Frost over the world - raila odinga
Frost Over the World

Raila Odinga

Plus: Bhutto’s husband, soaring oil prices and China’s hopes for the Olympics.

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Raila Odinga presents his case for a re-run of
presidential polls in Kenya

Bloody clashes between loyalists of Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s president, and Raila Odinga, the opposition candidate, have left around 500 dead since the disputed presidential vote on December 27.

Odinga gives Sir David an update on the situation in his country and says Kibaki has so far refused to meet him. Odinga says he will be ready when the time comes for talks with Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, as a mediator.

Odinga claims the elections were rigged and that the solution to the violence that ensued is to conduct a re-run of the presidential polls.
He suggests sacking the electoral commission, which he says was instrumental in the alleged vote rigging as all commissioners bar two were appointed by Kibaki, according to Odinga.
Asif Ali Zadari
 

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Zadari tells of his grief at his wife’s death 

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader, as she travelled from an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 shocked the world.

She had returned from eight years in exil only a month earlier and was due to compete for a historic third term as Pakistan’s leader.

With the election now postponed until February Asif Ali Zadari, Bhutto’s husband, joins Sir David to discuss what the future holds for Pakistan and the grieving for his late wife.

Zadari also gives us his own account of the killing and its aftermath and reaffirms Bhutto’s commitment to democracy.

Ruth Lea

 

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Lea says Opec countries stand to benefit
the most from rising oil prices

Economist Ruth Lea joins the show to discuss the implications of oil reaching the $100-a-barrel mark.

She says geo-political turmoil such as that in Pakistan, tight energy stockpiles, a weak US dollar, and even a bout of cold weather triggered a flood of speculative buying, leading to the price rise.

Lea explains how there is very little spare capacity while demand is soaring. For her, the era of cheap oil prices is over and the main beneficiaries are the oil-producing countries.

Watch the interviews with Asif Ali Zadari and Ruth Lea on YouTube

Wim Wenders

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Wim Wenders discusses the strengths of
independent cinema

It is awards season but this year the writers’ strike has been responsible for cancelling the Golden Globe ceremony and there is no telling what will happen to the Oscars.

Wim Wenders, a film director, talks about the state of the film industry and muses on his artistic achievements.

He backs strikers’ demands saying that a good script is the basis for a successful film – more so than the cast or even the director – especially in Hollywood.

Wenders explains why he believes the movie industry is in good shape thanks to independent cinema producing stronger films.

Watch the interview with Win Wenders on YouTube

Liu Guijin

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Liu says the 2008 Olympics will impact
favourably on China’s image across the world

As Beijing prepares to host the 2008 Olympics, Sir David ask Liu Guijin, the Chinese special envoy to Darfur, whether the games will change the way in which China is viewed by the rest of the world.

Liu runs through the governmental and economic changes that he says will ensure a positive image of China emerges.

He also expands on the role China will have internationally in places such as Darfur.

James Caan

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Caan now stars in a popular British
TV programme

James Caan, one of Britain’s top Asian business men, has joined the popular TV programme Dragons’ Den where contestants ask a panel of successful entrepreneurs for money to launch their own business.

Caan himself started from nothing after coming to Britain in the 1960s from Pakistan and far from forgetting his roots he wants government action to help Pakistani communities integrate more in the UK.

Watch the interviews with Liu Guijin and James Caan on YouTube

Frost Over The World airs at 18:00GMT every Friday on Al Jazeera English and is repeated during the week.

 
This episode of Frost over the World aired from January 11, 2008
 

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