Zoya Phan

The world has reacted with condemnation to the Myanmar military government's brutal clampdown on protests in the country - the biggest such wave of demonstrations in the nation in nearly two decades. 

 

Activists on the ground in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, are reporting a death toll of nearly 200 since the government crackdown began on Wednesday, following protests over a sudden massive hike in the price of fuel last month.

 

Sir David talks to Zoya Phan, in exile from Myanmar, and Razali Ismael, a former UN envoy to the country, about the situation in the country and what, if anything, the world can do.

 

 

 

Shahbaz Sharif

Read the interview with Shahbaz Sharif here

Shahbaz Sharif, the former chief minister of Punjab and brother of the exiled former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, talks to Sir David about the decision by the Pakistani supreme court to allow President Musharraf to stand in the country's upcoming elections next week despite still being head of the country's army.

 

Shahbaz Sharif says that the judges have been pressurised and threatened by Musharraf and his cronies into making the decision and reveals that his brother will return to Pakistan in the very near future, possibly around 18 October. 

 

He also spoke about the treatment Sharif received at the hands of the security forces - which he compares with Hitler's Gestapo - when he was deported from Pakistan earlier this month. 

 

He said that contrary to some reports, his brother had no idea he was being deported when he was put on the plane at Islamabad. 

 

Watch this Pakistan segment on YouTube 

 

 

Mario Vargas Llosa

Sir David talks to Mario Vargas Llosa, the writer and former Peruvian presidential candidate, about the recent extradition of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to the nation to face charges of human rights abuses and corruption. He asks: Is it a political set up or a genuine attempt to prove accountability for corruption and human rights?

 

Llosa says he hopes that a very important event in the history of Latin America, the first time "a dictator will face trial for his crimes", will have an impact in dissuading future dictators from repeating history.

 

 

 

Sir David talks to the journalist and author Mariane Pearl, widow of Daniel Pearl, the journalist murdered in Pakistan five years ago while researching an article on extremist groups in the country. Her memoir, A Mighty Heart, has just been made into a film starring actress Angelina Jolie.

 

Pearl talks about how the tragedy affected her life and the legacy of her husband that she has passed on to their son.

 

 

 

Saeb Erekat

The US is attempting to build up support for an upcoming peace conference on a Palestinian state even as Israel continues action on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks.

 

Sir David talks to Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, about the issues with Hamas and the need to resume dialogue with the group as the peace conference approaches.

 

 

 

 

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