British TV presenter Louis Theroux (son of Paul) parachuted into South Africa again, this time for the BBC, to look at the policing of crime in Johannesburg. The film focuses on the private security business, mainly the controversial Mapogo a Mathamaga, who mete out violence on the spot to suspected criminals ("an African solution to an African problem," says a farmer who has Mapogo on retainer).
Glasgow officials would like to project an image of a city full of energy and life, with ambitious plans for the 21st century but Glasgow and indeed Scotland also have another image that they desperately want to shed, it is one of religious hatred.This is a film about two communities, one Protestant, the other Catholic and the centuries old rivalries between them, it is also a film about two o
Back in May of 2016, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, a reporter for the BBC was expelled from the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea for allegedly showing disrespect and 'distorting facts'. In this Panorama special Rupert gains the opportunity to share his side of story and provides us with a detailed account of what actually happened.We hear of his detention and how officials treated him whilst being held i
If you look up at the nights sky you will see billions of stars, you can't help but wonder that surely somewhere in that vastness other life must exist. Now scientists are closer than ever to finding the answer thanks to Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler is the most powerful planet hunter ever built and it is making astonishing discoveries.The sheer number of plants that are out there has taken t
On the night of the 29th of December 1940, German bombers struck London with a vengeance. At these darkest of hours Britain's Prime Minister recognised the huge importance of saving one building, ordering at once that at all cost St. Paul's cathedral must be saved. As fire crews fought the flames all around a photographer grabbed his camera, took the shot and happened to capture a
Professor Niall Ferguson examines the origins of the pillars of the world’s financial system, and how behind every great historical phenomenon – empires and republics, wars and revolutions – there lies a financial secret.Episode 1: Dreams of Avarice. From Shylock’s pound of flesh to the loan sharks of Glasgow, from the ‘promises to pay’ on Babylonian clay tablets to the Medici banking system, Pr
It goes without saying that Northern Ireland has a troubled history, for 30 years loyalists mainly Protestants fought to keep Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom but on the flip side there were republicans, mainly Catholics who fought for a united Ireland. Nearly 4,000 people lost their lives as a result of this conflict.In 1998 the Good Friday peace agreement was signed and with it what is
In the South American, Suriname Mountains, the precious metal gold can be found everywhere, from political power to the jewellery being worn by the locals. The effects of the gold mining which is occurring here seeps into all aspects of society. For many Surinamese, the gold industry is a necessary source of income but it is destroying the environment and the health of those around it.In this
South Africa, the continents biggest success story and one of the most stunning countries in the world, but this country has a very dark past. For over a century a white supremacist government controlled the nation and brutally oppressed black people. This system of racial separation was known as apartheid and was only abolished 1994 when Nelson Mandela and the AMC came to power. Poverty is still