Independent Kurdistan?

Have we lost our fear of the bomb? And, how successful have efforts been to limit its spread? Seventy years ago, the very first nuclear weapon was detonated by the US army in the deserts of New Mexico. Since then, diplomats and politicians have sought to strictly limit the number of nations capable of following suit – and after years of tortuous negotiation a deal has finally been reached to limit Iran’s ability to construct its own bomb. So what is the state of the nuclear threat today? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his distinguished panel of experts, including former nuclear inspector Hans Blix and former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as they discuss how safe the world now is from nuclear catastrophe.

(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a graphic of a bomb. Credit: Reuters)

Have we Forgotten to Fear the Bomb?

This week a young British suicide-bomber has been killed in Iraq; three sisters travelled to Syria taking their children along with them; and a white British muslim convert died fighting with the Somali islamist group al-Shabab. What motivated them to leave the UK to support jihadist causes abroad? We consider the influences on them, and ask what can be done to counter such radicalisation. Join Razia Iqbal and her distinguished panel of guests as they discuss these issues on Newshour Extra.

(Photo: This image posted on a militant website is said by his parents to be Talha Asmal, the British 17-year-old who killed himself in a suicide bombing in Iraq. Credit: AP)

Britain's Battle with Radical Islam

The Greek government is facing a critical test. Wracked with debt, can it keep its economy afloat whilst staying within the European currency zone? And if it does fail to reach a deal with creditors over the coming days, what would be the consequences of a default? In this week's programme, we look at Argentina, which went through its own economic crisis over a decade ago, eventually defaulting on its debts. What happened next for Argentina? Did it recover or did it become a financial pariah - shunned by bankers and lending institutions? Did it achieve sustained long term growth or lurch from crisis to crisis? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of expert guests to discuss what lessons there are for Greece in the Argentinian experience.

(Photo: Workers of an Argentine shoe factory light a bonfire outside the Foreign Ministry, as they protest against the importation of Brazils shoes. The poster reads One Brazilian shoe is more misery for Argentina. Credit: AP)

Argentina's Lessons for Greece?

In recent years the formula for winning elections has moved away from reaching out to all voters and charting a middle ground. Instead, politicians are promoting wedge issues and activating voters along issues of identity and against the status quo. The polarising nature of this variety of politics was on view this week in the aftermath of the tragic mass shooting in Texas. It was also seen in India, where the Hindu nationalist BJP government rammed through a dramatic policy change on Kashmir without consulting its people, who are mostly Muslims. Similar trends are occurring in Turkey, Philippines and Brazil, where strongman politics has reduced the space needed for healthy dialogue and diminished the rights of minority constituencies. So, when did the politics of compromise fall out of fashion and why? What has been the role of technology in turbo-charging the adversarial tone? And what will it take for the politics of the middle ground to make a comeback? Julian Worricker and a panel of guests discuss whether current trends are part of a historical cycle or the new normal.

What happened to the political centre ground?

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