Podcasts related to Politics - World

Dan Hodges, Political commentator at the Mail on Sunday, joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. He looked over the situation in Syria and gave his take on the ASLEF and RMT union strike affecting Southern rail services. Finally, we discussed the latest that the News industry is worth £5.3 billion to the economy.

The Taiwanese government had the diplomatic spotlights turned on it when Donald Trump accepted a phone call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen upon his ascension to President-Elect of the US - the first conversation between the two nations at this level in decades. But others were less pleased - namely the Chinese Government. Alongside other anti-China sentiments expressed by Trump, this conversation with President Ing-wen marks a new faux-pas. Share Radio's Matt Cox spoke to Dr Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, and expert in governance, foreign, and security policies of China and Taiwan.

Jack Sommers of The Huffington Post joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. Chancellor Philip Hammond has called for transitional arrangements to “smooth” Britain’s exit from the EU. What did Jack make of this, and is there the possibility of a cabinet split? Jack also discusses the political implications of the Southern Rail strikes, and gives his take on the events in Aleppo.

Protesters led by Peter Tatchell have disrupted a speech by Jeremy Corbyn, calling on the Labour leader to demand action to end the conflict in Syria. Corbyn halted his speech while several protesters held up banners with slogans including: “Step up and demand action in Syria” and “End the suffering in Aleppo”. Tatchell, a human rights campaigner who has previously supported the Labour party, shouted over the party leader to demand he do more to condemn the actions of Russia in the Syrian conflict. He told Share Radio's Colin Bloom why he felt drastic action was needed.

Every year, TIME editors select the individual or idea that has most influenced the news and the world. The winner this year is President-elect Donald Trump, who beat ten other finalists, including his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. He has described being named Time magazine's Person of the Year as a "great honour". Trump will be President of the United States in just over 6 weeks time, but what are his priorities for the US economy? Share Radio's James Brydges has been hearing from Dr Pippa Malmgren, former economic adviser to George W Bush.

Seijiro Takeshita, Professor of Management and Information at the University of Shizuoka in Japan, joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the biggest stories coming out of East Asia. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to become the first serving Japanese PM to visit Pearl Harbor - the US Naval base in Hawaii that was attacked by Japan on this day in 1941. What's the purpose of the visit? And the CEO of Japanese technology firm, Softbank, has said the company will invest £39.3bn ($50bn) in US businesses.

The sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia to use against Yemen, by the UK has long been a controversial one, as the UK also sends aid to Yemen. The Campaign Against Arms Trade has recently launched legal action against the UK government, to try and stop the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Matthew Cook spoke to Andrew Smith, from CAAT to discuss the legal case and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly already held at least two phone calls with Vladimir Putin - more than with any other world leader and the same amount of briefings he's had with American intelligence experts. Mr Trump praised the Russian president during the election campaign and has promised closer co-operation between the two countries. Share Radio's Robert Van Egghen spoke to Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy governor of the Russian central bank.

There is high drama in Vienna, where oil ministers from OPEC are meeting. A deal to curtail oil production and prop up the price of crude has suffered a setback, with Iran and Iraq resisting pressure from Saudi Arabia to participate fully in any action. Iran’s oil minister has declared that his country will not cut oil production. To look ahead to the meeting, Kevin Baxter, Global Commodities Spot News Editor at the Wall Street Journal, joined Share Radio Breakfast.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is meeting in Vienna, where it's hoped a plan to cut output could help curb global oversupply. But how does the global outlook affect the oil industry in the UK? A new survey finds that the market might have bottomed out, and there could even be signs of recovery. To find out more, James Brydges spoke to Uisdean Vass, oil expert from law firm Bond Dickinson.