The Irish Times World View Podcast

This week podcast features Beijing Correspondent Clifford Coonan on the historic inter-Korean summit taking place at Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone this week. How did we get here, and what are the two nations hoping to achieve? The Korea summit will also be watched closely in Washington, where our correspondent Suzanne Lynch is covering the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.

London Editor Denis Staunton on the two stories dominating Westminster this week: Theresa May's decision to join the United States and France in bombing Syria last weekend, and the appalling treatment of a group of immigrants who were welcomed to the United Kingdom as children but have lately found their lives becoming more difficult.

This week's podcast.

Hungarians head to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections whose results may have consequences across Eastern Europe, says Dan McLaughlin on this week's podcast. At stake in Budapest is Prime Minister Victor Orban's supermajority in parliament, which he has used to push through a number of authoritarian reforms. On the campaign trail Mr Orban has promised "moral, legal and political revenge" on Hungary's enemies, for which many read Mr Orban's own political opponents. That approach has helped galvanise Hungary's fractured political opposition, with polls showing Mr Orban's supermajority is now under threat. Mr Orban has warned of a conspiracy to install a new pro-immigration government masterminded by billionaire George Soros and has called on voters to "save Hungary". The outcome of Sunday's vote will be watched closely by other leaders in the region who may wish to emulate Mr Orban's approach. Also on the podcast: Israel has rejected the prospect of an inquiry into the shooting dead of 16 Palestinians by its army at the Gaza-Israel border during demonstrations last Friday. Mark Weiss reports from Jerusalem on the tensions, which are expected to rise again on Friday after Muslim prayers.

Ireland today joined the collective move by western nations against Russia, announcing that one diplomat is to be expelled after a nerve attack on a former Russian agent earlier this month. It follows similar declarations by 16 other EU countries on Monday, as tensions between Russia and the West deepen over the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain. On today’s World View podcast, Europe editor Patrick Smyth reports from Brussels on what lasting impact the crisis is likely to have on EU-Russia relations and whether Europe can maintain a united front on the issue. But first, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is preparing to spend Easter in prison in Germany after he was detained on Sunday by local police just south of the Danish border. We hear from Derek Scally in Berlin and Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid.

"I've covered a lot of financial scandals in French politics.... they usually get off". Lara Marlowe talks to Chris about the latest financial scandal to cross her desk: the arrest of former president Nicolas Sarkozy on suspicion of taking illegal cash donations from the late Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi. And it's been yet another significant week on the road to Brexit. The 'backstop' - a UK government promise to maintain the status quo at the Irish Border if no better solution is found - is back, after doubt was cast on the pledge by Prime Minister Theresa May last month. Europe Editor Patrick Smyth explains why the concession is a minor win for Ireland.

Theresa May says it's “highly likely” that Russia was behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a military-grade nerve agent in Britain. Denis Staunton has the latest from London. Also, Clifford Coonan reports from Shanghai, after China’s rubber-stamp parliament cleared the way for Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely at the weekend, giving overwhelming approval for an historic constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits.

A hung parliament in Italy and the prospect of a government led by one of two populist parties has caused a considerable amount of nervousness in Brussels. The maverick, eurosceptic Five Star Movement, which before the election rejected any prospect of a coalition government, has softened that stance since emerging the victor with 32 per cent of the vote. Government formation is likely to take several months and the anti-immigrant Lega party has also emerged as a major force, led by Matteo Salvini who has in the past spoken of selective ethnic cleansing in parts of Italy. On today’s podcast, Europe Editor Patrick Smyth reports from Brussels on why the Italian election is bad news for Europe and will further strengthen Euroscepticism in the EU. Also, Eastern European correspondent Dan McLaughlin has the latest on the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova, which has sent Slovakia into a political crisis. With further anti-government protests are expect, populist prime minister Robert Fico and president Andrej Kiska are at loggerheads, amid calls for a snap election.

Another week, another milestone on the road to Brexit. This week features three such markers: a speech by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that has caused a fresh headaches for Prime Minister Theresa May, a speech from May herself (to come on Friday) and the release of a crucial document by the EU. London Editor Denis Staunton reports. In part two we turn to the United States and the push for gun control in the wake of the latest mass school shooting. Since the shooting in a Florida high school that left 17 dead, President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for armed schoolteachers as a solution to this peculiarly American problem. But voices calling for stricter controls on gun ownership are growing louder. After Sandy Hook, Orlando, Las Vegas and too many other shootings to mention, could Republicans finally be willing to cede ground on the issue? Suzanne Lynch is on the line from Washington.

