World leaders on vacation

Russian President Vladimir Putin on vacaction

This week on The Listening Post we report on how world leaders plan their summer holidays with the media in mind and we speak to the exiled journalists from Myanmar who broadcast back to their country from Norway.

In our lead story Richard Gizbert looks at how presidents and prime ministers spend their vacations often with the media in tow.

Far from being an escape from the madding crowds, politicians plan their holidays as smart photo opportunities where they can reveal their non-political stripes.

This summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin showed his macho side in a series of photographs of him stripped to the waist enjoying the great outdoors in Siberia.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy also showed his wild side when he got into a tiff with a couple of photographers trying to get unofficial pictures of him on a boat trip.

 And in the United Staes, President Bush attracted criticism for the number of days off he has taken during his presidency – 430 and counting!

Salah Khadr travels to Scandinavia to meet the political exiles from Myanmar who have set up a television station in Norway broadcasting back into Myanmar.

Journalists in Myanmar risk jail if they report on government corruption or human rights abuses. Sometimes the only way to get the real story is to report from outside the country’s borders.

In Newsbytes, as the diplomatic row between Russia and Britain escalates, Russian officials blocked the BBC World service on its FM transmission in Moscow.

Saudi Arabia released its first ever music video called Malak Ghair Allah or You only Have God.

The religious establishment considers music un-Islamic, but the moral message in this song seems to have won them over.

Rounding off the show, is our video of the week. With world markets taking a beating, business news was  at fever pitch trying to cover the story. CNBC’s Jim Cramer was making the most noise. Hear what he had to say – or shout!

Watch this episode of The Listening Post here:

Part One:

Part Two:

This episode of The Listening Post aired from 24th August 2007

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