Erstellt am: 9. 5. 2012 - 15:03 Uhr

The Underpants Hero

Did a skilled agent foil bravely a deadly terror plot and what has comedy got to do with child soldiers? Reality Check, 9th May.

The Al Qaeda Bomb Plot?

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta answering questions before the world's media.

There's been a new twist in the story of the undetectable under-pant bomb. Apparently the CIA didn't apprehend a would-be bomber, but instead an agent working for the Saudi intelligence services infiltrated Al-Qaeda in Yemen, persuaded them that he would be a suitable bomber, was given a bomb which he then handed over to the CIA. James Bond eat your heart out!

That's the narrative we are being told and it sounds like the agent was not only brave but very skilled. As intelligence expert and author Nigel West told us such an agent has to judge exactly the right moment to prevent an attack, but still gather useful intelligence. "You need to exercise some very fine timing," says West, who speculates that the agent would probably be a man with good connection to Al Qaeda who had become disillusioned with the blood-shed of his fellow Muslims. Don't forget, says West, that "Al Qaeda has managed to kill more Muslims that 'infidels'."

The plot was so frightening for the West because the bomb that was handed over to US authorities contained no metal parts and could have passed through most airport security checks.

The Egyptian military vs Foreign Journalists

Several foreign reporters were allegedly assaulted whilst covering a recent demonstration.

And foregn journalists are priviledged compared to most domestic reporters. For lovers of press freedom, the Egyptian Revolution has turned sour. There is a growing sense of disillusionment as journalists face the same repression after the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak as they did before his fall. The Guardian says there has been "dishonest reporting of events by a state media still dominated by those once loyal to the old regime" and the watchdog group Reporters without Borders says it recorded 32 attacks on journalists during clashes in Cairo last week.

Soazig Dollet is a spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders

The Breivik Trial & Witness Testimony

It's a difficult day for many young people taking the witness stand in Norway as they recreate the Utoeya massacre – the bloodbath on a Norwegian island in which 69 people were killed last summer.

"It will bring closure to the trauma that they are experiencing," hopes our Oslo correspondent Ketil Stensrud who is following the trial closely.

The gunman Anders Behring Breivik admits indiscriminately shooting the victims - most of whom were teenagers. But he is showing no sign of remorse, arguing that the young people deserved to die for "believing in multi-culturism". Stensrud describes how an impenetrable Breivik has appeared "cold and systematic" when explaining his actions. But is he insane?

Poland on Ukraine

Austria's footballers won’t be playing a part in the up-coming football tournament, the EURO 2012, having failed to qualify, sadly. But Austrian politicians are playing a part in the event, which kicks off in just 4 weeks time. They have announced they will boycott games held in co-host Ukraine. They are protesting the imprisonment of the former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.

The former leader of Ukraine's Orange Revolution is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence on charges that she abused her powers in a Russian energy deal, but many people view the case against her as politically motivated – a vendetta against her from her political rival President Viktor Yanukovich.

The situation is threatening to overshadow, due to kick off in about 4 weeks’ time. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, often dubbed the most powerful woman in the world, is an avid football fan, often to be seen jumping up and down in the VIP section celebrating German players like Bastian "Schweini" Schweinsteiger. But it looks like we might be denied that rather endearing show since she apparently plans to stay away from Ukraine unless the government reacts to the criticism.

The other host of the tournament, Poland, today urged Ukraine to drop laws allowing politicians to be jailed for decisions in office, although its President Bronislaw Komorowski has criticized the planned boycott "It's about not letting this fight ruin our joint Polish-Ukrainian sports celebration and a Polish-Ukrainian project that was meant to and should still help Ukraine on its path towards European integration," he said.

John Beauchamp from Polish Radio says many Poles, although concerned about the situation in Ukraine would agree with their President, but in any case, they are more worried that infrastructure projects are not yet finished and the whole thing, a supposed showcase, might end up an embarrassment.

From Hollywood to Uganda

Jane Bussmann wrote sketches for The Fast Show, the running-gag TV show that made my teeny years full of mirth. She then crossed the Atlantic to produce scripts for South Park, before writing a book about how her at first superficial hunt to impress a handsome international human rights activist led her to Uganda and the horror of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army.

The book, published two years before the Kony2012 phenomenon, spawned a comedy show and a play which is now in Vienna. Comedy and child soldiers? Can that work? I'm skeptical but Riem Higazi found out when she went to rehearsals at the Kosmos Theater in Vienna.

Subscribe to the Reality Check podcast and get the whole programme after the show, or check out fm4.orf.at/realitycheck