The Real Story

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 week's debate in front of a live audience as they discuss the question: should the West be doing business with Putin’s Russia?Photo credit: Alexander Nemenova/AFP/Getty Images

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 distance themselves from state monitoring and new technologies are emerging designed to give consumers the option of greater privacy. In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss whether Snowden’s revelations have been a gift to terrorists or whether personal freedoms have been rescued from the grip of Big Brother.(Photo: Digital art of a human eye. Credit: Science Photo Library)

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 African leaders should step down after two terms in office. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his distinguished panel of guests as they discuss the merits and abuses of personal power.Photo: Getty Images/ Jacques-Louis David's 1801 painting of Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by the Great Saint Bernard Pass

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. Are the men in uniform treating the civilian government as a democratic veneer for martial law by stealth? What are the consequences for both Pakistan and its neighbours?(Photo: Raheel Sharif (left). Credit: AFP/Getty Images. Nawaz Sharif (right). Credit: Getty Images)

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)

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)

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)

***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)

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

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)