The Real Story

Kenya's disputed presidential election has plunged the country into crisis and brought the legitimacy of the whole democratic process there into question. So on this week's Newshour Extra we take a look across Sub-Saharan Africa, and ask whether democracy is the best system of government for the continent; and if so, are there uniquely African models of the democratic process. Join Owen Bennett Jo...

After its traumatic defeat in the Second World War, Japan turned its back on military power and concentrated instead on economic growth. Japan’s alliance with the US was enough to protect it from threats in the Cold War. But times have changed. China has now overtaken Japan in both economic growth and military spending. And while China flexes new found muscles, Japan’s watches as North Korean miss...

A nuclear weapon in the hands of the Ayatollahs has long been a nightmare of Iran's opponents in the Middle East and beyond. So when, in 2015, the world's big powers signed a deal with Iran that prevented it from developing a nuclear bomb it was seen as a triumph for diplomacy. But the deal has always had its critics. US hawks want to scrap it or at least bring Iran back to the negotiating table....

We live in dangerous times. Conflicts in the Middle East continue unabated; President Trump threatens to "totally destroy" North Korea; and Catalonia opts to secede from Spain with potentially violent consequences. UN Secretary General, António Guterres recently said “We are in a world in pieces. We need to be a world at peace”. So why is it so hard to resolve conflicts and what makes an effective...

What’s so important about having your own country? On Monday many Kurds in Northern Iraq voted for independence, and the Spanish government is seeking to stop a separatist referendum in Catalonia this Sunday. But why do many Iraqi Kurds and Catalans want an independent state given that both regions already have a large degree of autonomy? Is it about national identity or economic independence? Are...

With journalists disbelieved, politicians distrusted, judges called ‘enemies of the people’, and scientists and experts dismissed out of hand, established democracies seem to be undergoing a crisis of trust. But what has caused it: growing affluence, austerity, growing inequality, the social media, or aggressive journalists? To what extent is the old democratic model damaged? Or is democracy becom...

The trail of wrecked buildings, overturned cars, and broken boats in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma have reminded the world of the ferocious power of nature. Extreme weather events are becoming more common, more destructive, and much more costly. So who foots the bill to pick up the pieces? The global insurance industry is unable to cover the mounting losses. Meanwhile, governments hesitat...

As tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar for Bangladesh we ask who's responsible for the violence in Rakhine state that's forcing them out. It all looked so different two years ago when Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won landmark elections in Myanmar at the start of what looked like a new era for the country, free from dominance by the army. On this week on Newshour Extra, Ow...

The spread of smartphones has come with increasing rates of depression in teenagers. Psychologists are debating whether too much time online and looking at screens is causing rising rates of obesity, depression and even suicide, or whether these problems are - for some reason - affecting all of society including teenagers. (Photo: Teenager using smart phone in bed. Credit: Getty Images)

The violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia - which left one woman dead and many others injured - have intensified the debate about the hundreds of statues and plaques commemorating Confederate leaders right across the United States. So, what is the best way to remember troubled history? Should monuments be re-named, removed or ignored? Does pushing for more removals risk inflaming the identi...

Facial recognition technology - once a thing of science fiction - is coming to a screen near you. It’s already helping to smooth our travel experiences and assisting police to track and arrest suspects. Facial recognition offers alternatives to fingerprints, passwords and PINs. So where will the technology improve our security, and where will it ‘nudge’ our behaviour? What does it mean for society...

As the 70th anniversary of the partition of British India approaches, Owen Bennett Jones is in Pakistan. In the massive, energetic, creative and sometimes violent city of Karachi, Owen and his guests ask how successful has Pakistan been, what was its purpose and have these goals been fulfilled? Also, was it meant to be an Islamic state at its birth and if so, how has that project gone? Pakistanis...

In 2014 Narendra Modi's BJP returned to power winning a majority in India's parliament. He offered a billion Indians a blend of pro-business economics and a vision of India as primarily a Hindu state. In recent months, Muslims and Dalits - formerly known as untouchables - have been beaten and sometimes killed on suspicion of having slaughtered cows, which are sacred to many Hindus. So as India app...

Water supplies are coming under pressure in many parts of the world. Too much water is taken out of rivers or pumped from underground aquifers to be sustainable. While water has been used as a weapon of war for centuries, could its scarcity become a cause of future conflicts? With a finite supply of fresh water and increasing demands being placed on it, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss th...

Half of all people born in industrialised countries today can expect to live to 100. What implications does that have for individuals and for societies around the world? Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss the many issues arising from an ageing society and ask whether one day we could live forever. (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

'Their fictitious state has fallen,' announced an Iraqi spokesman following the retaking of Mosul this week after a long and brutal battle with Islamic State militants. With IS also in retreat in Raqqa in neighbouring Syria, regarded by the militants as the capital of their caliphate, how will they respond? Will IS dwindle into fragmented criminal gangs or can it regroup, re-arm, and continue to r...

Globalisation is under fire. Many voters in Britain and America have turned against it, and in President Trump protectionism has found a champion. But the promoters of globalisation are regrouping. As the G20 group of countries with the largest economies meets in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to keep working towards an interconnected world. And China is working on a massive infrast...

Cost, coverage, choice - some of the trade-offs needed to make a healthy nation. As the US Congress struggles to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act - widely known as Obamacare - we ask what makes for a good healthcare system and how does society as a whole get value for money? Is it an insurance based system, like many used world wide, or is a single payer system like Britain's National He...

Greece has been through dark economic times over the past decade. Last week a European Union loan of 8.5bn Euros enabled Greece to meet its latest debt payments. The IMF says this deal will help Greece stand on its own feet again over the course of the next year. But after the years of austerity and hardship, do the Greek people believe this will do anything to improve their lives? For Newshour Ex...

Qatar has been economically and diplomatically isolated by its powerful neighbours, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain. They accuse the small Gulf state of supporting terrorist groups and of being too close to the regional Shia power-house Iran. While Qatar enjoys large revenues from oil and gas, it is also highly dependent on imports to feed its population of 2.7 million. So the cutting of trade lin...

The UK election has produced a much closer result than expected, with the Conservative Party now seeking to form a minority government. On Newshour Extra this week, Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts from around the world take a step back and ask what issues voters really take into account when making their choice in democratic elections; what motivates that very personal choice; and whet...

Brazil has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals in recent years - Operation 'Car Wash' is just one of the many ongoing investigations that stretch into the highest levels of business and politics. President Michel Temer is himself implicated in a scandal that could well bring his term of office to an early end - making him the country's second president ousted within a year. His approval...

In the wake of the suicide bomb attack at a concert venue in Manchester, Newshour Extra this week is asking how major cities around the world can minimise the risk to their citizens from such atrocities. Owen Bennett Jones and his guests consider urban security, counter-terrorism, and the compromises different cities make between civil liberties and public safety. Photo: an armed policeman and a s...

President Trump’s connections with Russia is a story that won’t go away. There are so many allegations flying around that it can be difficult to separate what is actually known and what is rumour. The President and his supporters have one key point - that despite all the coverage and official investigations, there is still no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Nor is ther...

Next week Iranians go to the polls to elect a new president. But how much of a choice do they really have? All six candidates are men, and all six have been chosen by the unelected Guardian Council. The members of the Council are selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has himself never stood for election. So how different are the views of each of the candidates and how much...