MAY 2007
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Wednesday, 30th May,2007
POLES APART
After the Berlin Wall came down - now 17 years ago - would you believe East Germans were horrified to discover how many of their fellow citizens had been spies for the notorious Stasi secret police. But now Poland is having its "Stasi moment" with plans to open hundreds of thousands of once-secret files, threatening to expose Poles who collaborated with the country's former Communist regime. Debate is currently raging over whether the process will turn into a full-blown witch-hunt. Even Poland's internationally acclaimed foreign correspondent, the recently deceased Richard Kapuchinski, has been labelled a collaborator. Here's Olivia Rousset.
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Wednesday, 30th May,2007
XINRAN XUE INTERVIEW
They call her, affectionately, "China's first agony aunt", but Xinran Xue is actually a former teacher, writer, a Sino expert and talkback radio host, hence that earlier strange label agony aunt. Bookworms out there may know her better as the author of the bestseller 'The Good Women of China' based on the harrowing tales she heard from her Chinese listeners. Last week on the program Dateline heard the provocative views of British journalist and economist Will Hutton on both the pluses and minuses of the rapidly emerging Chinese giant, so earlier this evening George Negus talked with Xinran - these days London-based, but a regular visitor back to China - to get her take on the state of the globe's next big thing.
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Wednesday, 30th May,2007
THE GIRLS OF THE RED MOSQUE
For months now, students at one of Islamabad's most radical mosques have been on a campaign to 'Talibanise' Pakistan - in other words, turn it into a state that enforces the strictest version of Islam as the country's law. The students have defied both the police and government authorities. Along the way, they have adopted violent vigilante tactics, including kidnapping and torture, and have even set up their own sharia courts, with mullahs performing the role of judge and jury. In his second Dateline report on the challenges currently facing Pakistan, Nick Lazaredes discovered that these new Islamic warriors are not only men, but also young women and girls who say they are prepared to die for their cause.
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Wednesday, 23rd May,2007
COURTING TROUBLE IN KARACHI
When Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf moved in March to suspend the country's chief justice he clearly didn't bargain on the result - a revolt by lawyers and a massive public show of support for the judge that's become the biggest challenge to the dictator since he took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. Dateline's Nick Lazaredes is just back from Karachi where this national confrontation turned deadly. And a warning, viewers may find some footage disturbing.
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Wednesday, 23rd May,2007
WILL HUTTON INTERVIEW
And now to China, that intriguing mix of capitalism and communism whose thirst for raw materials is currently fuelling this country's prosperity. China's meteoric rise as a world economic power is almost beyond comprehension. So how about a couple of statistics to put it in perspective? For 25 years now, the Chinese economy has grown at an astonishing 9.5% per annum. At that rate, by the middle of this century, the emerging superpower will be the world's largest economy. So, is this going to be China's century? British economist and journalist Will Hutton doubts that the Chinese boom can continue and says the Communist Party must loosen its grip on the state even further. George Negus spoke from London with the former editor-in-chief of the 'Observer' newspaper and author of the very cleverly titled 'The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century' from London.
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Wednesday, 23rd May,2007
OFF SIDE IN ISRAEL
As we have come to expect, unfortunately, the Middle East has been anything but peaceful of late. In Lebanon, Arabs have been fighting Arabs, in Gaza, Hamas and Fatah have announced yet another shaky cease-fire, and of course, the struggle between the Israelis and Palestinians is never-ending. Invariably, these are the conflicts that grab the headlines. But, few realise there's another dimension to the struggle between Arab and Jew, this one within Israel itself. Surprisingly, one in five Israelis are Arabs, descendents of the Palestinians who did not flee with the founding of Israel back in 1948. That 20% of the population says it's discriminated against by the Jewish state. To see this internal conflict for herself, Dateline reporter Sophie McNeil travelled to Israel.
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Wednesday, 16th May,2007
CLARE SHORT INTERVIEW
How do we think history's going to view Tony Blair's 10 years as Britain's Prime Minister? So far, 'mixed' is probably the best word to describe the response reasonable achievements on the home front, but getting involved in Iraq a huge blunder. Blair's decision, along with the US and Australia, to wage war on Saddam Hussein created an enormous schism within his New Labour Party and the British public. Along the way, his then International development Secretary, Clare Short, resigned in disgust and has remained a thorn in his side ever since. So how does she feel about him now, as he prepares to leave Number 10? George Negus spoke with Clare Short from London.
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Wednesday, 16th May,2007
TIME TO TANGO
If you have got two left feet, you have probably watched in awe at that greatest of Argentinean icons, the tango. But, for a while there, the sensuous South American 4-step was in decline. Of late though, it's apparently undergone a spectacular revival. These days, post-military junta, Argentineans are feeling better about their country, its economy and their once-elusive freedoms. And it may not be a coincidence that, again, the country's dance halls are full. But Aaron Lewis found that the old tango traditionalists are being challenged by a younger generation's new up-beat techno-tango, or something like that.
