Palestine’s bid for statehood

Next week’s UN general assembly will be asked to vote on the Palestinian initiative for UN recognition of their state and full membership of the UN. The US might veto the plan, but what impact will such a vote have and what are the potential ramifications?

Dr Nabil Shaath, the former Palestinian foreign minister, joins Sir David to discuss the impact of the UN membership, representing Palestine and what will happen to the PLO’s status.

The Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN is causing reverberations around the world and not everyone welcomes it. The Israeli historian Benny Morris, a professor at Ben-Gurion University, described the Palestinan Authority’s plans for official recognition by the UN as an assault that will result in waves of Palestinian violence. Morris talks to Sir David about statehood for Palestinians, Israeli settlements and the Middle East conflict.

The European finance ministers met in Poland to discuss the plight of the Euro. Poland’s finance minister told the European parliament this week that Europe is in danger, stressing that if the eurozone breaks up, the European Union will not be able to survive.

Sir David is joined by Petros Fassoulas, the head of the European movement in the UK, to talk about the problem of the eurozone, the Greece’s debt crisis, austerity measures and euro bonds.

Seven months ago, Colin Firth received the Oscar for best actor in The King’s Speech. Now, he is back on the screen with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Sir David speaks to Firth about his career and his latest movie.  

Wolfgang Puck is a restaurateur with a famous restaurant in Beverly Hills and is responsible for the Oscar afterparties. The Austrian talks about his career and his passion for food.

Rufus Bousquet, the foreign minister of the Caribbean island of St Lucia, which is one of the world’s almost 200 independent nations. He explains how the global financial crisis has affected St Lucia, and talks about meeting Muammar Gaddafi and the conflict in Libya.