Israel, Syria, Iran: how the Middle East is about to change

President Donald Trump has authorised a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all countries except for one, China. The president slapped a bespoke 145% tariff on Beijing, effectively ending trade between the world’s two largest economies.  What does this new world order mean for the rest of us? Where will this tit-for-tat trade war end? Will there be any winners? Or could it escalate into something much worse? On this episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Fiona Hill, who was senior director for European and Russian affairs on the US National Security Council during the first Trump presidency and is now a senior fellow in the Centre on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. Produced by Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak, Tom Gordon-Martin, Rob Thomson

10 Apr 35min

Donald Trump has announced global tariffs on an unprecedented scale, holding up a chart in the White House Rose Garden outlining what each country will pay and while the UK seems to have got off relatively lightly, almost nowhere has escaped America's determination to bolster its home-grown trade and manufacturing. Even the penguins that are the only inhabitants of a chain of remote Antarctic islands have been slapped with a 10 percent tariff. Prices in the US are likely to go up. The global economy faces a period of chaos amid plunging markets. But is a trade war inevitable? And could it spiral out of control and escalate into something much worse? For this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by the American author and commentator Robert Kaplan whose writing examines the nature of US power, and Channel 4 News Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi. Produced by Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson

3 Apr 33min

Benjamin Netanyahu has said his intention is to implement Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, while Israel comes under intense criticism after the bodies of 15 emergency workers were discovered dead in southern Gaza and the UN says they were killed “one be one” by Israeli forces.   Sharon Haskell is from the New Hope party in the Israeli parliament and she is the deputy foreign minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.    She spoke to Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the latest episode of the Fourcast.    Produced by Ka Yee Mak, Calum Fraser, Girish Juneja, Rob Thomson

31 Mars 39min

The Fourcast breaks down a huge day for the UK economy and British politics, as Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring Statement with cuts to welfare and a new forecast from the OBR slashing the UK’s prospect for growth.  Krishnan Guru-Murthy was joined by our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi and our Senior Political Correspondent Paul McNamara to explain what this means for you and explore the political fallout. Produced by Girish Juneja, Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak, Calum Fraser

26 Mars 31min

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone for over 90 minutes thrashing out a deal to halt the bloodshed in Ukraine, and Russia has now agreed to a 30 day energy and infrastructure ceasefire as well as negotiations on the implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. In this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Russia’s Ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, about the talks between Russia and the USA over Ukraine, Europe's attempts to provide security guarantees and what there is to stop Russia wanting more territory if it gets everything it wants in this negotiation. Produced by Mariaelena Agostini, Helene Cacace, Calum Fraser and Ka Yee Mak.

19 Mars 33min

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been broken, as Israel launched overnight air strikes on Gaza that Hamas says has killed more than 400 people - sparking fears the region could be plunged into all out war once again. Francesca Albanese is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and her opinions have sparked controversy in the past.  Israel officially banned her from entering the country in February 2024 after she wrote in a tweet “the victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression”. Israeli officials condemned these words as “anti-semitic” and called on the UN to “public disavow” Ms Albanese. In this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Ms Albanese about how she came to her conclusion that Israel is committing genocide, whether Hamas’ attack on October 7th was an act of genocide and what the international community can do to stop the bloodshed. Produced by Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson and Ka Yee Mak.

18 Mars 30min

President Zelenskyy has signed up to Donald Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia and in return American arms and intelligence have started flowing into Ukraine again, but the question now is whether Vladimir Putin will agree to a pause in hostilities. The Russian President knows every KGB trick in the book and is likely to resist giving up territory and prisoners. How does Donald Trump get him on board for a peace deal that lasts longer than the time it will take Russia to regroup and rearm? So far the main Russian response has been another barrage of missiles targeting cities across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv. For this episode of the Fourcast Krishan Guru-Murthy is joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum who is in the city. Produced by Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak and Rob Thomson.

12 Mars 23min

Donald Trump has read out a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Ukraine is ready to negotiate and the president says he's getting strong signals from Russia that it is also ready for peace, but - if that deal boils down to Ukraine surrendering territory, American mining companies extracting minerals from Ukraine, and no security guarantee - is that real peace? And would a deal like that hold? In this new world of strong man politics, has Ukraine been bullied and Russia indulged? And what does all this tell us about Trump's new world order?  In this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by the American historian and writer Professor Timothy Snyder, who's an expert on Ukraine, Russia and eastern Europe, having written highly acclaimed books on tyranny and freedom.  Produced by Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak, Silvia Maresca and Calum Fraser

5 Mars 31min