The Real Story

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)

There is now compelling scientific evidence that repeated head injuries in contact sports can result in permanent brain damage. But how seriously are sporting authorities taking this latest research? The Rugby World Cup kicks off this weekend in Britain with new tighter regulations intended to reduce severe concussion injuries.

The American Football season is also getting under way with the country’s most popular sport under fire from former players and doctors for its failure to protect players adequately. James Coomarasamy will be joined by an expert panel, including medical experts and former players. Should more drastic measures be taken to reduce such injuries? Should some sporting contests be banned outright? And, how best to protect those playing in schools and colleges from the dangers inherent in these sports?

Photo Credit: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Across the developing world there is an unprecedented demand for education, and to meet it countries are rapidly developing their higher education systems. It’s seen as a vital path to success and a way out of poverty. But existing education systems are increasingly unable to cope with a rapidly growing global population. How will India find employment for the many tens of millions of students seeking to enter the workplace over the next twenty years? Will those students find their education has been a worthwhile investment? And is the Western education system really the best model for success in a more connected world? Owen Bennett Jones tackles these questions with a panel of experts at one of India's brand new institutions - Shiv Nader University, near Delhi.

(Picture: Indian pupils listen to a radio broadcast of a speech marking Teachers Day at a school in Bhopal, India. Credit: EPA)

The conflict in Yemen has descended into a humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions, largely unseen by the rest of the world. What began during the Arab Spring with a popular uprising to oust a long-time autocrat, has developed into a complex proxy war that's drawn in both Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two great Sunni and Shia powers in the Middle East. And into this fractured state, jihadists from both al-Qaeda and Islamic State are gaining ground. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts as they discuss whether regional solutions to the crisis can be found, and whether the forces pulling Yemen apart have wider implications for instability across the Arab world.

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images (Yemeni supporters of the Huthi rebels at a rally in the capital Sana'a protesting against air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition)

Are global financial markets on the edge of a precipice, or have the dramatic falls in China’s markets been contained? After the crash of 2008, President Obama assured the world that secure measures had been put in place to prevent another financial crisis. But markets are fluctuating alarmingly and traders from New York to Shanghai are nervous about what the next few weeks will bring. Have we learned the right lessons from previous financial crises? And are we passing those lessons on to the economists of tomorrow? In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones is joined by a panel of experts to consider if the global financial system is fundamentally flawed, or whether it’s performing exactly as it should, self-correcting inflated markets to reflect fundamental economic realities.

(Photo: A Paris trader in August 2011. Credit: AFP Photo)