The Real Story

'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 recruit foreign fighters to the cause? Will it continue to inspire militants from Libya to the Philippines? This week on Newshour Extra Owen Bennett Jones and a panel of experts look at the future of one of the most successful Islamist groups of recent times and ask how will IS fight back?(Photo of man removing Islamic State flag by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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 infrastructure programme to stimulate trade flows. This week on Newshour Extra Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss whether the era of free trade is at risk and which countries will provide leadership in pushing globalisation forward.(Image: The main gates of the Tata steelworks in Wales. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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 Health System better and more fair?(Photo: People protesting against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Credit: Getty Images)

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 Extra this week, Owen Bennett Jones is in Athens to discuss the consequences of living with long-term austerity and the prognosis for economic recovery.Photo: Anti-austerity protest in Athens, May 2017. Credit: Getty Images

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 links is already starting to have an impact with seaports in the region now closed to Qatari-flagged vessels. This week on Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss why Qatar’s Arab neighbours have turned against it and how will a dangerous situation be defused.Photo: a Saudi woman and a boy walking past the Qatar Airways branch in the Saudi capital Riyadh, after it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia following a severing of relations between major gulf states and gas-rich Qatar. Credit: Getty Images

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 whether old ideologies allegiances have been swept aside to be replaced by new and stronger ties fostered by a more individual brand of politics.

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 ratings are rock bottom, street protests against him are growing, and the Supreme Court has now ordered him to answer police questions about the allegations against him. On this week's Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests ask how Brazil, once hailed as a bright hope of emerging BRICS nations, has reached this point of crisis and whether the corruption investigations can clean up the mess.Photo: Two Brazilian students shows their hands with the slogan: 'Enough of Corruption' written on them. Credit: Getty Images

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 soldier patrol the streets of London, 24th May 2017. Credit: Getty Images

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 there evidence that Trump’s business connections to Russia are other than legitimate. But did Russia try to influence the election outcome? And what about the stream of stories linking members of Trump’s team to Russia? As a special counsel is appointed to oversee the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election, Owen Bennett Jones and panel of expert guests marshal the facts and explain what is known for sure about Donald Trump’s longstanding relationship with Russia.Photo: Donald Trump in White House talking on phone to President Putin, 28 January 2017. Credit: Getty Images

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 power will the next president have to set a new direction for the country? At a time when the world is looking at Iran following its nuclear deal with the west, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss what difference this presidential election will make.Photo: Woman voting in Iranian parliamentary elections 2016. Credit: Getty Images