The Real Story

In December, the World Trade Organisation will hold major talks in Nairobi, Kenya – the first time ever one of its high-level summits has been in Africa. Global trade has brought enormous economic benefits, but has the WTO failed in its prime directive to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” through more equitable trading relationships? Is the world trade regime fair, or is the game fundamentall...

When Obama first came to office there was a huge amount of global expectation riding on his foreign policy. He promised to heal the breach with the Islamic world, restore America’s good name, and fight fewer wars. But as his time in the White House draws to a close, how should we judge Obama’s record? Is the world a safer place now than when he took office? And behind all the policy making, is the...

More than two years after the overthrow of elected president Mohammed Morsi, Egyptians are going to the polls in the final stage of a promised return to parliamentary democracy. Morsi, whose government was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, remains in jail; President Sisi, who led the overthrow of Morsi’s government, has been accused of treating his opponents harshly - and press freedoms have been...

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region of the globe, with temperatures rising at least twice as quickly as the rest of the planet. While that means hardship for much of the area’s wildlife and indigenous peoples, it’s also creating many opportunities. As the ice melts, new, lucrative shipping routes are opening up and improving access to potential new oil fields, while valuable minerals are bein...

As European leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the many crises facing the continent, we ask whether the Union can survive the multiple shocks of migration, economic stress and the possibility of losing at least one of its key members. Join Owen Bennett-Jones and his panel in Brussels as they discuss the future of Europe. Has the dream of its founders, that of ever closer economic and political...

A special edition of Newshour Extra, recorded at the annual conference of the governing UK Conservative Party, discussing appropriate responses to Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria. Should EU and US sanctions, imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea, be re-assessed or perhaps used as a bargaining chip in negotiations over joint military action in Syria? Join James Coomarasamy for this...

When former CIA employee Edward Snowden blew the lid on the extent of digital surveillance by western governments two years ago, it sparked a fierce debate about the rights of citizens to privacy versus the duty of governments to protect against the threat of global terror. Having been exposed as colluding with these surveillance programmes, communications companies have recently sought to distanc...

Should political leaders be subject to term limits? Is power so intoxicating that too much of it sends you mad? There are those in power who seem convinced that if they stood aside the consequences would be disastrous, but perhaps allowing them to remain is far more damaging. The US has term limits on its national leaders, most of Europe does not. So why do European countries often insist that Afr...

Owen Bennett Jones and his guests are in Islamabad to discuss who is actually governing Pakistan. Two years into the civilian premiership of Nawaz Sharif, there is much talk of the growing influence of the military in all the key decisions. The army chief Raheel Sharif is also increasingly in the public eye, with what appears to be a concerted social media campaign to raise his national profile. A...

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...

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 Ra...

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...

***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...

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...

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...

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 countr...

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 see...

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...

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 lea...