Protests in Thailand took an unexpected turn in October when young Thais began demanding reforms to the Monarchy, a traditionally revered institution. This added to demands that the prime minister, who took over in a coup in 2014 immediately resign.   Benjamin Zawacki, Senior Program Specialist at the Asia Foundation and author of the book "Thailand: Shifting Ground between the US and a Rising China," explains what is driving protests in Thailand.  We kick off discussing the role of the monarchy in Thai society and politics before having a longer conversation about what this protest movement means for the future of Thailand. 

Protests in Thailand, Explained

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This is a special preview of the Inside Geneva podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.   Recently UNWRA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians, has been facing scrutiny of what exactly their role is in the current Israel-Hamas conflict. Many people around the world hadn’t heard of UNRWA before this conflict - so what is it exactly, why was it founded, and does it need to continue? Journalist Imogen Foulkes takes a deep dive, talking to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, Israeli diplomat Nina Ben-Ami, Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch. Inside Geneva is produced by Swissinfo,  a multilingual public service media based in Switzerland.  

What’s the future of UNRWA? The Struggle for Balance in Gaza’s Aid Operations | Inside Geneva

El Fasher is the largest city in Sudan's Darfur region. It is also one of the few major cities in Darfur that has not fallen to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the civil war that broke out last year. However, an attack on El Fasher seems imminent. The RSF has surrounded the city and is laying siege to it. The United States, the United Nations, and key players around the world are urging against this impending attack, but it's unclear whether the RSF will be deterred. There are deep concerns for the fate of at least 800,000 people trapped in El Fasher, given that the RSF is a genocidal militia. The RSF is the re-branded Janjaweed Militia, which carried out the Darfur genocide 20 years ago. Since the full-scale civil war in Sudan began in April 2023, the RSF has reprised many of its genocidal tactics, targeting non-Arab ethnicities in Darfur for annihilation. My guest today is Mutasim Ali, Legal Advisor at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. The Wallenberg Centre recently published a report compiling evidence that genocide is ongoing in Darfur, with the RSF perpetrating it against non-Arab groups. We discuss at length how they came to this conclusion. Mutasim Ali is also from El Fasher, so we talk about the looming RSF assault on the city and what, if anything, can be done to prevent this attack. Sudan represents the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. This episode is part of our ongoing series on the atrocities in Darfur and the civil war in Sudan, which is receiving scant media attention despite the sheer scale of this ongoing calamity. Please support our work by becomming a paying supporter of the show: https://www.globaldispatches.org/ 

A Genocidal Massacre is Looming in Darfur

H5N1, otherwise known as Avian or Bird Flu, has been around for a long time. Mostly, the virus has been passed among wild birds, but there have also been sporadic outbreaks in poultry flocks. Now, the virus has spread to dairy cattle and, in at least two cases, from cattle to people. This has experts in pandemic prevention on high alert. Dairy workers come in close contact with cattle, raising concerns that the virus could mutate in such a way that it can be transmitted not only from animals to people but also from human to human. Joining me to discuss the risk that H5N1 could become a virus capable of human-to-human transmission, and what can be done to prevent that, is Robyn Alders. She is an honorary professor with the Development Policy Center at the Australian National University and a member of the Lancet Commission on the Prevention of Viral Spillover. We begin by discussing the history of H5N1 before delving into the current outbreak among dairy herds. Alders also explains why addressing the root cause of these outbreaks requires a fundamental shift in how we approach food systems.

Bird Flu is Now Spreading in Dairy Cattle. Are Humans Next?

 The Parliament of the United Kingdom has passed a controversial new law that would allow the government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Under the so-called "Safety of Rwanda" bill, the Rishi Sunak government has pledged to send migrants from the UK to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed. However, is Rwanda actually safe? My guest today, Sally Hayden, is a journalist who has reported extensively on migration and refugee issues. Last month, she was barred from entering Rwanda due to her prior reporting on the plight of refugees who had been sent to Rwanda as part of a separate, but similar, European Union program. Sally Hayden is the author of "My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route," which won the prestigious Orwell Prize. In our conversation, Sally Hayden discusses her previous reporting on refugees in Rwanda and explores how this new UK bill fits into Europe's increasingly harsh policies towards refugees and asylum seekers.

The United Kingdom and Rwanda Enter a Dangerous Pact for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

American aid is on its way to Ukraine. This week, Congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes about $60 billion for Ukraine. This aid had been stalled for months, mostly due to Republican intransigence in the House of Representatives. But now, the funding is being released, and according to my guest today, it will have a significant impact on the battlefield in Ukraine.  Evelyn Farkas is the Executive Director of the McCain Institute and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Ukraine, Russia, and Eurasia during the Obama administration. We discuss the influence this new aid package will have on the trajectory of the conflict and why its timing is critical. Farkas recently returned from Ukraine, where officials told her they were bracing for a new summer offensive by Russia. 

Protests in Thailand, Explained

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