The surge in support for populist parties across Europe in recent years is well documented. Right-wing populists are in office in Poland, Hungary and Austria, and in the Czech Republic, recently re-elected president Milos Zeman campaigned on an anti-immigration and Eurosceptic agenda. Next month in Italy, the Five Star Movement could capitalise on anti-immigration sentiment and a stagnant economy in the country’s parliamentary elections. But how should the European Union react? Are sanctions appropriate, or might they only serve to exacerbate the problem? And what are the consequences for French President Emmanuel Macron's vision of further European integration? Today’s World View podcast features European Editor Patrick Smyth, Eastern Europe Correspondent Daniel McLaughlin and Assistant Editor Ruadhan Mac Cormaic.

Today's podcast focusses on Colombia. It is now over a year since the government ratified a peace deal with Farc rebels that had been rejected by a narrow majority in a referendum. Today, progress is stalling as the country faces into national elections. Many citizens still struggle to tolerate the normalisation of former guerilla fighters, and dozens of Farc members have been assassinated. To find out about the problems facing Colombia, Dave McKechnie talked to Rafael Pardo, Colombia's post-conflict minister, and Tom Hennigan who reports on Colombia for The Irish Times.

The UN estimates that more than 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone female genital mutilation. Today has been designated UN Zero Tolerance Day on FGM, and on today's podcast reporter Sally Hayden describes her recent visit to the Karamoja region of Uganda in east Africa. In parts of Karamoja, FGM is as high as 95%. She details the horrific cycle of violence against women caused by FGM and why claims of its status as a cultural practice make it difficult to eradicate. But first: Brexit. The clock has begun ticking again as the EU27 awaits details on what the UK wants the final arrangement to look like, and particularly when it comes to customs. But with rebellious MPs making conflicting demands, Prime Minister Theresa May faces a major challenge to keep her party on side. London Editor Denis Staunton reports.

Former Brazilian president Lula da Silva, the charismatic man of the people once dubbed 'the most popular politician on Earth' by Barack Obama, is barred from contesting the country’s presidential elections in October, after his conviction for corruption was upheld on appeal last week. Lula, who has two appeals left, has the support of 33 per cent of the electorate and his followers say that is reason enough not to convict him, so that he may run in the election. Tom Hennigan reports from Brazil where he says there is suspicion in some quarters that Lula’s pledge to fight for the right to contest the presidency is a ploy to avoid jail. If Lula does win the right to stand for election, he will have to face down Brazil’s extreme right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump fan whose racist and misogynistic statements have angered some and won support from others. Also on the podcast, European Affairs Editor Patrick Smyth reports back from Brussels where the mood is one of weary resignation, as the EU waits for Theresa May to make Britain’s position clear heading into the next stage of Brexit talks.

On today's podcast: Suzanne Lynch on the government shutdown in Washington and what next for President Trump and Congressional Democrats and Republicans. Derek Scally on the tortuous path to a new 'grand coalition' between Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the reluctant Social Democrats, and how the two major parties have not come to grips with the political reality of their diminished power.

Sean Spicer talks to Irish Times Foreign Editor Chris Dooley about his time in the West Wing, the nature of his former role, the contents of Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury, the Mueller investigation and more.

Islamic State, or ISIS, has lost 98% of its territory in Iraq and Syria. But it persists, and even as its enemies declare victory, recent fatal attacks across the world, from New York to Kabul, remind us of the threat it still poses. Rukmini Callimachi is a three-time Pulitzer-nominated reporter covering terror groups for The New York Times. She talks to Chris Dooley about how she got into her unusual and sometimes dangerous line of work, the state of ISIS in 2018 and the logic behind the organisation's behaviour.

The death toll is still rising in Iran as protests continue across the country. Middle East analyst Michael Jansen says that, while economics are behind the demonstrations' unexpected strength, the spark for the protests came from conservative hardliners opposed to moderate president Hassan Rouhani, seeking an opportunity to undermine him - a move that seems to have backfired.

Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch, Europe Editor Patrick Smyth and foreign affairs specialist Ruadhan Mac Cormaic stay down with host Chris Dooley to look back on another historic year in world affairs.

Catalonians cast ballots for the regional government on Thursday. Guy Hedgecoe reports on the campaign and some of the likely outcomes. In South Africa, the dominant ANC party has elected a new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa. Reformers hope he will be a new broom after the Zuma years, but he comes with his own baggage and faces obstacles before he can assume power himself, says Bill Corcoran.

