Saturday, April 28, 2018

Is Peace on the Horizon between North and South Korea? | Inside Story


It was just one small gesture, one small step forward, but the significance of the move by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is certainly historic, and will be remembered for years to come.

Kim became the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea since the end of the war between the two countries in 1953. He was warmly welcomed and embraced by South Korea's President Moon Jae-In.

Both leaders were relaxed and smiling during small talk. But big and complicated issues need to be negotiated. After decades of military standoff between the two sides, their leaders made a declaration of peace and promised a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. So, is peace coming to the Korean peninsula?

Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: Aidan Foster Carter - Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea at Leeds University; Tong Zhao - Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Programme at Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy; Jasper Kim - Director for Conflict Management at Ewha Womans University in South Korea.


Friday, April 27, 2018

BBC: Question Time – April 16, 2018


Question Time's topics this week focus on the Windrush scandal and the customs union. Filmed in Bury St Edmunds.

Panellists: Matt Hancock MP (Conservative Party), Diane Abbott MP (Labour Party), Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party), Jennifer Johnson, Simon Evans.

All rights go to the BBC and Mentorn Scotland.


Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Will the US Withdraw from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal? | Inside Story


France and the United States have a long history that goes back centuries. From the American revolutionary war to the Statue of Liberty - the two countries have had strong cultural and political ties.

French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to build on that special bond, during his three-day state visit to Washington DC. And Donald Trump has rolled out the red carpet. But beyond the handshakes, smiles and lavish ceremonies, there are serious policy disagreements including the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which could threaten to put a strain on the special relationship.

Trump says he wants to withdraw from the agreement, while France and other European nations are urging him to stick with the deal. Iran, for its part, says if the US withdraws, it too will likely abandon the agreement. So, can Macron convince Trump to remain in the Iran deal?

Presenter: Jane Dutton | Guests: Hamed Mousevi - Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tehran University; Hillary Mann Leverett - A former State Department diplomat who negotiated with Iran; Oliver McGee - A former White House Senior Science & Technology Policy Advisor


Thursday, April 19, 2018

Will a New President Mean Change for Cuba? | Inside Story


Who will succeed the Castros - Fidel and Raúl - has been the subject of intense speculation in Cuba for decades. We now know it is Miguel Diáz-Canel, the 57-year-old Vice President. He was sworn in as president on Thursday, replacing Raúl Castro. But Raul, who is 87, will continue to play a big role in policy decisions as head of the ruling Communist party.

The biggest challenges the new president faces are economic. Although unemployment stands at less than three percent, earnings are low. The government is the main employer and state salaries average 30 dollars a month. Reforms to boost private enterprise introduced by Raúl Castro have been accompanied by cuts in subsidies and pensions. And Cuba has a dual currency system that distorts the economy. One is used to pay wages and local goods; the other in tourism and foreign trade. Unifying the two would raise the price of imports.

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault | Guests: Carlos Alzugaray, former Cuban Ambassador to the EU; Vicki Huddleston, former US Chief of Mission in Havana; Andrew Otazo, Executive Director of the Cuba Study Group


Prince Eddy, The King We Never Had


This revealing film uses newly discovered letters written by Prince Eddy himself to explore whether his early death saved Britain from a monster, or cheated the nation of a good king. For the first time, Eddy's own words serve in his defence in a fresh investigation of the remarkable kind Britain never had.

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines (2001 Documentary)


What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work-interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: the Life of William Haines details the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom.

Cuba without a Castro: A New Country on the Horizon?


Sunday, April 15, 2018

Im Zentrum: Großmächte auf dem Kriegspfad – Kein Ende der syrischen Tragödie


Can Arabs Solve Their Problems? | Inside Story


Arab heads of state discussed a wide range of issues from the wars in Yemen and Syria to Israel's role in the UN Security Council. But they were clear about what they will not be talking about. The air strikes by the US, UK and France in Syria are not on the agenda. Nor is the GCC crisis and the Saudi-led blockade on Qatar.

