A World of Brandished Kippers

Jacob Zuma, the former South African president, has been in the spotlight all week – live on television responding to questions at a judicial inquiry investigating corruption at the highest level. Andrew Harding reflects on truth in the age of brandished kippers. The town of Kirkenes in northern Norway is a stone’s throw from the border with Russia. It’s now become the focus for a major spy scandal, as Sarah Rainsford has been finding out. Martin Patience was recently part of a BBC team that received a rare invitation to visit Iran, at a time when relations with Britain are strained. He says he was warmly received, although filming at a pop concert provided a moment of uncertainty. There’s been a long-running conflict in California over access to the beaches. On one side, the surfers, who need to be able to get to the ocean; on the other the tech millionaires, who’ve been putting up fences to keep people out. Sally Howard says the very soul of the Golden State is at stake. And Petroc Trelawny has been aboard the QE2 for a trip down memory lane. No longer plying the high seas, she’s moored in Dubai as a floating hotel; bri-nylon and formica among the glass and steel.