Thursday, 30 August, 2007
- 30 Aug 07, 06:10 PM
Pakistan
London has been the scene this week for serious power-brokering over the future direction of Pakistan.
Today at the Dorchester Hotel, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif confirmed that he will return to Pakistan to challenge President Musharraf. President Musharraf, who ousted Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister eight years ago in a bloodless coup has threatened to arrest Sharif if he enters Pakistan. Meanwhile Benazir Bhutto has said she's close to securing a deal with President Musharraf in which he will agree to step down from the army and stand as a civilian candidate in the election.
So is Nawaz Sharif really the best hope Pakistan has for a return to democracy and an end to the political unrest which has been shaking the country in the last few months? We have an interview with Mr Sharif.
A & E
We have often heard complaints from hospital staff about how the plethora of targets distort clinical priorities. What we hear more rarely is concrete examples of what this means for patients.
Now a junior doctor has written a book about life working in a busy Accident and Emergency ward. Writing under a pseudonym to protect his anonymity, Dr Nick Edwards argues that although additional resources and targets on waiting times have led to improvements for some, the pressure to achieve those targets can mean medical staff fiddle the figures to ensure patients get the treatment they need. We'll be putting his criticisms to the government's Emergency Health Tzar.
Faking it
A hot topic at the moment is how broadcasters can restore trust in television. Something we've all been discussing here is when does artifice become deception? Now, in an attempt to re-build viewers' trust, Channel Five News has decided to ban "noddies" and "staged questions".
Tonight we'll attempt to show how TV news pieces are put together using these techniques and ask whether this is a bold move towards transparency or an unnecessary over-reaction. Let us know what you think here.
Diana and the Express
It's difficult not to be aware that tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of Princess Diana's death.
Over those ten years one newspaper in particular has assiduously followed every twist and turn in the story of what happened in that tunnel in Paris - the Daily Express. Why is this? Is it just a cheap lead for the Express or has the paper been giving its readers what they want?
A hot topic at the moment is how broadcasters can restore trust in television. Something we've all been discussing here is when does artifice become deception? 