The Century
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| First episode date | March 29, 1999 |
|---|---|
| Genres | Documentary |
| History | |
| Reviews | www.imdb.com |
| Episodes | EpisodesE10 · Nothing to FearJun 16, 2000 E09 · Facing the New MillenniumJun 16, 2000 E08 · Innocence in RebellionJun 9, 2000 View 5+ more |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 2315604 |
About The Century
Journalist Peter Jennings narrates this critically acclaimed six-part, 12-hour review of the 20th century. Each episode offers a look at a pair of events that happened at different times in the century but are somewhat connected -- for example, the flight of Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic and the American space program share screen time in one episode. … MORE
Israel-Gaza war: The Red Cross's delicate role in hostage crises
... But in The Century between World War One and today, the ICRC s work has expanded...
Bird of Century: Pūteketeke wins NZ poll after campaign by John Oliver
...By Tiffanie TurnbullBBC News, SydneyThe pūteketeke has been crowned New Zealand s Bird of The Century after US talk show host John Oliver s controversial intervention in the poll...
Prof Sir Chris Whitty says UK faces rural and coastal ageing crisis
... and if you project forward to the middle of The Century, a quarter of the population will be over 65, yet we still have a housing stock not designed for that age group...
New Zealand: John Oliver's Bird of the Century backing ruffles feathers
... The stakes are higher this year, with the winner to be dubbed Bird of The Century in celebration of the event organiser s founding...
Can the SNP's independence plan change the union's future?
... SNP machine in troubleFrom the turn of The Century, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon used the power base provided by the opening of the new Scottish Parliament to turn the SNP into both a party of government and a formidable campaigning machine, eventually securing a referendum in 2014...
Can India cricketers win World Cup for a billion fans?
... Since the heydays of the West Indies and the first three World Cups from 1975, there have not been absolute favourites, although Australia won thrice in a row at the turn of The Century...
Excavating the birthplace of Scotland's tartan industry
... The Wilsons business collapsed at the turn of The Century, with the loss of a military contract among the possible reasons for it going under...
Climate change: Six young people take 32 countries to court
... " Lawyers representing the six young claimants are expected to argue in court that the 32 governments current policies are putting the world on course for 3C of global warming by the end of The Century...
Israel-Gaza war: The Red Cross's delicate role in hostage crises
By Imogen FoulkesBBC News, Geneva
With intense Focus On the Hostages released by Hamas, a quiet but crucial part has been Played By an organisation at the centre of their handover, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Footage of the releases shows Red Cross staff, in their distinctive white vests emblazoned with its internationally recognised emblem, taking the Hostages from masked gunmen, carefully helping them into their vehicles, giving them First Aid and even playing with children in their first moments of freedom.
The organisation was in contact with Hamas ever since it seized about 240 people during its Massive Attack on Israel on 7 October and took them back to Gaza. It has repeatedly called for their release, or at least to allow the ICRC to visit them.
So Far , 58 Hostages - 40 Israeli and 12 Thais - have been released to the ICRC. The organisation was not involved in the negotiations around the terms for a release, but was standing by to facilitate it the release once those terms had been agreed.
From Israel, there has been some criticism that the ICRC has not done more.
But the organisation said " the ICRC cannot force its way in to where Hostages are held, nor do we know their location".
The Statement reflects frustration in Geneva that not everyone understands what the Red Cross can and cannot do.
It is trying to fulfil its traditional role under the Geneva Conventions, asking to visit the Hostages , deliver medical supplies, and bring news to desperate families. None of that can happen unless both Hamas and Israel agree. The ICRC is unarmed, and relies entirely on The Trust of the warring parties - and civilians Caught Up In Conflict - to carry out its work.
And in the same way as it has transported Hostages out of Gaza, it has also taken to their West Bank homes Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange.
The logistics are a complicated but the ICRC is no stranger to such complexities. Last Year it facilitated the release of almost 900 prisoners in Yemen held by Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government troops.
The operation took Two Days ; the ICRC visited each prisoner to ensure they were well enough to travel and actually wanted to Return Home And Then chartered planes to fly into Conflict zones to pick them up.
At The Time Fabrizio Carboni , the ICRC's regional director for the Middle East , admitted how relieved he had been that The Exchange went quite smoothly. Often, He Said , The Life of an aid worker is " about frustration… it's about saying more often 'no' than 'yes'".
New challengesThe preparations the ICRC has been making for the Gaza Hostages are part of a long history.
In the Red Cross museum in Geneva, there is an archive of six million registration cards, with details of The Prisoners and The Missing from two world wars.
It's a fascinating collection: one card confirms that Charles De Gaulle , France's World War Two leader and later its president, had been taken prisoner at The Battle of Verdun in 1916. Others show The Anxiety of mothers looking for their sons, and the sad replies confirming they had been killed.
The Collection illustrates the ICRC's key role under the Geneva Conventions: tracing The Dead and missing, visiting prisoners of war, checking on their welfare, and exchanging messages between POWs and their families.
In a quiet building in The Hills above Geneva, the Red Cross tracing agency is now doing exactly the same for Russian and Ukrainian families as The War resulting from Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022 continues.
But in The Century between World War One and today, the ICRC's work has expanded.
Warfare has changed. Traditional armies are often replaced by armed militias, and civilians as well as fighters are detained, abducted or simply go missing.
The Red Cross aim remains the same: to bring news of missing loved ones, and - if Possible - to reunite families separated by war.
Global hotspotsDuring Nelson Mandela 's long imprisonment in apartheid South Africa , the ICRC visited him regularly on Robben Island .
Until the Good Friday agreement for peace and power sharing in Northern Ireland , the ICRC visited members of paramilitary groups who had been imprisoned there.
The Red Cross also helps with prisoner exchanges, and the release of those abducted or taken hostage.
When hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria in 2014, the ICRC helped facilitate the release of some of Them Two years later.
But, as with the Hostages in Gaza now, supporting, or facilitating, did not mean negotiating.
" We were not involved in The Negotiation for their release… we transferred The Girls with the agreement of both parties involved, " the ICRC said at The Time .
Mr Carboni, who accompanied his boss Mirjana Spoljaric to Qatar earlier This Week , explained how the Red Cross sees its fundamental role, relatively unchanged for More Than a century.
" I look at my kids, I look at My Brothers , and I say 'imagine now there is a Front Line Between Us , they are captured, and I can't see them'. Or worse, you have no news, you don't know.
" So when we manage to reunite people, it's something hard to describe, this sense of purpose, " he says.
More on Israel-Gaza warRelated TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
The Century Photos
