Wednesday, 1 November, 2006

By Robbie Gibb
Producer, BBC Newsnight

Presented by Jeremy Paxman

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MADONNA

Madonna fights back. In an extended interview and her first British interview since her decision to adopt a one-year-old boy from Malawi met with so much criticism, Madonna insists to Kirsty Wark that she did the right thing and that it should be easier for others to adopt too.

"When you have an entire adult population wiped out and no-one to look after these children, you have got to address the laws and make adoption easier for people."

But does she manage to convince one of her fiercest critics who says that her actions are making things harder for Malawi?

Kirsty Wark on meeting Madonna

Was Madonna right or wrong to adopt a Malawian baby?

ROMANIA

Are we going to see an increase in aggressive begging, cashpoint crime, pick pocketing and mobile phone theft when Romania and Bulgaria join the EU in January?

That is the warning from Immigration minister Liam Byrne and Europe minister Geoff Hoon in a cabinet memo obtained by The Sun.

Is there anything that can be done to stop this increase in crime?

BURMA

Originally planned for last night's programme, we have a rare report from inside Burma on how the economic failings of the brutal military government there affects the living conditions of ordinary people.

US ELECTIONS

Is negative campaigning damaging politics? In the latest of a series of gaffs on both sides former Democrat presidential candidate, John Kerry got into hot water after warning students that they would "get stuck in Iraq if they fail to study hard".

George Bush argued this was insulting to US soldiers.

So has negative campaigning reached new depths? David Grossman takes a look at the US election attack adverts.