Some Alabama Republicans are ignoring President Donald Trump's call to back their own party's candidate for the Senate, Roy Moore, and are instead voting for Democrat Doug Jones. But many others are still backing Moore despite accusations he sexually assaulted several underage girls. The race is on a knife edge. On today's podcast Suzanne Lynch explains why a victory for Moore presents a real headache for the GOP, with the former chief justice of Alabama likely to face an ethics committee on his arrival to the Senate. In the second part of the show Environment and Science Editor Kevin O’Sullivan reports on the One Planet climate conference taking place in Paris this week, where France’s President Macron is putting pressure on world leaders, including laggard Ireland, to up the ante on tackling global warming.

From Barcelona, Guy Hedgecoe explains how things are shaping up for the Catalonian regional parliament's snap election in two week's time, the results of which could determine the future of the region - inside or outside Spain. In part two we talk to Richard Barrett about the threat posed by ISIS fighters returning to Europe now that the group's territory has been drastically reduced. Richard is the former director of global counter-terrorism at MI6 and is now director of the Global Strategy Network. His new report for the US think-tank The Soufan Group is called Beyond the Caliphate: Foreign Fighters and the Threat of Returnees.

Ratko Mladic, commander of ethnic Serb troops in Bosnia’s 1992-5 war, has now been convicted of genocide and jailed for life. But for years to come his victims and many others will continue to be unearthed across parts of former Yugoslavia.

The collapse of negotiations to form a coalition in Germany have led many to question whether Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold power for much longer. But the Christian Democratic Union leader has confounded critics before. And the rival Social Democratic Party may decide it is in its interests to stave off a fresh election, says Derek Scally. Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, long-term dictator Robert Mugabe seems certain to be forced from power sooner rather than later. But what comes next? Bill Corcoran spent the last week in Harare.

Prime Minister Theresa May is facing trouble on every front: in her Cabinet, in Westminster, with Taoiseach Varadkar and Minister Coveney in Dublin, and at the Brexit negotiating table. Who would want her job? Denis Staunton is on the line from London. In part two: heads were turned toward Poland last weekend as an Independence Day march was attended by thousands of far-right demonstrators, an expression of nationalism, anti-immigrant anger and anti-EU sentiment. The marchers were approved of by some of the ruling Law and Justice party. Derek Scally on how the far-right fits into Polish society and the growing gulf between Poland's government and Brussels.

This week's podcast features Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch and Middle East analyst Michael Jansen.

Suzanne Lynch reports from Washington as the city comes to grips with the indictment of former Trump campaign personnel. Former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates plead not guilty to 12 charges. Meanwhile it was revealed that George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI about his communication with Russian officials. Also on the podcast we hear from Patrick Smyth in Brussels, where Catalan independence leader Carles Puidgemont arrived yesterday, and Guy Hedgecoe in Barcelona about the continuing deterioration of the relationship between Catalonia and the Spanish government.

This week's podcast features Europe Editor Patrick Smyth and Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally. The Brexit negotiations look painful from here. How do they look from Brussels? Can negotiations get back on track? Is the problem of the Irish border still high on the agenda? Plus, what are the E.U. institutions' attitudes to political unrest in Catalonia? And today Chancellor Merkel returns to a larger and more disjointed Bundestag than she has become used to. Some are beginning to question her longevity.

This week's podcast.

As a candidate, President Trump promised to rip up the Iran nuclear deal. Is he about to partially fulfil that promise by refusing to certify that the Iranians are keeping their side of the bargain? Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch explains how all sides - Trump, the Iranians, Republicans in Congress and the other international signatories to the deal - see the current impasse. After that we talk to Martin Bell, former BBC war correspondent, about his new book "War And The Death of News", which brings together colourful stories and reflections from a formidable career in news journalism and his views on the state of war reporting today, "in an age in which the fog of war is swirling over absolutely everything".

Guy Hedgecoe, who reports from Spain for The Irish Times, talks to David McKechnie about the events of the weekend in Catalonia as a prohibited vote on independence went ahead, the atmosphere there now, and whether Catalonian attitudes have much changed following the police crackdown that caused hundreds of injuries and faced widespread condemnation.

In Spain, conflict between Madrid and Catalonia has reached a new high, but it is still not clear whether an independence vote will take place on Sunday. Guy Hedgecoe reports from Barcelona. And in Germany political party Alternative für Deutschland are holding the first parliamentary meeting of a far-right party in Bundestag since World War II, after becoming the nation's third largest party in last Sunday's election. But it's not all plain sailing for Afd. Derek Scally reports.