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Wednesday, 16th May,2007
ALI ALLAWI INTERVIEW
For decades, Ali Allawi was an Iraqi exile who, after the fall of Saddam, went home and became a leading political player. When he witnessed the Iraqi disaster unfolded first hand. Harvard-educated, currently, Allawi is a senior advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, but between 2003 and 2005 he held the posts of minister for finance and interim minister for defence and trade. His definitive account of the tumultuous events of the past few years in Iraq - quite a tome hit the bookshops here in Australia this week. George Negus spoke with him from London earlier today.
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Wednesday, 16th May,2007
IRAN'S JEWS - SHALOM SALAAM
The fiercely Islamic Republic of Iran, next door to Iraq, is probably the last place you would expect to find a community of Jews openly practising their religion. Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is, after all, one of the world's most vocal Holocaust deniers. His vehement foreign policy is that Israel has no right whatsoever to exist. That said, Iran's Jewish community happens to be the largest in the Middle East, outside of Israel itself, that is. On assignment recently in Tehran, reporter Bronwyn Adcock found herself at a gathering of the devout in a city synagogue.
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Wednesday, 9th May,2007
VOICE FROM THE CAVE
Today, voters in East Timor went to the polls again in the final run-off vote to decide who will be their next president. The candidates are Jose Ramos Horta and a Fretilin rival, Jose Francisco 'Lu Olo' Guterres. But the final result won’t be known until later this week. With the campaigning under way, East Timor's most wanted man, fugitive rebel commander Alfredo Reinado, who's still in hiding, has released his own Osama bin Laden-style video. Basically, it's Reinado's version of East Timor's recent turbulent political history. What you're about to hear includes a quite remarkable allegation against the country's would-be president Jose Ramos Horta. On a recent trip to East Timor, Dateline's John Martinkus obtained a copy of the DVD. Here's John's report.
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Wednesday, 9th May,2007
ANTONIO GUTERRES
Well, what to do about the situation in Olivia Rousset's report - millions of lives thrown into chaos outside and inside Iraq with presumably no end on sight to the violence and upheaval causing the problem. Antonio Guterres is the former prime minister of Portugal. Currently, he's the United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees with the overall responsibility for the Iraqis fleeing the conflict in their battered homeland. George Negus spoke with him from Geneva earlier this evening.
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Wednesday, 9th May,2007
STATE OF DESPAIR
In Iraq's next-door neighbour, Jordan, with a population of just 5.5 million, they are currently trying to deal with close to 700,000 Iraqis who have fled the daily violence that is tearing their nation apart. In Jordan, Dateline's Olivia Rousset found that this largely unreported human tide - the greatest Middle Eastern refugee crisis in 60 years - is really straining the generosity and resources of the Jordanian people. A warning - you may find some of the images in this piece disturbing.
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State of Despair
To donate to UNHCR's Iraq Emergency Appeal in Australia go to
UNHCR or call 1300 361 288.
If you would like to contact "Yasser" directly by email [miraq_baghdad_1972@yahoo.com">Yasserm]
If you would like to help Abu Maher or the families in Ruwayshed camp please forward enquiries to [mdateline@sbs.com.au">Datelinem] and we will forward your message.
For more information on the situation for Iraqi refugees see
Refugees International
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Wednesday, 2nd May,2007
THE SHRINKING ALPS
And now to Europe's snow-clad Alps - or to be more precise right now - Europe's normally snow-clad Alps. The northern winter in Europe just gone was one of the warmest on record with the multibillion-dollar ski industry, in particular, hit - hit hard, in fact - by abnormally poor snowfalls. And now the experts are warning that future European ski seasons could be looking at more of the same. But it's not just the economic impact that has the locals worried. The very real fear is that in some parts of the continent's famous alpine ski fields, global warming could actually bring the mountains themselves tumbling down onto villages below. With his snowboard, Thom Cookes went to Austria, France and Switzerland to investigate what could be a literally shattering repercussion from climate change.
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Wednesday, 2nd May,2007
DAVID MILIBAND INTERVIEW
This morning, Australian business and political leaders woke up to this full-page ad in the 'Financial Review' placed by five senior private sector economists. Addressed to all Australian governments, it calls for "urgent action" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It makes the point that many other countries already have programs under way - the implication being that Australia was falling way behind. The advert didn't mention the UK by name, but it could have. The Blair Government - yes, it still is the Blair Government - has already committed to a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Charged with delivering this ambitious pledge is the UK Environment Secretary, David Miliband, just 41, one of the rising stars of the Labour Party and widely touted as a future Labour leader. Earlier this evening George Negus asked David Miliband why such a radical move to storm ahead with legally binding targets?
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Wednesday, 2nd May,2007
THE GREAT MELTDOWN
Welcome to a special Dateline on what has to be the global topic of the moment - climate change, its true impact and what the heck do we do about it? Right now, our own increasingly dry and drought-ridden continent seems clear proof that something drastic is occurring with the world's climate. But, ironically, the part of the globe that appears to be warming most quickly is actually the coldest and furthest from view - the wilderness of Antarctica. Recently, Dateline reporter Aaron Lewis took a remarkable voyage to the great white continent to see for himself how this magnificently wild and beautiful region and its inhabitants were faring as the earth continues to warm up.
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