It’s been a week of tough talk on climate action. President Biden set out US plans for fighting climate change and called on the industrialised world to join his efforts to dramatically slash carbon emissions this decade. The global shift towards a greener world is transforming the way we work and live, but for many the changes are coming at a steep cost. Fuel taxes have increased the cost of farming, the shutting down of carbon-intensive industries is disproportionately affecting those in low-p...
Apr 23, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over 700 people, including children, have now died during pro-democracy protests in Myanmar following a coup on 1 February. Military chief General Min Aung Hlaing has declared a year-long emergency and promised to hold fresh elections at some time in the future. The armed forces of Myanmar are guaranteed a minimum number of seats in the nation’s parliament, retain control over many of the country’s institutions, and profit from a sprawling domestic business empire. But the military says the 2020...
Apr 16, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The security situation in eastern Ukraine is flaring up again, seven years into a simmering conflict between Moscow and Kyiv that started with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Increased numbers of Russian armed forces have been moved to the region, Ukraine says two of its servicemen were killed earlier this week, and Moscow is blaming Ukraine for the death of a five-year-old in a reported explosion in a region controlled by Russian-backed separatists. The European Union is ‘severely concer...
Apr 09, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast US special operations forces have agreed to help “support Mozambique's efforts to prevent the spread of terrorism and violent extremism”, with dozens of people reported killed during an Islamist attack in the north of the country this week. Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and other members of the global coalition against the Islamic State militant group have warned of a “serious and growing threat” from radical Islamists across Africa. But American’s interests in the region don’t ...
Apr 02, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast A year into the Covid crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week announced her country was facing what amounts to ‘a new pandemic’. “The mutation from Great Britain has taken over,” she warned. “It is clearly more lethal, more contagious, and contagious longer.” Even in countries where attempts to vaccinate the population are continuing at pace, the threat from mutant variants that have shown a greater ability than the original pathogen to evade vaccines is threatening any recovery. The U...
Mar 26, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The killing of eight people at a number of massage parlors in Atlanta this week has brought fears that the crimes may have targeted Asian Americans. Six of the people killed were of Asian descent. Although it is not yet clear whether there was a racial motivation in the shootings, they come against a backdrop of a sharp rise in violent attacks against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic. An elderly Thai immigrant died after being shoved to the ground, a Filipino-American had his face...
Mar 18, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast When a series of chillingly convincing Tom Cruise deepfakes went viral on TikTok this month, it brought home how fast synthetic media technology is evolving. Deepfakes are like photoshop for video – using a form of artificial intelligence called deep learning to create a realistic depiction of fake events. Are we entering an era where AI will let anyone make fake videos of anyone else? What will be the implications for individual dignity and privacy, and the shaping of public opinion and spreadi...
Mar 12, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast It took President Joe Biden more than a month to schedule a phone call with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, a contrast to his predecessor Donald Trump, who chose the kingdom as his first foreign destination after the election. Even though Saudi Arabia is considered a key ally in a volatile region, Mr Biden took a tough stance on the kingdom during his campaign. He promised to end the sale of offensive weapons used in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, and accused its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, of...
Mar 05, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Countries around the world are using the coronavirus pandemic to 'crush dissent and silence independent reporting' according to the UN chief Antonio Guterres. He says some nations are using restrictions meant to halt the spread of Covid-19 to weaken political opposition. Governments say a tighter grip over freedom of expression is essential to curb disinformation and confusion at a time when societies are under lockdown. Countries with authoritarian tendencies aren't the only ones under fire - t...
Feb 26, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Google this week signed multi-million dollar deals with a number of major news providers in Australia, agreeing to pay for the journalism it features on its new ‘News Showcase’ pages. It comes as Australia’s parliament debates a proposed new law that would force tech giants to negotiate with news outlets big and small. Facebook, which like Google opposes the draft law, responded by blocking access to news content on the platform nationwide. But critics argue the proposed laws don’t go far enough...
Feb 19, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, lawyers in London concluded that the genocide of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province by the Chinese government is a ‘very credible’ allegation. The London based court also said that it is ‘plausible’ that the country’s president, Xi Jinping, is driving that policy. The allegation of genocide - levelled by Uighur activists, international human rights groups, as well as the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - stems from an industrial scale crackdown in China’s Xinjiang province which...
Feb 12, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been back in the news this week after the endorsement of SpaceX and Tesla boss Elon Musk. His comments prompted the price of bitcoin to rise sharply. It’s thought that a perfect storm of inflationary coronavirus stimulus spending by governments, plus eroding trust in financial markets is pushing investors towards the volatile investments. Hundreds of so called ‘alt-coins’ have followed Bitcoin into the highly unregulated cryptocurrency marketplace and wort...
Feb 05, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month, in a highly unusual move, an American government agency bought nearly $3bn of debt from Ecuador that was owed to China. The aim – in the form of fresh loans – was to help Ecuador pay off 'predatory Chinese debt', strengthen its alliance with the United States and exclude Chinese companies from developing the country's telecoms network. Although the deal came at the end of the Trump presidency, it may encourage other South American countries to reach similar arrangements in the future...
Jan 29, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The future of US troops in Afghanistan could be Joe Biden's first major foreign policy decision. Less than a year ago the Trump administration reached a deal with the Taliban to withdraw all American troops from the country. The Taliban promised to stop targeting US and NATO forces as they wound down their presence. Now, with the May deadline fast approaching, President Biden will need to decide whether to honour the agreement at a time when the Taliban is being blamed for a string of deadly att...
Jan 22, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump is ending his presidency with the distinction of being the only president in American history to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives. The behaviour of his supporters in breaking into the Capitol Building, where a session was in place to certify the presidential election, has received widespread condemnation. Several people died. Democrats say the violence was the culmination of President Trump's history of riling up his supporters with misleading claims and outright l...
