The Interview

Ebola is wreaking havoc on three west African nations - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The official death toll is beyond 5000, the real victim-count is almost certainly much higher. The virus brings with it a lethal cocktail of fear, fractured communities and economic misery. Hardtalk speaks to Dr Geraldine O’Hara, a specialist in infectious diseases who has just returned from a stint working with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) in Sierra Leone. What is the key to beating Ebola?

Sir Nicholas Winton is now 105 years old, when he was just 29 he helped rescue more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution in Czechoslovakia. He hates being labelled a hero, but Sir Nicholas Winton is living proof that individuals can make an extraordinary difference - what motivated him?

Just how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to push, in his high stakes confrontation with the West over Ukraine? New allegations of Russian military incursions prompted Ukraine's president to talk of all-out war, and western leaders to threaten more sanctions. Hardtalk speaks to Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Russian prime minister in Putin's first presidential term, and is now a diehard opponent. Do most Russians remain confident their president knows what he is doing?

(Photo: Mikhail Kasyanov. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is 90 years old. His grip on power is still tight but it won’t last forever. In recent months the jostling for the succession has turned into a public punch-up - adding to the uncertainty in a country beset with political and economic problems. Hardtalk speaks to Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi. He wants to put an end to his country's international isolation. How can that happen while the old guard remains in place?

(Photo: Walter Mzembi. Tourism Minister, Zimbabwe. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

With international focus firmly on the power of the so-called Islamic State, has there been a lack of attention on the Assad regime and the role that it has played in the Syrian crisis? What hope is there for Syrian opposition groups who have so far failed to win significant international support or build an effective anti-Assad coalition? Hardtalk speaks to Hadi al-Bahra, President of the Syrian National Coalition, about the situation on the ground and the mood of the people. With the strength of the so-called Islamic State dominating the headlines, has the international community turned its back on the Syrian opposition?

(Photo: Hadi al-Bahra, President of the Syrian National Coalition, speaks at a UN news briefing. Credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Extra Time is in Melbourne Australia and if there’s one sport which can uniquely claim to be home-grown it is Australian rules football, a high octane mixture of running, kicking and sometimes brutal mid-air collisions.

One of the game’s greatest players is Adam Goodes, who is much more than just a sportsman. He’s of Aboriginal heritage and is the 2014 Australian of the Year – an award recognising not only his sporting talent but his public stand against racism, which was epitomised in 2013 when during a match at the MCG a teenage girl called Goodes an ape. He had her kicked out of the stadium and not for the first time racism in sport and society was at the centre of national debate In Australia. Now as Adam Goodes nears the end of his sporting career is he about to enter a new one as a politician?

Who can rescue Iraq and defeat the extremists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State? The militants have seized about a quarter of the territory of Iraq and there are near-daily reports of human rights abuses and deaths.

The crisis at the heart of the political leadership in Baghdad means a united Iraqi response has so far been lacking. Hardtalk speaks to Baghdad MP Mowaffak al-Rubaie - former national security adviser to Iraq.

Is the new Shia-led government under Prime Minister Abadi better able to combat the extremists?