First, the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was placed under house arrest in what we were told was not a coup, then sacked by his own Zanu-PF party, but refused to step down, only to step down a day later. We’ll be getting you up to speed on the twists and turns of the Zimbabwean Coup d'etat, as well as asking how history will judge the ousted President. The UK Chancellor delivered the autumn budget on Wednesday, and despite Philip hammond’s best attempts to lighten the mood, there’s not really much to laugh about given the projections of Britain's economic growth. Thursday was ‘Thanksgiving’ in the United States, the annual celebration of the country’s colonial beginnings - and of course food, family, football, and a presidential “turkey pardon”… But huge swathes of the US population don’t see the day as a celebration, rather a “national day of mourning”. In all the news about the UK budget, you’d be forgiven for missing the vote earlier this week on ditching EU human rights post Brexit… A move which critics of Theresa May’s government say is nothing short of a sop to hard brexiters, riled up at the prospect of a potential 80 billion divorce bill. The former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić, nicknamed the ‘butcher of Bosnia’, was this week sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. His name is synonymous with insanity and violence - cult leader Charles Manson died this week at 83… We look back at the infamous killings carried out by the “Manson family”, and the strange fascination Charles Manson has inspired in popular culture over the years. The former leader of Scottish Labour Kezia Dugdale, has sparked a bonfire of controversy in the corridors of Holyrood this past week, with the announcement that she’ll be a contestant on ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity Get me out of here’. We try to understand what all the fuss is about All that and more on this week's programme.

The World This Week

24th November 2017

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a Zimbabwean military official made that announcement after troops occupied the state broadcaster and placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest. We take a look at events as they’ve been unfolding, and ask what this coup - which supposedly isn’t a coup - means for Zimbabwe. The UK Government has been accused of economic murder - one hundred and twenty thousand counts of economic murder - as a new landmark study analyses the impact of austerity measures. On Wednesday night, Donald Trump returned from his two week tour of Asia, but how did it go? We’ve got a detailed report on the US President’s Asia tour, as well as analysis of what it all means. Calls for an industrial strategy for Scotland as over 1000 jobs are at risk as engineering firm BiFab faces potential administration. And we take a look at the 16th Annual Carrying Stream Festival, this year paying tribute to two late greats of the Scottish folk and traditional music community.

17th November 2017

Another mass shooting in the US prompts renewed calls for tougher vetting on Gun ownership - but President Trump doesn’t agree. We take a look at the reluctance, not just to take action, but even to talk about reforming US firearm regulations amongst the country’s lawmakers. This Sunday is remembrance day - We look back at the conflicts which gave birth to the Poppy appeal, and ask whether that symbol has been politicised in recent years. We speak to the columnist and trade unionist Cat Boyd about what she calls “compulsory poppy lobbyists”. Edinburgh’s usher hall was indeed full to the brim last Saturday, with members of the Scottish independence Movement, and we’ll have a special report on the Scottish independence convention’s building bridges to yes event. Another week, and another cabinet minister down for Theresa May - where does the sharp fall from grace for Priti Patel fit into the ongoing disaster that is Theresa May’s premiership? And… Could BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers’ Parish council election POSSIBLY be referencing real world events? A recent General election perhaps? All that and more on this week's programme.

10th November 2017

Reports emerged this week of sexual harassment and abuse in UK Politics both at Westminster and Holyrood. We speak with the 50:50 campaign and ask if equal representation could play a role in combatting sexual harassment in politics. It’s been another tumultuous week for the Catalan independence movement, just hours after the autonomous Spanish region declared independence, high ranking elected officials were arrested or faced charges - the Catalan President travelled to Brussels seeking support from the EU. Protests earlier this month in Australia are expected to be repeated this weekend following the Australian government’s closure of the manus island offshore detention centre, leaving over six hundred men there with no water, food, electricity or medicine. Remember, remember, the 5th of November The Gunpowder Treason and plot… We look at the BBC mini series, starring Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington, on the failed gunpowder plot of 1605. All that and more, on this week's programme.