US President Donald Trump's plan to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem topped the agenda. Yemen is also on the table, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia heavily involved in the war and the humanitarian crisis there.

What can Arab leaders offer? And do these summits serve any purpose at all?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests: Sami Nader, Director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs; Mkhaimer Abu Sada, Professor of Political Science at Al Azhar University in Gaaz: Hakim Al Masmari, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of the Yemen Post


Something Strange Is Going On In Saudi Arabia


Saturday, April 14, 2018

Will Strikes Deter Assad from Using Chemical Weapons? | Inside Story


The US, the UK and France launch air strikes on Syria, targeting suspected chemical weapons sites. In what is the biggest military action against President Bashar.

Al Assad since the start of Syria's war 7 years ago, the US, UK and France have bombed multiple government facilities. The air strikes targeted a research centre outside the capital Damascus and two suspected chemical weapons storage sites near the city of Homs. The action was in response to an alleged chemical attack by Syria on civilians in the town of Douma last week.

The Syrian government claims to have shot down many of the more than a hundred missiles launched – and in Damascus people celebrated on the streets, honking their car horns in a show of defiance. Russia says the strikes are an act of aggression and warns of consequences. But what does this mean for the war in Syria? And will the strikes stop chemical attacks against civilians?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault | Guests: Alexey Khlebnikov, Middle East specialist at Russian International Affairs Council


Friday, April 13, 2018

The World This Week: To Strike or not to Strike: US and Allies Mull Response to Apparent Syria Chemical Attack


First came the horrific images reportedly out of the besieged Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta and claims of at least 40 dead. Then came Donald Trump's tweet warning Russia that he would fire missiles at Syria. But with the deadline for action passed, is striking Syria still a good strategy? Also on the program, Facebook's founder apologized before Congress for privacy breaches and agreed to some regulations. And Hungary's Viktor Organ's landslide election victory.

Professor Ian Kershaw - "Hitler's Place in History"


Will Trump End the Iran Nuclear Deal? | Al Jazeera English


In May, Trump faces a bigger deadline on whether to waive sanctions on Tehran; and, given his very public displeasure with the nuclear agreement, the prospects do not look good.

Observers believe the tensions between the two countries are driven largely by domestic US politics. Trump has recently replaced members of his administration that advocated the nuclear deal with hardliners who are calling for scrapping it. Iran, in turn, has indicated that it would not feel bound by the deal at all if the US walks away from it.

Al Jazeera's John Hendren reports from Washington.


Thursday, April 12, 2018

Is Putin Still In Full Control in the Kremlin? – BBC Newsnight


As tensions heighten between Vladimir Putin and Western leaders, Gabriel Gatehouse takes a look into Russia's power structure and how much control President Putin really has over the factions that surround him. The film does contain some flashing images.

Thursday, April 05, 2018

The Russian Revolution


The February Revolution (known as such because of Russia's use of the Julian calendar until February 1918) began on March 8, 1917 (or February 23 on the Julian calendar), when demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets in the Russian capital of Petrograd (now called St. Petersburg).

The Russian Revolution of 1905 was said to be a major factor to the February Revolutions of 1917. The events of Bloody Sunday triggered a line of protests. A council of workers called the St. Petersburg Soviet was created in all this chaos, and the beginning of a communist political protest had begun.

Overview. The Russian Revolution took place in 1917, during the final phase of World War I. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), replacing Russia's traditional monarchy with the world's first Communist state.

1917 Russian Revolution. The 1917 Russian Revolution was not, as many people suppose, one well organised event in which Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and Lenin and the Bolsheviks took power.

Bolshevik, ( Russian: “One of the Majority”) , plural Bolsheviks, or Bolsheviki, member of a wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party, which, led by Lenin, seized control of the government in Russia (October 1917) and became the dominant political power.


Sunday, April 01, 2018

Forever Young: The Documentary - BBC News


Is ageing a disease? One that can be 'cured'? BBC's Gabriela Torres meets the self-experimenters and scientists who are trying to dramatically extend our lives.