PROGRAM NOTES 10/21/16- This weeks show features stories from RADIO DEUTSCHE-WELLE, SPANISH NATIONAL RADIO, RADIO HAVANA CUBA, and SPUTNIK RADIO.

From GERMANY- German President Merkel revealed plans to more than double military spending in the coming year. Russian President Putin denied that Moscow was using cyber attacks to interfere with US presidential elections. Russia and Syria began a ceasefire in eastern Aleppo to help civilians flee the opposition held area. Leaders of Ukraine and Russia agreed to draw up a new roadmap to implement the current ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The Iraqi government announced the start of an offensive to retake the city of Mosul. The EU has postponed a final decision on a free trade deal with Canada.

From SPAIN- In this week's Panorama Alison Hughes reports on the still undecided leader of the government in Spain, and that Artur Mas, former president of the Catalan, faces a trial for staging a symbolic independence vote in November 2014. She then reports on the siege of Mosul by Iraqi, Kurdish and Turkish soldiers with US advisers- some reports say that thousands of Daesh fighters were allowed to leave Mosul and travel to Syria in the lead up to the battle.

From CUBA- On Monday there were large demonstrations across Cuba to protest the continuation of most of the US economic blockade. In Honduras a former Deputy Minister has been arrested in connection with the murder of environmentalist Berta Caceres. Protests continue in Brazil against the neo-liberal policies being imposed by the post-coup President Temer including a 20 year freeze on public spending. A UN agency has adopted a resolution reaffirming the right of Palestinians to the al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem. The New York Times reported that the Obama administration has intensified a clandestine war in Somalia with hundreds of US special operations forces and drone strikes.

From RUSSIA- On his show Going Underground, Afshin Rattansi interviewed US filmmaker Oliver Stone. Oliver's latest film, Snowden, could not find a distributor in the UK. He discusses press freedom in the UK, Pentagon and CIA influence in American media, US support of terrorists, and the current anti-Russian attitude in American politics and media.

"My father was a Republican and he hated Roosevelt. And that's sort of been the battle of my life, I think. You have to understand I grew up a Republican conservative. I hated Castro. And I put my money where my mouth was because I went to war, but I understood pretty quickly that this was another place, another culture and we would never fit in there."
--Oliver Stone