Sir Vartan Melkonian: From Beirut street child to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

What do we want from the movies we see? Judging from the global box office returns the answer is escapism, superheroes and awesome special effects. But that’s not how all A-list Hollywood directors ma...

18 Okt 201323min

Thanks to Edward Snowden, America's cyber-spy turned leaker, we now know US intelligence agencies backed by the British secretly monitor electronic communications all over the world. In Britain, Snowd...

16 Okt 201323min

Are winds of change blowing across Iran? The Islamic Republic's new president, Hassan Rouhani, has engineered a diplomatic opening with the United States. There's optimistic talk of compromise on the ...

14 Okt 201323min

In Britain healthcare is state-funded, free at the point of delivery to all citizens. The National Health Service is routinely described by politicians of all stripes as one of the country's greatest ...

11 Okt 201323min

Is it time to mourn the death of Egypt’s revolutionary dream? Civilians lead the government but real power lies with the armed forces. Emergency law, military courts, the outlawing of the Muslim Broth...

9 Okt 201323min

Thanks to money, media rights and commercialisation, cricket, a game of proud tradition, has been transformed into a multi-billion dollar sporting commodity. The cradle of this cricketing revolution h...

7 Okt 201323min

Opinion polls in Britain suggest public faith in politics and politicians has plummeted in the last decade. Why? A lot of powerful reasons lie within the pages of a dark political memoir written by Da...

4 Okt 201323min

For the second time in his presidency Barack Obama is eyeing the 'reset button' in his diplomatic toolkit. With Russia it misfired, so when it comes to Iran, what are the chances of overcoming three d...

2 Okt 201323min