- Richard Porter
- 29 May 07, 03:46 PM
Name two daily news programmes on British television which concentrate only on international events. Can't do it? Actually there's only one - it runs on the digital channel 91热爆 Four and until Friday it was known as The World.
From tonight it has a new name, World News Today, and a new slot, 7pm. But some things stay the same.
Its focus remains on putting global events into context, explaining and analysing significant stories using the 91热爆's huge network of correspondents around the globe.
It's unashamedly serious; but that doesn't mean it's not engaging or stimulating. And it's still going to be presented by Zeinab Badawi, who is an outstanding presenter and interviewer.
The reason for the change? Well the programme has always been produced by 91热爆 World on behalf of 91热爆 Four, and we've been gradually developing the concept of World News Today across our key hours of the day.
It made sense to extend it to the programme we make for 91热爆 Four, using essentially the same structure and taking the opportunity to refresh the graphics and music which identifies the programme.
We will soon have four editions of World News Today on air, sharing the same structure and appearance, but each targeted at a slightly different audience. Tonight's programme will be for 91热爆 Four viewers in Britain and, simultaneously, 91热爆 World's audiences in continental Europe. Others are (or will be) aimed at the USA, South Asia and the Far East.
At a time when foreign news coverage is under pressure in many areas of the British media, we're proud to produce a programme which aims to produce a truly international perspective on events, and we think there's demand out there from among you, the audience.
As a taster for tonight, we'll be looking at sanctions against Sudan, the crisis facing the leadership of the Israeli government, and the closure of one of the biggest TV stations in Venezuela. We'd love to know what you think, whether you're watching in the UK or elsewhere.
Richard Porter is head of
In this week's Newswatch, the programme about viewers' thoughts on 91热爆 TV News, Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon responds to criticism of an investigation into the radiation risks of wi-fi.
Also, Vicky Taylor, editor of Have Your Say, discusses a recent live programme featuring Colonel Gaddafi after the Libyan leader walked out halfway through the interview. You can watch the programme by clicking here.
- Alistair Burnett
- 29 May 07, 11:32 AM
What have the increased prospect of a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain and the diminishing prospect of Kosovo getting independence next month got in common? Well, the short answer is Russia's reassertiveness on the world stage.
On The World Tonight and Today this week we are taking an in-depth look at Russia to try to make sense of how the country has changed and where it may be going.
When Russia reduced the flow of gas to Ukraine at the beginning of last year, European consumers were hit as some of that gas was also bound for Europe which gets an increasingly large proportion of its oil and gas from Russia. Moscow insisted the dispute with Ukraine was commercial - essentially Russia wanted to start charging market rates to its neighbour instead of the subsidised prices left over from the Soviet era and they accused the Ukrainians of stalling in negotiations. Some Ukrainians and Western Europeans said it was political because Moscow did not like the new pro-Western government in Ukraine.
Whatever the reason, it sent shock waves through government circles in Europe and provided impetus for plans for EU countries to diversify their energy supplies.
In Britain, part of the reasoning behind the government's decision that new nuclear power stations are needed is the worry that in the near future the country could become too dependent on energy imports from places like Russia which can't be trusted to keep the gas flowing even if the bills are paid.
Russia is also taking a different line from the West on the future of the Serbian province of Kosovo. Kosovo has been run by the United Nations for the past eight years since NATO drove Yugoslav security forces out of the province during their offensive against the separatist guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
The US and many EU countries want the province - largely populated by Albanians but with a Serb minority - to be given independence from Serbia, but the Serbs oppose this and have offered autonomy instead.
Russia says the decision on the future of Kosovo has to be agreed by Serbia as well as the Albanian majority, and given the future of the province should be decided by the United Nations Security Council, Russia could veto a resolution that leads to independence.
There are several other areas where Russia has a different policy to the West - over the Iranian nuclear programme, over the expansion of Nato, over America's plans to base some of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe to name the most prominent ones.
In the 1990s the Americans got used to Moscow either supporting its policies or at least not opposing them, so why has that changed?
Russia has some of the world's largest reserves of oil and gas as well as other commodities, and in the past few years, the rising price of these resources that are fuelling economic growth around the world, but especially in China, has led to a rapid recovery of the Russian economy which had hit rock bottom under Yeltsin in the 1990s. With the return of economic strength has come a return of self-confidence and independence in its foreign policy and a consolidation of central political power by President Putin.
How has this been done and why has it happened?
This week we want to try to answer these questions. The World Tonight's reporter Gabriel Gatehouse who used to work for the 91热爆鈥檚 Russian Service will report for the programme from around the country and the 91热爆's Diplomatic Editor and former Moscow correspondent Bridget Kendall has been to provincial Russia for Today.
We hope it helps to explain recent events and put them into a wider perspective.
Alistair Burnett is editor of the World Tonight
The Times: Columnist David Aaronovitch on the increasingly tabloid nature of television, referring to the 91热爆 and the Ipswich murders, Virgina Tech and Panorama's Scientology programme. ()
The Guardian: "91热爆 Worldwide is creating a digital team to develop and launch of a number of community-based, video-rich websites." ()