On today's podcast we talk to Erin Kilbride of NGO Frontline Defenders who is on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees are fleeing a campaign of village torchings, extrajudicial killings and gang rape by the Myanmar military, according to survivors and international rights groups. Days away from a general election in Germany, we talk to Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally about why the vote matters even if Angela Merkel is all but assured a fourth term as Chancellor. And we ask London Editor Denis Staunton what exactly Boris Johnson is up to that led to him being labelled a "back-seat driver" in the UK governments drive towards Brexit by his cabinet colleague Amber Rudd.

"This was specifically one of the issues he said he would speak up about. Whenever American values are threatened, whenever various groups of Americans are targeted". Cody Keenan helped former U.S. president Barack Obama draft his recent statement criticising President Donald Trump's decision to end the Dreamers programme, removing legal protection from the children of undocumented immigrants. Keenan worked in the White House throughout Barack Obama's two terms of office, becoming his head speechwriter. He understands the criticism Obama came under for breaking the tradition that former presidents not criticise incumbents. "But you know, Donald Trump has shredded almost every democratic norm there is in America". Last week Cody talked to Chris Dooley about shaping Obama's key speeches, the successes and failures of the administration and his insights into the apparent chaos of the Trump White House.

Maureen Dowd, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist with the New York Times talks to Chris Dooley about the Trump presidency, which she says is "the craziest thing that's ever happened in American political history". She shares her unique insight into the pressures faced by occupants of the White House and the psychology of its current tenant, and the role of the media in today's politically charged world.

The delay in dealing with the case of Ibrahim Halawa has left Irish observers with a negative view of Egypt's human rights record. It is a view apparently shared by the U.S. State Department, which last week cut $300 million in military and economic aid to the country and its president Abdel el-Sisi, a leader once praised by Donald Trump, for failing to make progress on human rights . But there is more to the move than meets the eye. We talk to New York Times Cairo bureau chief Declan Walsh. Later in the podcast we talk to Texas resident John Holden about the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and what is expected when President Trump visits the stricken region later today.

In eastern Ukraine people are still being killed every day in a conflict between the Kiev government and Russian-backed separatists. And the conflict could be set to intensify. The two sides are drawing nearer, and the Unites States is ramping up its material support for Kiev, defying expectations of a Putin-friendly Trump presidency. Dan McLaughlin went to Ukraine to see U.S. involvement in action. But first: authorities in Catalonia quickly stopped the 12 known members of the terrorist cell that attacked Barcelona last week, killing eight and arresting four others. But how did such a large group get organised and carry out the attacks without being noticed? And could the attack affect in the forthcoming independence vote? We ask Guy Hedgecoe.

Why did it take Donald Trump several days to explicitly renounce the racist groups behind a weekend protest that turned violent and left one counter-protester dead? Suzanne Lynch on the fallout from Charlottesville, the enduring, painful legacy of slavery in the United States and how the White House could change following this latest crisis. And Peter Murtagh reports from South Korea, where feelings towards the United States, its protector and ally, are rather complex.

Our Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch is travelling south from the capital city through states that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. It's a region divided by race, class and political dispensation. What she has heard will not be welcome news to those who would wish the Trump presidency to end prematurely.

In Venezuela, the arrest of opposition leaders and the establishment of a new assembly with no opposition representation is a major rupture with the nation's democratic past. At the same time, economic breakdown could imminently lead to a 'complete social collapse', says our correspondent in South America Tom Hennigan. But newly applied U.S. sanctions on President Maduro will do more harm than good to both the country's fortunes and those of Maduro's opponents. Meanwhile, the decision to expel U.S. diplomats from Russia in retaliation to new sanctions imposed by Congress shows just how badly wrong the once-warm relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has gone. Isabel Gorst has the view from Moscow.

It has become a truism that the global order is weakening and American power in particular is on the wane. But what should or can be done to arrest the decline? Should the U.S. now step back, having failed to spread liberal democracy to Russia, China and the Middle East? In a new book, Thomas Wright of the Brookings Institution, a Washington based think tank, argues that although a new era of increased competition between powers is here to stay, the United States still has a special role to play on the world stage. On today's podcast he talks to Chris Dooley about the nature of the global balance of power and how it is evolving, what motivates Vladimir Putin, the future of the European Union and the special risk posed by Donald Trump's presidency. All Measures Short of War is published by Yale.