Jan 15, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Brexit transition period has ended and a new trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union is in effect. British PM Boris Johnson hailed “the dawn of a new era” saying it marked “a moment of real national renewal and change.” But there’s no consensus on what that change should look like and how it will impact the UK’s place in the world. The government in Westminster is now free to strike new trade deals, but US President-elect Joe Biden has indicated he’s in no hurry to ...
Jan 08, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The European Union has this week proposed new rules that would police the practices of big technology companies, including US giants such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. As well as delivering greater scrutiny, the laws, if passed, would even allow for the forced break-up of businesses deemed to be anti-competitive. The long awaited Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are seen as attempts to redefine the regulatory framework for a sector that will be key to the economy of the fut...
Dec 18, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast French President Emmanuel Macron has described Islam as 'a religion in crisis.' This week he presented draft legislation to cabinet ministers aimed at tackling radical elements and propping up ‘republican values’. Among the proposed measures are curbs on foreign funding for mosques and imams, new rules making it harder for children to be home-schooled, and fresh attempts to root out and prevent forced marriages. While the government has planned the policies for some time, it is publishing detail...
Dec 11, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh appears to have made life more difficult for President-elect Biden - yet another event to weigh up as he considers what to do about Donald Trump’s legacy across the Middle East. Over the last four years the Republican president withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran known as the JCPOA, shifted the US embassy to Jerusalem, withdrew almost all American troops from Syria and refused to support a bill that called for a ban on we...
Dec 04, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The rapid development of coronavirus vaccines has heightened the hope for a world free of Covid-19. Governments have ordered millions of doses, health care systems are prioritising recipients, and businesses are drawing up post-pandemic plans. But despite these positive signs, many people still feel a sense of unease. One poll suggests nearly a quarter of the world’s population is unwilling to get a coronavirus jab. How much of the scepticism has to do with the record-breaking speed at which the...
Nov 27, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The fighting between Ethiopian federal troops and regional forces in Tigray has forced thousands of people to flee to Sudan for safety. The UN has warned of a full-scale humanitarian crisis. Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize winning prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, says there will be no let-up in his government's 'law enforcement' mission. His aim is to arrest and put on trial TPLF party politicians who he alleges have put the country's constitution in danger. Ethiopia plays a key role in maintaining secu...
Nov 20, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast President-elect Joe Biden has said that one of the first acts of his presidency will be to return the United States to the Paris climate change agreement. His administration is proposing to make US electricity production carbon-free by 2035 and to have the country achieve 'net zero' emissions by the middle of the century. In 2015 the United States played a leading role in bringing together 195 countries that pledged to work together to keep the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius. ...
Nov 13, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before this week's US presidential election, some predicted a landslide win for Joe Biden and a stark repudiation of the Trump years. That didn't happen. The intense criticism of President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic seems to have done little in changing the minds of his core supporters; and former Vice President Joe Biden's appeal for unity seems to have fallen flat in key states like Florida and Texas. Mr Biden called the 2020 election a fight for the nation’s soul. So what do...
Nov 06, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The central committee of China’s ruling Communist Party has been meeting this week in Beijing to map out its priorities for the next five years. While Americans decide whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will set the direction of US foreign policy going forward, there is little doubt that Chinese President Xi Jinping will remain in his post for the foreseeable future - party leaders have already abolished his term limits. Whoever wins on 3 Nov, Beijing is likely to continue advancing its interests...
Oct 30, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast While US domestic policy has taken centre stage in the race for the White House, whichever man wins the presidency will also help define America’s place in the world for years to come. President Trump won 2016’s election, in part, on promising to reduce the number of military and diplomatic entanglements the country was involved in across the globe. In the Middle East he pulled US forces out of Syria, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration, and has strengt...
Oct 23, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week North Korea celebrated 75 years of communism with a military parade at which it unveiled an giant intercontinental missile. The heavily choreographed event featured all the pomp and circumstance the world has come to expect from North Korea's mass human performances. It also contained a surprisingly emotional speech from Chairman Kim Jong-Un, who at times wept as he spoke about the country's struggles. The country’s first military parade in two years signalled a shift back to the more ...
Oct 16, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The alleged rape and subsequent death of a 19-year-old woman in India has again shone a spotlight on caste-based violence against the Dalit community – formerly known as “untouchables”. According to official figures, men from India's upper castes rape ten Dalit women a day. Although the northern state of Uttar Pradesh records the highest number of such cases, caste-based violence and discrimination is prevalent throughout the country and in Indian communities around the world. Dalits make up nea...
Oct 09, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has taken on a new dimension with the alleged involvement of the Turkish military. Armenia says one of its fighter jets was shot down by a Turkish aircraft over the disputed central Asian region of Nagorno-Karabakh. In the summer, France accused the Turkish navy of confronting one of its frigates in pursuit of a vessel suspected of taking arms to Libya. Meanwhile Turkey's understanding with Russia and Iran over the war in Syria has strained its ties wi...
Oct 01, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Governments across Europe have this week introduced new measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports that over the past fortnight five countries have reported over 120 cases per 100,000 residents, including Spain, France, and the Czech Republic. But the increased restrictions on freedom of movement and congregation in many countries is sparking push-back from some, who argue that the elderly should be shielded - while the rest of society...
Sep 25, 2020•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Millions have been left without work as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate economies across the globe. This week, there’s been a sharp rise in the unemployment rate in Britain. This follows recent increases in other European countries. The International Labour Organisation has warned the pandemic is having a “devastating and disproportionate” impact on youth employment. In the United States, unemployment remains above 10 percent in black and Hispanic communities. After India’s lockd...
Sep 18, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
