GEORGE SOROS INTERVIEW- Wednesday 25th April, 2007
As
the mega-rich go, 77-year-old Jewish American financier George Soros is
a rare bird. Not only is he an outrageously generous philanthropist,
he's also a political activist and global powerbroker. In the last US
presidential elections, for instance, he tossed in a lazy $25 million
to get George Bush out of the White House - for him, a rare failure. As
chairman of his own Open Society Institute, the Hungarian-born Soros
supports causes that have ranged from Solidarity in Poland to needle
exchange programs for drug addicts and pro-democracy campaigns in the
former Soviet Union, Africa and Asia. In Canada recently, George Negus
caught up with the normally interview-shy Soros.
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DR ANWAR IBRAHIM INTERVIEW - Wednesday 18th April, 2007
Remember
Anwar Ibrahim? Well a few years back, he was regarded as the next big
thing in Asian politics. Indeed, he was tipped to become the prime
minister of Malaysia. Well, after six years in jail for corruption - he
was acquitted on sodomy charges - he's mounting a pretty bold comeback.
And now, despite still being officially banned from political activity
in Malaysia, 60-year-old Anwar has returned to the political fray. In
fact, his plan is to lead the oppostion against the ruling UMNO party
and Malaysia's current Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, in the next
election. George Negus caught up with him recently in Vancouver.
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PROFESSOR AMIN SAIKAL INTERVIEW - Wednesday 11th April, 2007
John
Howard's announcement yesterday that the Australian troop numbers in
Afghanistan will be doubled, included a chilling warning that the
public - in an election year that means voters - should be prepared for
casualties. He stressed that the 300 extra Australians would be more
'proactive' in hunting down the resurgent Islamic radicals, the
Taliban. His announcement came the day after news that six Canadian
soldiers had been killed when their vehicle triggered a hefty roadside
bomb. Clearly, with the Taliban promising a spring offensive, the
additional Australian forces are moving into an increasingly dangerous
theatre of war. Professor Amin Saikal - himself of Afghan descent - is
the Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at the ANU in Canberra and
George Negus spoke with him earlier this evening.
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DR JOSE RAMOS HORTA INTERVIEW - Wednesday 11th April, 2007
Despite
East Timor’s recent history of violence, it's actually a mark
of East
Timor's fledgling democracy that this week's presidential race
attracted eight candidates and, surprisingly, according to UN
observers, the polling booths were peaceful. The way the election works
in East Timor is if no candidate gains a clear majority first time
round - and none of the candidates has - they'll have to have a run-off
election later this month between the two leading candidates. As the
counting stands tonight, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the country's
interim prime minister, Jose Ramos Horta, is amongst the frontrunners.
George Negus spoke with him earlier today from Dili.
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MORGAN TSVANGIRAI INTERVIEW - Wednesday 4th April, 2007
It
is pretty hard to forget the pictures from Zimbabwe like the ones
shown of oppostion leader Morgan Tsvangirai, with his swollen face and
his scalp slashed after his savage beating at the hands of Robert
Mugabe's henchmen. Like Morgan’s Movement for Democratic
Change party
colleague, former Australian resident and Zimbabwean activist Sekai
Holland, who was also viciously battered by Mugabe's thugs, a few days
ago Tsvangirai fled to South Africa to get much-needed medical care.
George Negus spoke with Morgan Tsvangirai from his safe house in
Johannesburg.
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Please Note: More interviews will be added as time permits.