Article 155 has been called “the biggest taboo in the constitution” of Spain. That's because it grants unspecified but potentially broad powers to the government and could be used to forestall a push for Catalonian independence. Guy Hedgecoe reports. But first we hear from Ruadhan Mac Cormaic about how malnutrition or even starvation threatens a staggering 24 million people in east Africa following three successive seasons of drought. Only a third of the aid money needed to prevent this catastrophe has been pledged. Where is the international outcry?

Donald Trump jnr was told by the publicist Rob Goldstone that he had information “that would incriminate Hillary Clinton and her dealings with Russia” and that the information was “part of Russia and its government’s support” for Trump, the president’s eldest son has revealed. Suzanne Lynch has the details. And in London Prime Minister Theresa May has made a speech that was expected to be a relaunch of her leadership and to set out something of a more inclusive approach to Brexit policy - but proved to be a bit of a damp squib, says Denis Staunton.

So you don't have to, Lara Marlowe reread all 18 pages of President Macron's highly unusual "State of the Union" style address. She breaks it down for us. But first we talk to Canadian journalist Jared Lindzon about another popular young leader, Justin Trudeau, and how his popularity is strangely dependent on Donald Trump.

The latest on the Republican Party's struggle to pass legislation replacing Obamacare, and what failure means for Donald Trump's young presidency. A report from Berlin on the latest twists and turns on the run-in Germany's general election campaign. Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaving few hostages to fortune by making canny, perhaps cynical, policy shifts. And a look back at 20 years of Chinese rule in Hong Kong. Were promises made at the time of Britain's handover kept, and has the city been able to maintain its relative freedoms?

Today Republicans are hoping voters in Georgia's Sixth Congressional District will choose their party's candidate again, as they have four decades straight. But the race is tight. How did this red district turn purple? Is Donald Trump to blame? And why is Barack Obama appearing in Republican attack ads? Suzanne Lynch reports. The murder of a small boy and its shocking aftermath gripped France 30 years ago. Now new arrests have been made in "The Gregory Affair". Lara Marlowe tells the story.

The leaders of France and the United Kingdom are having very different weeks. Theresa May's occupancy of Number 10 is perhaps fatally threatened after she failed to secure the overall majority and must now rely on the DUP for support. In light of Brexit, the result has huge implications for Ireland and Europe as well as the United Kingdom. Meanwhile in Paris, Emmanuel Macron is basking in an overwhelming victory for his party in the first round of French parliamentary elections, aided by a sense among voters that France's pride is being restored under his leadership. Guests: Gerry Moriarty in Belfast, Denis Staunton in London and Lara Marlowe in Paris.

Another terror attack, this time in London, has placed security issues firmly on the political agenda just days ahead of a general election in the United Kingdom. From London Denis Staunton reports on the final days of the campaign. Meanwhile in Yorkshire, Conservatives are eyeing a seat safely held by Labour since 1931. It's one more sign of a political landscape transformed by Brexit and powerful economic forces. Simon Carswell met the people of Wakefield. In the Arab world, the sudden cutting by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt of al links with its neighbour Qatar has a lot to do with the attitude displayed by Donald Trump on his recent visit to the region, explains Ian Black, senior fellow at the Middle East Centre of the London School of Economics and former Middle East editor with The Guardian.

In Britain the general election is back on. As the campaign progresses, its beginning to look like the likely winners will feel like losers and the losers will be quite pleased with themselves, says London Editor Denis Staunton. Angela Merkel has been criticised in some quarters for her comments on the necessity for Europe to rely on itself in a time of unreliable allies. But she was right to make a stand, says our new Europe Editor Paddy Smyth.

Denis Staunton, our London Editor, is in Manchester today where a bomb killed 22 people last night including several children. Denis assesses the particular depravity of this assault on the innocent, and the wider implications for UK security and politics. And, as controversies at home continues to grow, President Trump is on first major foreign tour. What's at stake on this trip? Suzanne Lynch reports.

On the podcast this week: Washington Correspondent Suzanne Lynch on the latest scandal to embroil Donald Trump's White House. Iran analyst Ellie Geranmayeh on the issues and candidates in next weekend's presidential election. Voters are unhappy that the lifting of sanctions made possible by last year's nuclear deal is yet to deliver much economically. And from Russia, Isabel Gorst on massive protests in the streets of Moscow against the demolition of thousands of Soviet-era homes. Could it be the start of a broader civic movement?