3rd November 2017

We attempt to bring you up to speed with the concerns being raised over the protection of EU citizens' rights, we’ll be joined by former SNP MSP Christian Allard. The Scottish Green Party’s conference was in Edinburgh last week, under the banner of “leading the change” - Scotland’s (other) pro-independence party claimed it was behind more than a few major policies implemented by the SNP government. As the Israeli Government announces plans to roll out thousands of new settlement homes in the occupied west bank - we ask what’s prompted this aggressive shift in gears, as well as where it leaves the process towards peace between Israel and Palestinians. The Welsh pro independence party Plaid Cymru met in Caernarfon for their conference last week, we talk to party leader Leanne Wood. Donald Trump has faced criticism this week from two republican senators, but given his low approval ratings and public opinion - we ask if this headline should really be - Donald Trump has faced criticism from only two republican senators. And what happens when the man behind landmark comedy series like The Day Today, Alan Partridge and The Thick of It, turns his hand to an altogether darker subject matter? Armando Iannucci’s latest film offering has been met with a mixture of praise and skepticism, and Russia’s present day communist party want it banned - we’ll be taking a look at ‘The Death of Stalin’.

27th October 2017

Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese Investigative journalist, was killed this week by a bomb placed under her car. Galizia was well known across Malta and around the world for uncovering major corruption scandals at the highest level of government. We speak to Transparency international about the dangers faced by journalists. The UK government faces defeat in the house of commons over its controversial universal credit scheme, losing by 299 votes to ZERO as tory MPs boycott the vote. As the Spanish government gears up to suspend Catalonia’s autonomous status, we look at what that means, how it’s likely to be implemented - and the historical context of this constitutional crisis. The Hashtag MeToo has gone viral around the globe this week, shedding light on the extent of sexual harassment and abuse that women face in all walks of life - we’ll be taking a look at the discussion around sexual harassment with Scottish Women’s Aid’s Dr Marsha Scott. And it's been a rather busy week for US President Donald Trump, we’ll bring you a round-up of the latest controversies from across the Atlantic where, amongst other things, Trump is coming under fire for telling a widow that her husband, a serviceman who was killed in Niger, knew what he had signed up for.

20th October 2017

Full coverage of the SNP Conference in Glasgow, Brexit negotiations and tennis analogies, Donald Trump's u-turn on DACA relief, the latest from Catalonia and the Green Party Conference in Harrogate.

13th October 2017

As the events of Sunday’s referendum on Catalan independence sink in, we take a look at the violent reaction of the Spanish Government, and the road ahead for Catalonia - with the help of an MEP who was part of the international delegation overseeing the vote. Also on the program - The United States is facing widespread criticism for refusing to back a UN resolution condemning the use of the death penalty for the “crime” of same sex relations - we’ll be looking at the justification given by the US. It’s no secret that Prime Ministers spend a long time planning their annual party conference speeches - but was this how Theresa May wanted HER big comeback speech to be remembered? We look back at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, and ask just how tenable Theresa May’s position is now. It wasn’t just Theresa May’s speech that made it a difficult week for the UK Government, MEPs voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion to delay brexit trade negotiations in a debate that saw blow after blow being delivered to the UK Government. CLIP ** A Scottish Government report has shed light on the sociological impact of the private renting sector - we’ll be talking to Common Weal’s head of policy Ben Wray about Common Weal’s report on the matter and their housing conference.

6th October 2017

The UK Labour Party heads to Brighton for its annual conference, and seemingly in higher spirits than they’ve seen in years - but as Jeremy Corbyn rides the wave of popular support, not everyone agrees that a new consensus is forming around his brand of socialist revival politics... US President Donald Trump has sparked a debate across the sporting world over the past week after calling on the NFL to sack players that kneel during the national anthem... 34 years after a referendum to ban abortion, the Irish government have announced that a referendum that could reverse that ban will be held next year... The far right AfD enter the german parliament after last Sunday’s elections, and we’ll be looking at the impact that vote could have on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s power and sway in the European Union.

29th September 2017

Constitutional crisis unfolds in Catalonia, as Spain looks set to resist any and all attempts for the devolved government to hold a referendum on independence, we have in depth coverage of the events unfolding this week. One year on from the United Nations historic New York Declaration on refugees and migrants, and this week criticisms have been raised stating that no real progress has been made by the international community to action the promises made. As the UK Labour Party packs its collective suitcase for the annual conference in Brighton on Sunday, we’ll be taking a closer look at proposed changes from its national executive, on how party leaders are elected. US President Donald Trump gave his maiden speech to the United Nations this week, and while his comments on North Korea have dominated global headlines we’ll be taking a closer look at what else his speech tells us about the Trump administration’s foreign policy aims. And, when the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson said her party was the “Chumbawamba of politics”, we thought we’d ask Chumbawamba - or at least their former lead guitarist Boff Whalley, if he agreed

22nd September 2017

20 years of Scottish devolution, the anniversary of the fascist coup in Chile, parents sue their school for allowing a child to wear a dress, and who is Hope Hicks?

15th September 2017

8th September 2017 by Jack Foster | Carolyn Scott

8th September 2017

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